Viewfinders- what do you like?

[Pál_K]

If there is one thing that captivated my attention in the 1970’s photo magazines, it was the camera advertisements which showed viewfinders. I blame these magazines fully for my gear lust.

What I wanted in 1971 was the sexy Minolta SRT-101 with that seductive 58/1.2 MC Rokkor PG lens. The match needles and shutter speed display in the viewfinder were just wonderful. Alas, what I could afford then was a Pentax SP-500 and a boring viewfinder. That’s the only camera I used for the next 15 years.

Now, many cameras later, many different types of viewfinders later, I’ve come to realize that I do best with minimalist viewfinders - viewfinders with clever displays and lots of information just distract me like a cat chasing a laser dot and almost always my photos suffer.

So here, in no particular order, are my thoughts on the viewfinders from a few of the cameras I have. I’m interested as well in your thoughts and experiences on this subject.

-Minimalist-
These have no shutter speed or aperture indication; perhaps a simple over/under meter reading at most. Exakta, Pentax Spotmatic, Leica M3, Hasselblad, RB67, Rolleiflex, Sinar F1. I’ve done my best work with these.

-One scale-
These are like the Leicaflex SL (showing shutter speed). Considering my comments above, it’s interesting that now that I do have SRT-101’s and the 58/1.2, of all the hundreds of photos I’ve made with them, not once do I remember checking the shutter speed in the display.

-Two scales-
This is like the Canon EF (“Black Beauty”) where there’s a full shutter speed scale visible and a full aperture scale visible all at once. I think the Canon EF’s viewfinder is the most elegant and attractive of all.

-Full info selectively-
This is like the Nikon FM - it will show you your shutter speed, aperture, and exposure level, but it presents each factor in isolation. To me, this probably makes the most sense in what a viewfinder should be.

-Full info about everything-
This is like my Nikon F4, D700, Canon Elan 7NE, Minolta Maxxum 7, or Leica R8. Anything you could possibly ever want to know is all there all the time. The way I can avoid distraction with these is to just check that the shutter speed is ok for my selected aperture. It won’t be a surprise that I’ve chosen just the single central focus point for my D700.

A few thoughts on some viewfinder features I’ve found interesting:

Nikonos V: in manual mode, I like the way the selected shutter speed is steady red while the “correct” shutter speed for the chosen aperture blinks

Nikkormat EL, Nikon FE, Nikon FM3a: these nearly identical shutter speed scales and needles are very attractive to me for some reason probably relating to nostalgia.

Nikon F3/T: total design disaster with that little LCD in the upper corner. Don’t do it again.

Nikon L35AF: amazing mechanical-needle distance scale - it works!

Olympus 35 RC: shutter speed and aperture scales in the viewfinder of this little rangefinder! Anyone else do that?

Olympus OM-2n and Canon F-1N: viewfinder information scales will change based on mode. I really like this.

Ricoh GR-1: an impressive display showing the selected AF area, shutter speed, parallax, approximate focus, and exposure compensation.

Pentax 6x7, Topcon Super D, Nikkormat FT2: the Pentax and Topcon have their exposure needle right below the image in the viewfinder: easy to use, not distracting. The Topcon and FT2 also show the needle in a display on the top plate.

Exakta 500 (Exa II): had a red flag in the otherwise plain viewfinder to indicate the shutter is not cocked.

Yashica Lynx 14E: when both the over/under exposure lights go out, exposure is correct (unlike the Leica M6).

Fuji X-Pro1: the selective optical-electronic hybrid viewfinder is what attracted me to this camera, as well as its traditional controls. There are actually four viewfinder configurations you can have simultaneously: the default OVF and default EVF, then your personally configured OVF and personally configured EVF. You switch between default and personal by toggling the DISP/BACK button and you switch between OVF to EVF by toggling the front lever. The default OVF/EVF has minimal information for those who like uncluttered viewfinders. For the personally configured OVF/EVF, you can fill the screen with every imaginable tidbit of information. I tend to use the default uncluttered OVF most of the time and switch to my configured EVF for close-up work.

So that’s it. What do you like and not like and why?

