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Archive 2013What is your favorite viewing method?
p.1 #1What is your favorite viewing method?
Every time a new camera is about to be announced all sorts of design preferences are voiced, sometimes passionately. and usually relating to sensors, lens compatibility and design, size, weight, focusing method and weight.
But what about the viewing method? Please have your say, I'm curious
Personally I'd rate Leica's design at the top, because it offers the option to upgrade your EVF without having to change your body, the only problem is that I prefer to have my hotshoe available for my flash and triggers. So I'll go with the x-pro1 option.
But what about the viewing method? Please have your say, I'm curious
Personally I'd rate Leica's design at the top, because it offers the option to upgrade your EVF without having to change your body, the only problem is that I prefer to have my hotshoe available for my flash and triggers. So I'll go with the x-pro1 option.
Oct 12, 2013 at 06:47 AM
p.1 #2What is your favorite viewing method?
Where's the "upside down, view camera ground glass" option or "reversed right to left, waist level, reflex ground glass" option?
Seriously, that's a good long list of options there. I'm sure some will have a favorite viewing preference that changes based on what they are shooting.
Seriously, that's a good long list of options there. I'm sure some will have a favorite viewing preference that changes based on what they are shooting.
Oct 12, 2013 at 07:06 AM
p.1 #5What is your favorite viewing method?
Tariq Gibran wrote:
Where's the "upside down, view camera ground glass" option or "reversed right to left, waist level, reflex ground glass" option?
Seriously, that's a good long list of options there. I'm sure some will have a favorite viewing preference that changes based on what they are shooting.
ground glass, reversed idols, WLFs and other nightmares of this sort are all buried under "other" where they belong
Lets see, I think most people dont really care and wont bother to vote.
but for me, one look through a big, bright VF made of optical glass really makes me want to go out and shoot
Mamiya 6 & 7, zeiss ikon ZM, Olympus OM1, that sort of thing
Where's the "upside down, view camera ground glass" option or "reversed right to left, waist level, reflex ground glass" option?
Seriously, that's a good long list of options there. I'm sure some will have a favorite viewing preference that changes based on what they are shooting.
ground glass, reversed idols, WLFs and other nightmares of this sort are all buried under "other" where they belong
Lets see, I think most people dont really care and wont bother to vote.
but for me, one look through a big, bright VF made of optical glass really makes me want to go out and shoot
Mamiya 6 & 7, zeiss ikon ZM, Olympus OM1, that sort of thing
Oct 12, 2013 at 07:21 AM
p.1 #6What is your favorite viewing method?
Makten wrote:
You forgot swiveling screen.
swiv.... what?
it's in "other"
You forgot swiveling screen.
swiv.... what?
it's in "other"
Oct 12, 2013 at 07:23 AM
p.1 #7What is your favorite viewing method?
I prefer a good EVF now for most shooting. A big OVF is better for outdoor shooting, but overall the EVF wins for me. I don't care that much about position. I like the corner EVF for height considerations, but for viewing it matters little to me.
Oct 12, 2013 at 07:48 AM
p.1 #8What is your favorite viewing method?
My favorite viewfinder is unambiguously, with distance, the traditional OVF. However, with my D800 I am so close to the limit of what I can reasonably focus that I would accept an E-M1-style EVF. I sometimes toy with the idea of getting a SmallHD monitor.
Oct 12, 2013 at 08:33 AM
p.1 #9What is your favorite viewing method?
carstenw wrote:
My favorite viewfinder is unambiguously, with distance, the traditional OVF.
Same here, unless I am shooting at ground level or overhead (or some other impossible angle). Then definitely tilting LCD.
My favorite viewfinder is unambiguously, with distance, the traditional OVF.
Same here, unless I am shooting at ground level or overhead (or some other impossible angle). Then definitely tilting LCD.
Oct 12, 2013 at 09:10 AM
p.1 #10What is your favorite viewing method?
carstenw wrote:
... I sometimes toy with the idea of getting a SmallHD monitor.
I used a DP6 this summer for shooting with tilt lenses. I've decided to sell it because the setup and takedown times are too long for me, plus it's pretty cumbersome for field work. It's much easier to deal with in a studio situation. I get along just fine with LiveView on my 1DX and 6D rear LCD screens.
