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Digital cameras: How important is an optical view finder ?
How important is an optical view finder ?
by oisin - 10/18/06 5:22 PMHi,
I'm looking for a camera with reasonable optical zoom (4x or more) but it seems the most of the ones with >4x have no optical viewfinder, I assume that this means that the LCD must be used a lot and so will affect battery life, are there any other draw backs or indeed advantages to having no optical viewfinder?
Thanks,
Oisín.
Yes, it is very difficult to hold the camera steady while
by Kiddpeat - 10/18/06 5:30 PM In reply to: How important is an optical view finder ? by oisincomposing and shooting if there is no optical viewfinder. Of course, there's also the wee problem of being unable to see the LCD in bright light.
One more reason
by snapshot2
- 10/18/06 7:41 PM
In reply to: Yes, it is very difficult to hold the camera steady while by Kiddpeat
Have you seen those photos of a car passing by and the photographer panned the camera to follow the action and snapped the shutter while panning the camera.
You get a sharp image of the car and a blurred background. Gives the image the illusion of movement.
Try that with an LCD and you will discover that you cannot follow the car while panning the camera.
Much easier with the viewfinder.
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Optical viewfinder?
by tasuray - 10/22/06 11:45 PM In reply to: How important is an optical view finder ? by oisinSorry I can't agree with you. There are lot of high zoom cameras who have optical viewfinders viz. kodak Easyshare Z650,Canon S3 IS etc. I think you can find more with optical view finder. Off course it is necessary.
(NT) It is almost impossible to use the LCD in bright sun
by rgfitz - 10/23/06 8:24 AM In reply to: How important is an optical view finder ? by oisinYou could
by Kiddpeat - 10/23/06 10:13 AM In reply to: (NT) It is almost impossible to use the LCD in bright sun by rgfitzcarry a black hood like those used with a view camera.
IMHO... A must
by Screwdriver Monkey - 10/27/06 3:22 AM In reply to: How important is an optical view finder ? by oisinI recently purchased a new digi cam with a huge LCD on the back and no optical view finder. Well, I didn't think I would need it...
I often find that in bright light the LCD is too hard to see and a view finder would be better and at night time the LCD is far to bright and shows nothing without enough ambient light. These are the times when I just turn off the LCD and hold the camera to my face and guess, at least I can preview and re-shoot if I got it wrong but a view finder would save me this trouble.
I guess if your not shooting at night or in bright sun then you won't have these problems.
Happy shopping.
Good composition and Old eyes
by AZ_user - 10/27/06 4:39 AM In reply to: How important is an optical view finder ? by oisinOisin,
If you are trying to take good photographs - moving beyond snapshots - you need to really see what you are taking. Even with a large LCD it is pretty hard to see details. That said, with the exception of SLRs, most viewfinders are a compromize - they typically show only 80 - 85% of what is actually captured. But that's better than guessing with an LCD.
The other thing is that for me at age 50, it is hard to focus on anything closer than 2 feet with out reading glasses. That makes an LCD a problem, but at true optical finder works great.
Rick
(NT) Very.
by Ryo Hazuki - 10/28/06 4:22 AM In reply to: How important is an optical view finder ? by oisinThe importance of an optical view finder
by pkhawaii - 10/30/06 2:26 PM In reply to: How important is an optical view finder ? by oisinLet me answer you this way: What do you do, if on a bright sunny day, you try to take your first picture with your new digital camera but, you can't see the subject your trying to take a picture of, because the LCD screen - is nearly completely washed out. This happened to me and I was pretty upset and returned that camera for one with an optical view finder. The sun and LCD screens do not complement each other. Get a camera with an optical view finder, or suffer the consequences. I hope this helped. P.S. I purchasd the Canon SD 800 IS with a 3.8 Zomm and 28mm -105 with an optical view finder and "wow" does it take beautiful pictures.
There is another alternative to the LCD Screen
by normluke - 10/31/06 1:24 AM In reply to: The importance of an optical view finder by pkhawaiiOptical viewfinders are not necessarily the only alternative to the LCD screen. The is the EVF - Electronic Viewfinder similar to the viewfinders on Video Cameras. They are on a number of digital cameras including the FujiFilm S3000, S5600 and S9000/S9100/S9500. They are clear and bright and have no parallax problems as with standard non-SLR optical viewfinders. They are outstanding for night work, and on my S9500, show 100% of the view. They also have the advantage in dim light of presenting a much brighter view of the scene than is apparent to the eye.
Essential if you need reading glasses!!
by vcwald - 11/29/09 3:36 PM In reply to: How important is an optical view finder ? by oisinIf you need reading glasses to focus on small images you will find it very difficult to determine whether what you see in the monitor is sharp without putting on your readers. I also find optical view finders very helpful because it's so much easier to steady the camera by bracing it against your face (resulting in far sharper images!) than by holding it a arm's length (aside from the question of whether or not you can clearly see the image in the monitor at arm's length).
I'm a DSLR shooter who is looking for a compact digital to carry around in my purse that has a view finder, 4X zoom or better, good reviews, and that costs around $200. Is there such a thing? (and I so don't care if the box is pink or purple or black or metallic!
Viewfinder
by snapshot2 - 11/29/09 3:57 PM
In reply to: Essential if you need reading glasses!! by vcwald
Viewfinders have been eliminated from most small cameras.
In the price range of $200, the only one I know of is the Canon A1100IS.
It can be found for under $150.
A very nice camera for the price.
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