 

[Timmyjoe]

I agree with your earlier statement about simplicity in the viewfinder. I much enjoy shooting my old Leicas with nothing in the viewfinders. My first "real" camera back in 1976 was a Canon TX which had just a match needle in the viewfinder (no aperture reading, no shutter reading). That's all you need.

Best,
-Tim

 

[Rob-F]

I like a meter needle for the exposure reading. I feel I can judge the exposure with the match-needle arrangements in my Nikon FE2 and FM3a better than with any other method. I like least the +/- display of the F3 and FA. I don't want to know that the exposure is merely under, over, or right on; I need to know how far to one side of center the exposure is set to. With a meter needle I can see that. On the other hand, the red diodes in the Leica M6 and MP can also convey whether the exposure is right on, or a half-stop or so under or over, or just way under/over, by the relative brightness of the diodes. So with both types of metering, the meter is giving an analog indication of the amount of exposure deviation, as opposed to a simple +/- display. And since exposure is an analog, or proportional, phenomenon, I think an analog/proportional meter display is best. I don't like displays that have a bank of individual diodes, one of which lights up the shutter speed that is in use. I find them confusing and useless.

 

[das]

Aperture and shutter speed for sure. Doesn't matter to me if it's LED or a needle.

 

[keytarjunkie]

The SLR viewfinder I like the most is a Nikon F/F2 with eyelevel prism. It covers 100% of the frame, and offers basically no distractions (depending on the focusing screen). Minimalist perfection. With rangefinders it’s the same - Leica M2/M3 or Nikon rangefinders which are so spartan. I had to really come full circle on working without a built-in meter, but now I prefer it.

 

[Dogman]

Prism and mirror.

 

[Finglas]

I always liked the Nikon FE viewfinder, even though the FM3a is similar, the FE is better to my eyes. It was slightly bigger and the green was better than blue on FM3a.
I have an FM2n also, which behaves a little more like my Leica MP, and is okay too. The info in viewfiinder on FE and FM2n is all I need.

 

[Erik van Straten]

A SBOOI and a SBLOO and I'm happy.

Erik.

 

[Coldkennels]

I always quite liked the cutout in the viewfinder on the Pentax MX and KX to view the selected aperture on the lens - that was a neat touch. I only realised after using those for a bit that the LTM collapsible Summicron is angled in such a way that you can just make out the same in a Barnack viewfinder; I wonder if that was intentional?

But generally, I like the clearest and most clutter-free viewfinder possible. Even the 90mm "nubs" in the IIIg is enough to annoy me sometimes. I set the shutter speed and aperture before I bring the camera to my eye, so I don't want or need that information in the viewfinder - it only distracts me.

 

[oftheherd]

My first SLR was a Yashica TL Super. As I recall the only thing in the viewfinder was the match needle. Just as with interchangeable lenses, I couldn't see why anyone would want anything different. 😀 I was educated by the magazines about interchangeable lens once I really started to get into photography.

When I got the Fujica ST 901, I appreciated the extra information, especially the LED readout of the shutter speed, since I began enjoying available light photography.

But I have tried a few other cameras with viewfinders with different information as well. It just seems to me it takes more or less time to learn how to use each camera's viewfinder information and to go about business.

 

[Evergreen States]

I too like minimalist viewfinders. In my Fuji X-Pro1 and X-Pro3 I mostly use the custom OVF stripped down to show just the frame lines, focus scale, focus point, number of shots left on the card, the battery indicator and the histogram. I can see the aperture on the lens and shutter speed well enough on the body. The X-Pro3 has an OVF display setting that shows the frame lines and nothing else until you initiate an autofocus run, when it briefly shows the focus point. Pretty cool but too austere even for me.

My Bronica ETRS has an unmetered prism which shows nothing but the image. The screen I have has etched frame lines for the 135 panoramic back. I either meter with my phone or sunny 16 it. My Fuji GA645 displays the aperture, shutter speed and focus distance in red LED indicators. I accept this because there there is no way to manually focus by grabbing a helicoid. Even manual focus has to be dialed in and relayed to the servo control. It's a bit convoluted but not terribly so. I zone focus about half the time with it. The GA645 is the only camera that I ever shoot in any automated exposure mode.

