How do you view?

Bill Pierce

Bill Pierce

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How do you view with your mirrorless camera?

I’m not a great fan of using the LCD’s on the back of mirrorless cameras. Everybody complains about not begin able to see the LCD image in bright sunlight. I think it’s a little more than that. Holding the camera at arm’s length, especially if you are a far sighted old dude holding it as far away as possible (me), is just going to increase the chance of camera shake. Were that not enough, the LCD is one of the big power hogs and battery killers on a digital camera. (The Fuji XE-2 has a setting where the LCD is off and the electronic viewfinder in the body only goes on when the camera is raised to your eye - good move.)

For me, the disadvantages of the LCD outweigh the disadvantages of the EVF. While improvements have been made in EVF’s, there are a lot with limited refresh rates, brightness ranges and pixel density. I just live with it. As to auxiliary bright line finders. I like them very much; I just don’t like having a viewfinder that costs almost as much as the camera sliding out of the accessory shoe and falling to its death on the hard sidewalk. So I live with the EVF and think fondly of the “ground glass” TTL finders on my big DSLR’s that now spend most of their time in a studio.

What do you do?
 
I don't mind the LCD read out, even in the sun; I shade the screen with my body. And I really don't do much pixel peeking. I also use an old Leica finder which is continuously adjustable:

8342619029_16d52b644b.jpg


But if I had my choice I'd have a bright Leica finder with a rangefinder (or even a Bessa finder).
 
With the X-Pro 1 I switch between the OVF and EVF depending on the specific situation at hand.

How I operate the camera with regard to AF modes, pure manual focusing, full manual exposure, aperture or shutter priority depends entirely on the task at hand. With the OVF and EVF there is a lot of flexibility and combinations so some thought and a lot of practice pays off.

I never, ever use the LCD when I take photographs. If I used the X-Pro 1 on a tripod for studio work, then I would use the EVF to check focus and composition.
 
Bill, for the record, I have been a proponent of a digital camera without a preview LCD.

Besides the points you listed in your OP above, I truly believe that it will actually have a positive impact on the quality of images coming out of a digital camera. With less temptation to chimp, people will start to trust their skills once more.
 
I don't like EVFs, nor do I dislike them, but they get the job done. The ability to precisely adjust exposure and WB while shooting is quite addictive - I find myself chimping a lot more when using DSLRs, not willing to trust the camera's metering system.

The LCD, on the other hand, doesn't have any real advantages. I would like to see perhaps the ability to tether my camera to a smartphone and shoot with the phone screen, but a normal LCD at arm's length makes holding longer or heavier lenses very awkward.
 
I've had EVF equipped cameras off and on since 2002. Some have been pretty limited in quality, others have been useful—at times, more useful and functional than any optical finder, reflex or rangefinder.

With my Ricoh GXR and other mirrorless cameras I often fitted an OVF in addition to the LCD. No need with the Olympus E-M1 ... it's viewfinder is better than most if not all of the OVFs. Compared to my reflex cameras, the only one that comes close in ease of viewing and focusing is the Leicaflex SL.

G
 
I''ve used just about every type of finder over the years.

For the last 6-7 years, my primary cameras have had both an EVF and a fully articulated rear LCD. While I find the LCD extremely useful in special situations (low angle, odd angle, overhead to clear a crowd,...), I use the EVF the vast majority of the time. I've grown accustomed to EVFs and generally prefer them, on balance, to optical finders, either SLR or RF.
 
For me the x100 Hybrid OVF/EVF gets it done for me. I am so curious and optimistic that the Hybrid concepts stays and gets improved in a XPII, if there is such a camera. LCD doesn't work for all he reasons that you and others mentioned as well as its too much of a tell for street/images where the light from the LCD is a hindrance- like in my movie house image series…. good topic.
 
The EVF in my a99 works very well. It has a fast refresh time. I don't really care to go back to an OVF. The use of the EVF at night with focus peaking is truly nice to have.
The EVF has come of age with the high end cameras. Don't knock it until you tried one that actually works well.

