OVF or EVF?

[Roger Hicks]

What do you do for a living, Roger? I have no idea.

G

Dear Godfrey,

Write books (40-50 so far) and magazine articles (hundreds, probably thousands). Often about photography; sometimes nothing about photography but illustrated with my and Frances's pics, e.g. travel in Land Rover World, cook books, a well-regarded book on the American Civil War... Have done for 30+ years. Surprisingly many people have heard of me. Covered photokina 2012 for Shutterbug as we have done for years, but they're deathly slow in getting it into print. The coverage starts in February, I think.

I should perhaps add that I do a lot less of it than I used to, partly put of laziness (one can live quite well on a modest income if one has no debts) and partly because I just can't get excited about the endless stream of new digital cameras and people aren't as interested in silver halide any more. I have a regular column in Amateur Photographer magazine, though.

Cheers,

R.

 

[Matus]

I have read a lot of opinion of how the new EVF's are very good, and preferable to some users. I have looked at several, including the NEX 7, Fuji XE1 and still wouldn't buy one.

Which do you prefer and why?

I have not had the latest generation of EVFs in hand, but EVFs in OM-D, X100 or NEX7 still leave a lot to be desired - in particular in the contrast department and the size - most of the EVFs are way too small to enjoy. I would like to see at least 0.75x (relative to FX). FOr example the OM-D gives us about 0.5x in that comparison.

 

[gho]

In my opinion both have their pros and cons.

Lets have a look at the EVF compared to SLR-OVFs and RF-OVFs. I find they give something like an electronic SLR-experience.

Pros:
- Accurate framing compared to RF-OVFs
- good vision in darker environments compared to SLR-OVFs and RF-OVFs
- Compared to RF-OVFs it is possible to use all sorts of focal lengths, just like with an SLR-OVF
- no mirror as in SLR-OVFs needed -> reduced bulk and no mirror flap vibration, just like with RF-OVFs
- no blackout, just as with RF-OVFs
- digital zoom for super accurate manual focus for still scenes.

Cons compared to RF-OVFs and SLR-OVFs:
- sometimes laggy
- sometimes noisy
- they are presenting a scene filtered by the sensor and in camera processing. May be a positive point though, if what you see is what you get.
- vision outside the framelines as with RF-OVFs is something that they are lacking
- compared to RF-OVFs the sharpness of the perceived scene depends on the focus of the lens, just as with SLR-OVFs. May be a positive or negative point though.
- decent and responsive manual focus indicator still lacking but in sight.

So I would say overall it depends on ones shooting style, taste and the needs of the task at hand. Personally I prefer RF-OVFs, but I am mostly using a 35 mm or 28 mm lens for casual snapshots anyhow. If I had to take photos of birds at dawn, such as doves for example, or macro shots of plants, dandelions come to mind, etc. than an EVF and a zoom/macro lens would be something to consider (if the EVF is decent).

For the stuff I am doing for fun: mostly film RF.