My Pentax K1000 has a needle to meter and that's it. More often than not I neglect to have a battery in the thing so even the needle doesn't move. I recently have been taking out my Canonet again. I lost the battery I was using. The aperture settings for shutter priority reside in a strip along the right side of the finder leaving no room for a right side frame line. I'd drop the aperture indicator in a heartbeat to see where my right edge is.

 

[willie_901]

I like the FUJIFILM hybrid system.

• the EVF is useful when you need precise framing (otherwise I never use it)
• the OVF simulates the classic rangefinder experience
  • one can compose while viewing what's going n outside the frame line estimates
  • parallax correct is available
  • the scene does not change in low light

As with almost all contemporary cameras, the finder information content can tailored to the photographer's preferences.

With newer cameras and lenses, the OVF AF system is effective. I use minimilistic frame-center focusing with focus and recompose. This simulates how I used my Zeiss Ikon AM body. The EVF AF when is excellent and I use it focus and recompose is inappropriate. The FUJIFILM hybrid finder is the primary reason why I use a X-Pr 2 and X-100T. It's a bonus that I also like the XF lenses.

 

[zuiko85]

As simple and plain as possible. Really liked my OM-1 with a 1-10 screen, plain matte with grid lines.

 

[pixelated]

I don't really have any fixed requirements, mostly because no two cameras in the stuff I use offer the same information.
For smaller than large format, grid lines and a focusing aid of some sort are nice. F/stop and shutter speed are good too, but not essential.

The digi I just bought, has way too much, there is information displayed on all 4 sides, and in the middle, and I haven't learned what all of it is.

I'm not sure I have enough time in my remaining lifetime to do so😉

 

[Evergreen States]

I like the FUJIFILM hybrid system.

• the EVF is useful when you need precise framing (otherwise I never use it)
• the OVF simulates the classic rangefinder experience
  • one can compose while viewing what's going n outside the frame line estimates
  • parallax correct is available
  • the scene does not change in low light

As with almost all contemporary cameras, the finder information content can tailored to the photographer's preferences.

With newer cameras and lenses, the OVF AF system is effective. I use minimilistic frame-center focusing with focus and recompose. This simulates how I used my Zeiss Ikon AM body. The EVF AF when is excellent and I use it focus and recompose is inappropriate. The FUJIFILM hybrid finder is the primary reason why I use a X-Pr 2 and X-100T. It's a bonus that I also like the XF lenses.

I forgot to mention the EVF of Fuji's hybrid viewfinders. I sometimes use it in low light when the OVF is too dim or if I'm focusing closer than about a meter.

 

[agentlossing]

Viewfinders engender a surprising amount of feeling. I think because it's the thing we interact with the most when composing and visualizing what we are shooting. Our senses are "all-in" in that moment, so the viewfinder experience is a part of that, whether we want it to be or not.

I am with you in loving clean, clear viewfinders. My Bessa-T is a joy to shoot with the 35mm Voigtlander hot-shoe finder. Nothing but big, clear optics and framelines, all of the other stuff - rangefinder, shutter and aperture, meter) being taken care of outside of this view. Some may see it as a handicap, I do not. Especially when using B&W film with plenty of leeway for exposure, and smaller aperture to get a broad focus plane.

I don't love needles in finders, like so many SLRs have. I don't have a good reason for it, I've just never loved the meter needle swinging around on the side. My Petri Color 35 has an interesting finder, with meter and focus scale, but while the focus scale can sometimes be useful to have in the finder, it sure doesn't suit prefocusing. You have to put it to your eye, which is silly with a scale focus camera, just to see how many meters/feet you are set to. Inconvenience!

Digitally, I don't care for any APS-C DSLR viewfinder I've ever used, even the quality one on the Pentax KP. Too small and dark. I have found that I prefer EVFs now, as long as they are decent ones. Plus I have to watch that I'm not wearing dark sunglasses, or it becomes too hard to judge exposure. And the LCD screen on my Ricoh GRIII isn't bad. It's bright, and can be made very bright without losing details. LCD will never be a primary way for making photos for me, but in the case of the little Ricoh I haven't found hot-shoe finders to be in any way better than using the LCD.