Bill Pierce said:
How do you view with your mirrorless camera?

I’m not a great fan of using the LCD’s on the back of mirrorless cameras. Everybody complains about not begin able to see the LCD image in bright sunlight. I think it’s a little more than that. Holding the camera at arm’s length, especially if you are a far sighted old dude holding it as far away as possible (me), is just going to increase the chance of camera shake. Were that not enough, the LCD is one of the big power hogs and battery killers on a digital camera. (The Fuji XE-2 has a setting where the LCD is off and the electronic viewfinder in the body only goes on when the camera is raised to your eye - good move.)

For me, the disadvantages of the LCD outweigh the disadvantages of the EVF. While improvements have been made in EVF’s, there are a lot with limited refresh rates, brightness ranges and pixel density. I just live with it. As to auxiliary bright line finders. I like them very much; I just don’t like having a viewfinder that costs almost as much as the camera sliding out of the accessory shoe and falling to its death on the hard sidewalk. So I live with the EVF and think fondly of the “ground glass” TTL finders on my big DSLR’s that now spend most of their time in a studio.

What do you do?
Click to expand...
 
I don't seem to have much of a problem with using the LCD screen much of the time. The separation between eye and screen can help with composition, just like when using a hasselblad, Rollei, or other camera that has a groundglass. In my case, being nearsighted, It is not hard for me to see the screen at a reasonable distance. If I take my glasses off, I can see it even better.

An exception is that when I use my X100, I seem to like using the viewfinder. I use it mostly in optical mode. It's the closest thing in the digital realm to shooting with my Leica M2 and 35mm Summicron!

When shooting with my X10, I seldom use the optical finder. Its framing is too inaccurate, even compared to a typical 35mm rangefinder camera; and it has zero info in the finder.
 
Because I photograph for pleasure, I avoid cameras that require use of LCD or EVF for composing, framing etc. No need for self-torture.

So it's MP or M-E for me. 5 years from now I may have a different answer.
 
Hans Berkhout said:
Because I photograph for pleasure, I avoid cameras that require use of LCD or EVF for composing, framing etc. No need for self-torture.

So it's MP or M-E for me. 5 years from now I may have a different answer.
Click to expand...

Squinting through a little optical peephole in a dim room is simply a different kind of self-torture, you know. ;-)

G
 
jsrockit said:
I use EVFs, OVFs, and LCDs. Whatever works for what I want to accomplish.
Click to expand...

Amen to that. I adapt pretty easy to all the mentioned options although I am not a huge fan of digital finders or lcd screens when the light is scant. I often find the rear screens quite liberating. Although I have never been much interested in sharp as a defining element to my photos.
 
the only thing i use an lcd for is looking at the histogram.

i'm not a fan of evfs, the biggest problem is the evf resolution. until they hit 1080p with really high refresh rate and contrast range, they're not worth my money, i'll stick to DSLRs.
 
Bill Pierce said:
How do you view with your mirrorless camera?
The Fuji XE-2 has a setting where the LCD is off and the electronic viewfinder in the body only goes on when the camera is raised to your eye - good move.
Click to expand...
This is good news for a user of the XE1. Maybe they also fixed the part where you have to make ten button pushes to format a memory card.
I use the EVF and prefer to have a brightline available.
The EVF beats all in near darkness. I bright daylight it needs improvement, but I suffer along.
 
It pretty much depends on the situation. I use the EVF for most handheld shots. I will use the LCD for low angle shooting and whenever it is too awkward to use the EVF. When the camera is mounted on a tripod I like to use the LCD. If the ambient light is bright I will use my jacket or whatever is handy like a dark cloth not unlike using a view camera. I was photographing the moon last night with a Nikkor 300/4.5 Ai lens and found it more convenient to use the EVF. I am mainly using u4/3 equipment (Panasonic GH3 and GX7).

The GX7 has the same LCD off/EVF on when raised to eye capability.

Mike
 
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