P.S. I prefer a 100% DSLR optical finder, although I'm getting along OK with the X-Pro 1 and X100s EVF displays, too.
... I sometimes toy with the idea of getting a SmallHD monitor.
I used a DP6 this summer for shooting with tilt lenses. I've decided to sell it because the setup and takedown times are too long for me, plus it's pretty cumbersome for field work. It's much easier to deal with in a studio situation. I get along just fine with LiveView on my 1DX and 6D rear LCD screens.
P.S. I prefer a 100% DSLR optical finder, although I'm getting along OK with the X-Pro 1 and X100s EVF displays, too.
Oct 12, 2013 at 09:42 AM
p.1 #11What is your favorite viewing method?
I´m already watching a monitor when I process my photographs. I want to see something of reality when making my pictures.
A matte glass waistlevel viewfinder or like on the large format cameras the matte glass back is awesome, but a good optical TTL viewfinder has my preference over any type of digital solution. Don´t need to synthesize this creative process any further IMO
A matte glass waistlevel viewfinder or like on the large format cameras the matte glass back is awesome, but a good optical TTL viewfinder has my preference over any type of digital solution. Don´t need to synthesize this creative process any further IMO
Oct 12, 2013 at 10:03 AM
p.1 #12What is your favorite viewing method?
jcolwell wrote:
I used a DP6 this summer for shooting with tilt lenses. I've decided to sell it because the setup and takedown times are too long for me, plus it's pretty cumbersome for field work. It's much easier to deal with in a studio situation. I get along just fine with LiveView on my 1DX and 6D rear LCD screens.
P.S. I prefer a 100% DSLR optical finder, although I'm getting along OK with the X-Pro 1 and X100s EVF displays, too.
Yeah, the DP6 is rather large. I was thinking more of the DP4-EVF:
http://www.smallhd.com/products/dp4-evf/index.html
What I really want is to be able to judge focus while seeing the whole image in an as realistic as possible preview. Minor colour inaccuracies are not an issues, the eye adjusts quickly enough, but the DR should be decent. The DP4-EVF seems awesome for this, and when I am on location, I would imagine that I could simply leave the camera on the tripod, the EVF on the camera, as I walk from spot to spot? It weighs about the same as an SB-900.
Can you explain your setup procedure so I can get an idea of what is cumbersome about it?
carstenw wrote
... I sometimes toy with the idea of getting a SmallHD monitor.P.S. I prefer a 100% DSLR optical finder, although I'm getting along OK with the X-Pro 1 and X100s EVF displays, too.
Yeah, the DP6 is rather large. I was thinking more of the DP4-EVF:
http://www.smallhd.com/products/dp4-evf/index.html
What I really want is to be able to judge focus while seeing the whole image in an as realistic as possible preview. Minor colour inaccuracies are not an issues, the eye adjusts quickly enough, but the DR should be decent. The DP4-EVF seems awesome for this, and when I am on location, I would imagine that I could simply leave the camera on the tripod, the EVF on the camera, as I walk from spot to spot? It weighs about the same as an SB-900.
Can you explain your setup procedure so I can get an idea of what is cumbersome about it?
Oct 12, 2013 at 10:15 AM
p.1 #13What is your favorite viewing method?
i really like the off center/side EVF that the NEX has given us. A little let down with the (almost certainly true) rumors of the A7's finder placement- but i'll get over it.
Oct 12, 2013 at 11:06 AM
p.1 #14What is your favorite viewing method?
Has any manufacturer ever made a hybrid SLR/TTL OVF with an on demand EVF option? The only thing I can think of that's close is the Fuji Hybrid direct view OVF with EVF. I can imagine situations though where a Hybrid 100% accurate TTL OVF with an optional, on-demand EVF would be handy.
Oct 12, 2013 at 12:48 PM
p.1 #15What is your favorite viewing method?
I can't say that I care too much about what type of VF the camera is equipped with, if it works good. An optical, large and reasonably bright SLR viewfinder like in the OM-1 or the 45° Hasselblad prism (which is just fantastic compared to anything else I've tried), is really nice and good for manual focusing unless the light is low. But when light gets low, a rangefinder is much more accurate and bright. Too bad it gives parallax error and doesn't allow strict compositions.
The best compromise would be an EVF, even if the image will never get as good as the best OVF:s. A tilting screen is my second choice.
For AF use, I'd choose SLR, but I don't like AF.
