Community weekly poll: How often do you use the viewfinder on your point-and-shoot?
- 11/28/06 2:43 PM
How often do you use the viewfinder on your point-and-shoot?
by Marc Bennett - 11/28/06 2:43 PM
How often do you use the viewfinder on your point-and-shoot camera?
Always
80 to 90 percent of the time
60 to 70 percent of the time
About half the time
30 to 40 percent of the time
Rarely
Never (why not?)
My camera doesn't have a viewfinder
What's a viewfinder?
Optical viewfinder, always!
by minilad - 11/28/06 8:36 PM In reply to: How often do you use the viewfinder on your point-and-shoot? by Marc Bennett
Call me a throwback to the BDC era -- before the digital camera (does anyone remember it?) -- but I simply can't get used to the LCD viewfinder. I find it unreliable, especially in the bright outdoors, and just plain annoying, besides draining batteries. To me, taking a photo means drawing the eye to the camera and composing. I've owned several digital cameras over the past years and all of them have had optical viewfinders. My next one, possibly a Canon S3IS, will have it too.
Canon S2-S3
by kurtpochert - 11/29/06 5:59 AM In reply to: Optical viewfinder, always! by miniladI have a Canon S2, and absolutely love it! It has a "live" viewfinder, which is a miniature LCD like the articulating one on the body. Lots of information about setup, and bright sun is not a problem. Not a pocket model but a great camera. I have a 3.1 megapixel Fuji shirt pocket model as a standby. Indeed, I have appreciated the "Thru the lens" viewfinder idea from my single lens reflex experience, and continue to like it better for best composure of the picture. The 12X optical zoom tops it off, and the viewfinder is absolutely necessary at long zoom, in my opinion.
Existentially, a viewfinder is necessary!!
by prov2001 - 11/29/06 7:34 AM In reply to: Canon S2-S3 by kurtpochertI, too, love my Canon S2...all that zoom, with Image Stabilization, is what I've always wanted. I always use the viewfinder, except for the most odd shot; for ex. in a crowd when I need to hold the camera high over my head.
The viewfinder, for me, connects the photographer to the subject; it "zones out" everything else and creates an intimacy. It reduces the environment to "the two of us".
The viewfinder, for me, is absolutely necessary for the contemplative aspect of the photo-taking experience.
(The S2 IS not a shirt-pocket camera, so I'm looking for one of those, with a view-finder, for those "arrgghh!! I wish I had my camera with me" moments.)
"CONTEMPLATE" TAKING PICTURES... "INTIMACY"?
by gah2 - 11/29/06 1:14 PM In reply to: Existentially, a viewfinder is necessary!! by prov2001NOTHING CHANGES WHERE YOU TAKE A PICTURE WITH A VIEWFINDER OR LCD SCREEN. LEAVE THE INTIMACY WITH YOUR SIGNIFICANT OTHER. TAKE PICTURES W "REALISM".
Love Optical
by snaredrum - 11/29/06 6:23 AM In reply to: Optical viewfinder, always! by miniladI stick with the optical viewfinder almost all of the time. It's always better in sunny situations, while vastly increasing my battery life. Besides, I'll see the picture later anyway on my PC.
Optical Viewfinders are necessary
by kstebleton - 11/29/06 1:07 PM In reply to: Love Optical by snaredrumI love the LCD screen on my point-n-shoot camera, but the optical viewfinder is my ONLY option in strong sunlight. For me, that's enough said.
I do like the overlaid info available on my LCD, and I love being able to review a snap, but that optical VF is essential!
Viewfinder required :)
by readnwrit - 11/30/06 4:16 AM In reply to: Optical Viewfinders are necessary by kstebletonI too want to say "ditto" to the post above. My recent search and purchase for a new digital camera included 3 requirements: a viewfinder; optical zoon over 3x; and pocketability. My experience with cameras without viewfinders showed me that in bright light it was nearly impossible to see what you were capturing.
Optical viewfinder, always!
by hstyles - 11/29/06 7:44 AM In reply to: Optical viewfinder, always! by miniladI could not have said it better myself. In fact, all I can say in response to your posting is "Ditto."
LCD vs VF
by tajackso - 11/29/06 10:56 AM In reply to: Optical viewfinder, always! by miniladI find the LCD very difficult to use when the sunlight is quite bright. Don't have a VF, but at times have wished for one.....
OVF's
by wrighttom - 11/30/06 10:57 AM In reply to: Optical viewfinder, always! by miniladI definitely wouldn't be without an optical viewfinder period. Oh yes I do from time to time rough-line my compose when in appropriate places but I would guess 80-90% of my composing has been done using the OVF. Knowing my OVF (Canon S30) has limitations I know which way to go in composing with some zoom.
The LCD is very good but given light conditions in bright situations I find it so much easier to have camera at-my-eye and I can see what I am about to snap. That also assists me in stabalizing the camera somewhat.
I normally run with my LCD on; if I'm in a situation where battery power is questionable that is when I power down the LCD. My problem right now is my camera is 4-5 years old and my two (2) propriatary (for uninitiated special packaged batteries versus a AA or AAA battery) batteries are coming to the point I don't get a great charge out of them. With the cost of each in vicinity of $80 that money will be better used toward a Canon A710 I'm eyeing with relatively modest price of the required Ni_mh AA batteries.
