Optical Viewfinders will never Disappear

[______]

Since this is the Rangefinder Forum, there is a self-selecting bias toward the OVF.

 

[cosmonaut]

Well I agree it depends on the camera. Of the ones I have used, several Olympus, Fuji Xpro1, X-E1, a77, a99 Sony by far has the best and also the best focus peaking. The a77 the weak link as it not as good as the a99.
Although I think Fuji has the right idea being able to switch from one to the other.

I think that you'll find that depends on the camera and the settings you use. I have my Panasonic G2s set up to preview mode, so what I see is what I keep. On the Sony R1, the EVF is so primitive that I just have to guess in poor light. Or I can switch over to the main LCD, which I normally use as a waist level finder and, once again, see what the final image will look like.

This shot was made at dusk on the R1, using the main LCD as a waist level finder...

 

[Spyro]

I think Fuji has the right idea being able to switch from one to the other.

Bingo.
Hard for some people to admit but this is the best solution.

 

[VertovSvilova]

It's absolutely true. I am over 40, I do require reading glasses (which, after all, just provide positive diopter correction), and the X-E1 diopter compensation is fine.

Why would you think this is any different than with an SLR? In both cases you're using an optical system to look at a little illuminated screen.

The OP's argument about farsightedness has no bearing on EVF versus OVF. A farsighted person (someone who needs reading glasses) can use an EVF perfectly fine. As you mention, they all have adjustable diopters (as do DSLRs with OVFs.) What's difficult is reading off a display screen on cameras with no finders at all. And that's because there's no diopter (reading glasses are dipoters.)

The argument is really about one's preferences and not vision deficiencies. Some people dislike EVFs and some prefer them. Personally I'll use anything that works. I need a loupe with my 4x5's ground glass. I sometimes wish it had an EVF. Live view with a DSLR and push button magnification (and reading glasses if needed) is essentially an EVF and is a lot easier/efficient than conventional ground glass viewing. 🙂

 

[Lss]

Bingo.
Hard for some people to admit but this is the best solution.

Conceptually it is. Currently the hybrid viewfinder however falls short of what many people expect to accomplish with the optical viewfinder. Even then, I believe I would pay at least a 20% premium over the Sony A7 if it had a hybrid viewfinder without compromising its EVF quality.

 

[reiki_]

The one thing I don't get in these modern times is how on earth is the finder on let's say Canon 5d mark III supposed to be something big, since the one on my Pentax ME Super is at least three times larger, and the one on Olympus OM is even bigger than that. Marketing? How people work with finders on DSLRs is beyond me.

 

[Sejanus.Aelianus]

The one thing I don't get in these modern times is how on earth is the finder on let's say Canon 5d mark III supposed to be something big, since the one on my Pentax ME Super is at least three times larger, and the one on Olympus OM is even bigger than that. Marketing? How people work with finders on DSLRs is beyond me.

I do not understand what you mean by these assertions. I have used all three cameras that you mention and the apparent difference between the finders is not, in my opinion, that great. I agree that the Canon dSLRs tend to give the appearance of the screen being at the end of a tunnel but I do not think of the apparent size as any smaller than any other screen that I have used.