The best compromise would be an EVF, even if the image will never get as good as the best OVF:s. A tilting screen is my second choice.
For AF use, I'd choose SLR, but I don't like AF.
Oct 12, 2013 at 01:06 PM
p.1 #16What is your favorite viewing method?
I wonder how many of those who said they preferred and OVF meant "If I could have an actually-useful-for-wide-aperture-focusing OVF from 30 years ago, I'd prefer that to today's EVFs. And if those people would still vote OVF if they were limited to the for-framing-only ones that are actually available today.
Oct 12, 2013 at 02:12 PM
p.1 #17What is your favorite viewing method?
I do prefer the older ones, tunes for manual focus, but even with my D800, I still prefer OVFs. So I guess I am not in your set.
Oct 12, 2013 at 02:26 PM
p.1 #18What is your favorite viewing method?
'I´m already watching a monitor when I process my photographs. I want to see something of reality when making my pictures.'
Images *are screen objects*, the best way to get what you want (assuming you want the best from your images) is to use a (EVF) screen to finetune the (screen viewable) image re:
WB, exposure, 'brightness' of capture objects, exposure comp, bokeh setting, OOF grading, DoF, actual focus (stationary or zone), colour treatment, histogram data distribution, levelling, adjust menu settings and review images just shot. You can switch them all off if you want to fly blind, but don't try switching them all on with an OVF.
Camera stays at your eye, even for menu diving. You see what the end image will be, what it will actually be - repeated for emphasis as it is so important a point. People seem to use LCDs - well, EVFs are visually supercharged LCDs.
I picked the RX1 option as the swivel is great for virtual waist level finder shooting. And centre means better bracing of elbows and 'face comfort'.
Images *are screen objects*, the best way to get what you want (assuming you want the best from your images) is to use a (EVF) screen to finetune the (screen viewable) image re:
WB, exposure, 'brightness' of capture objects, exposure comp, bokeh setting, OOF grading, DoF, actual focus (stationary or zone), colour treatment, histogram data distribution, levelling, adjust menu settings and review images just shot. You can switch them all off if you want to fly blind, but don't try switching them all on with an OVF.
Camera stays at your eye, even for menu diving. You see what the end image will be, what it will actually be - repeated for emphasis as it is so important a point. People seem to use LCDs - well, EVFs are visually supercharged LCDs.
I picked the RX1 option as the swivel is great for virtual waist level finder shooting. And centre means better bracing of elbows and 'face comfort'.
Oct 12, 2013 at 03:02 PM
p.1 #19What is your favorite viewing method?
I was saddened the other day to read a post by a guy new to RF cameras who discovered how his Leica M wanted him to focus a 90mm lens using that tiny little spot in the optical RF finder.
The advice he got was classic and better suited to a religious ritual than a camera: 'you get better with practice, keep practicing'. That same lens on an A7r with EVF would be so good to use..first time, every time - focus magnification right off the sensor. Saves your attention for actual photography - not working around some contraption that belongs deep in the past when they had nothing better.
EVFs will only get better but will RFs or OVFs? No, of course not. Using them in low light is like photographing in a crypt while wearing dark sunglasses. Maybe your (crutch) AF saves the day! No AF? - oh.
The advice he got was classic and better suited to a religious ritual than a camera: 'you get better with practice, keep practicing'. That same lens on an A7r with EVF would be so good to use..first time, every time - focus magnification right off the sensor. Saves your attention for actual photography - not working around some contraption that belongs deep in the past when they had nothing better.
EVFs will only get better but will RFs or OVFs? No, of course not. Using them in low light is like photographing in a crypt while wearing dark sunglasses. Maybe your (crutch) AF saves the day! No AF? - oh.
Oct 12, 2013 at 03:12 PM
p.1 #20What is your favorite viewing method?
evf top left corner. no question! frees up my left eye and my nose. evfs have an easy win over any OVF made for a digital camera. being able to nail focus every time and see actual dof and framing is priceless. i really enjoy being able to compose in b&w too. OVF from pro slrs 30 years ago were slightly better in bright noontime sun, but the difference isn't huge (and there were still tradeoffs). i never shoot in the bright noontime sun though, so it's totally academic for me – 95% of my shooting is around sunrise/sunset or indoors.
Oct 12, 2013 at 04:00 PM