As for LCD size, it matters naught to me as long as I can have a screen in the 2"+ range I'm happy. That size at least gives me a 'preview' of my picture and enough information to make the 'do I take it over' decision!!
I've played with cameras that have the 'built-in' red-eye repair in the camera. I'm not at all impressed with the results as working with such a small LCD doesn't allow me to make the 'repairs' as well as I can using my Paint Shop Pro graphics program. As far as I'm concerned, that feature could be eliminated from the camera and a good solid 'red-eye' removal in the graphics program that comes with the camera purchase.
I can see manufacturers saving a few dollars by eliminating the OVF especially in their 'low' end cameras; the majority of 'snappers' never use this feature relying solely on the LCD screen. I just hope they do not eliminate the OVF totally as it does serve a very practical function for those of us who are beyond the 'point-n-shoot level!!
I always use the viewfinder
by paul dexler - 11/28/06 8:42 PM In reply to: How often do you use the viewfinder on your point-and-shoot? by Marc Bennett
I grew up with film cameras that had no choice but a viewfinder. Now, it amuses me to see people holding their cameras at arms length, jiggling so they need expensive image stabilization mechanisims to steady the camera, and trying to see the image on a washed-out screen. When I use the viewfinder, putting the camera up to my eye enables me to steady it against my cheek and forehead. The image remains crisp no matter what the outside lighting conditions, and my batteries don't have the added drain of keeping the screen lit all the time. I find it awkward and downright annoying to take a picture with a camera that has no viewfinder.
By the way, I started with a Baby Brownie Special at age 6, graduated to a Leica and a Nikon by the time I was a teenager, then went on to (film) SLRs. My first digital was an Olympus point-and-shoot, and today I use a Canon dSLR.
The screen is perfect for reviewing the pictures I've shot, and I set it to show me the picture for about 8 seconds after the shot. Then it turns off, preserving battery life.
If you want to be a photographer, use the viewfinder. If you just want snapshots, the screen is OK, but just barely.
"Real" Photographers use Viewfinders! ;-)
by deejayq - 11/29/06 8:20 PM In reply to: I always use the viewfinder by paul dexlerI have to agree with you, Mr. Dexler. As you have, I grew up expecting that I must use the viewfinder as the only mechanism available to me for properly aiming all the (film) cameras I used. I recently, finally, purchased my first digital camera, a Nikon D80 dSLR. With a D80, the LCD screen simply does not work "live" to help you compose your shot. And that doesn't bother me one iota.
Full disclosure: I have used some digital point-and-shoots, all borrowed from my employer or a friend, from a Sony Mavica up through a Nikon PowerShot of recent vintage. And truth be told, I did use the live LCD screens on the backs of them to compose my shots. But shooting at arm's length was hard to get used to for a viewfinder-centric person like me. I didn't hate it, it was just hard to get used to. Once I did get better with it, I found I could do a few things that would be awkward with a viewfinder-only camera, like holding the point & shoot at odd angles or unusual POVs where you'd have trouble contorting your body in order to look through a viewfinder. So the live LCD screens are not without their benefits. But all the drawbacks of the LCDs mentioned in other messages here outweigh those few opportunities to hold the camera at a weird angle or shoot from a direction you wouldn't ordinarily have access to. As I always say, "Your mileage may vary."
So now I have a "real" photographer's camera, a SLR... digital, yes, but SLR none the less. I am back in my comfort zone and it's fine with me. Viewfinders Rule! I love my new Nikon D80!
Seems a silly question...
by lanthier - 11/28/06 8:46 PM In reply to: How often do you use the viewfinder on your point-and-shoot? by Marc Bennett
On my point and shoot (Canon SD550), I mostly use the LCD. The exception is when the sun is bright, and I am shooting outdoors, I often need to use the viewfinder. I strongly believe that there is still a place for a viewfinder. Try composing an outdoor shot on the LCD in bright light without a viewfinder - I can almost guarantee you a lousy shot. No camera should be without a viewfinder if you shoot outdoors in sunny climate. My main camera is a dSLR so I am used to using the viewfinder and would never buy a P&S camera without one - unless they can figure out a way to not wash out LCDs in bright sunlight.
Rich
The Choice Between the Optical Viewfinder and the LCD Screen
by Archie Rabbit - 11/28/06 9:14 PM In reply to: How often do you use the viewfinder on your point-and-shoot? by Marc Bennett
Deriving from personal experience, optical view finders conserve battery life. The more often picture takers use the LCD screen, the faster the drain of the batteries will be. This is specially true for rechargeable batteries, which discharge faster than alkaline cell batteries. Is there such a thing as an external power pack for non-professional little digital cameras?
Archie Rabbit
| Forum legend: | |
 |
Locked thread |
 |
Moderator |
 |
CNET staff |
 |
Samsung staff |
 |
Norton Authorized Support team |
 |
AVG staff |
 |
Windows Outreach team |
 |
Dell staff |
 |
Intel staff |
