Archive 2009 · Electronic Viewfinders - The way of the future?
brainiac Offline [X]
p.4 #1 · Electronic Viewfinders - The way of the future?
mawz wrote:
Note I do shoot stuff that moves and pretty much only use wide apertures with the G1. Lag is an issue, resolution simply is not in practice. The only issues I've had with getting accurate focus in the G1 finder without magnification have been with slower wide-angles (just too much DoF).
My primary shooting environment for the G1 these days is in bars, primarily in low-light. Shooting people. Frankly, very similar stuff to what you do, just slightly better light. My biggest problems are the bit of VF lag and the ISO 3200 limit on the G1 (I tend to run out of shutter speed before anything else)....Show more →
Interesting. I am teetering on getting the GF1/20mm. You're not helping my resolve.
p.4 #2 · Electronic Viewfinders - The way of the future?
brainiac wrote:
Interesting. I am teetering on getting the GF1/20mm. You're not helping my resolve.
Note the GF1 EVF is not close to the same class as the G1's, I'd say it likely doesn't have enough resolution for wide-aperture shooting. The rear LCD will have enough resolution for many uses. That combo isn't going to beat your current setup in anything other than size.
I'm considering that package as well, but if I do get it, the 20's going on the G1 as a fast normal to match with whatever fast tele I'm using and the much smaller M.Zuiko 17 will end up on the GF1 as a pocketcam.
Oct 17, 2009 at 07:27 AM
brainiac Offline [X]
p.4 #3 · Electronic Viewfinders - The way of the future?
mawz wrote:
Note the GF1 EVF is not close to the same class as the G1's, I'd say it likely doesn't have enough resolution for wide-aperture shooting.
Is that a limitation of the evf itself, of of the bus? IOW, is it possible that the GF1 will be compatible with a future evf which is higher rez?
>I'm considering that package as well, but if I do get it, the 20's going on the G1 as a fast normal to match with whatever fast tele I'm using and the much smaller M.Zuiko 17 will end up on the GF1 as a pocketcam.
Interesting ideas. I thought that the GF1/20 were quite big when I tried them, but the nice thing is that you can unmount the lens to put each part in a separate coat pocket.
p.4 #4 · Electronic Viewfinders - The way of the future?
brainiac wrote:
Is that a limitation of the evf itself, of of the bus? IOW, is it possible that the GF1 will be compatible with a future evf which is higher rez?
EVF at a minimum, it's only 220k. I don't know if the bus is up to delivering a higher-res feed although I suspect it is (Panasonic was working on a G1-based external EVF for the GF1 until late in the dev cycle where they went for what's essentially a rebadged Ricoh GX EVF)
Interesting ideas. I thought that the GF1/20 were quite big when I tried them, but the nice thing is that you can unmount the lens to put each part in a separate coat pocket.
The 20 is just about the largest lens I've seen called a pancake. The 17 is just about the smallest. The GF1/20 is coat-pocketable for me, but my coat has big pockets (There's a Pentax ZX-M with 55/2 in one right now). I'd say the GF1/17 is quite pocketable a setup for normal pockets, the 20 means the 2-pocket setup you mention.
p.4 #5 · Electronic Viewfinders - The way of the future?
I was thinking, with the electronic viewfinder technology out now, wouldn't it be great if someone developed a hot shoe mounted external electronic viewfinder for the traditional d/SLR!
It could be connected either though the video output, or HDMI slots that are available on all d/SLR cameras, and should output the same image you would get from the cameras live view mode. The viewfinders could also be mounted on custom brackets, or be designed like the viewfinders you get on pro video cameras.
Do you think this kind of product would be developed for the d/SLR Cinematographer? And would you buy such a product if it was available?
p.4 #6 · Electronic Viewfinders - The way of the future?
One of the benefits of the viewfinders for the Ricoh, Panasonic and Olympus systems is that they're powered from the body. Similar accessory EVFs for camera not designed for use with them would be hindered by the battery pack supplying power to them.
I've said this many times so far, so sorry if I'm sounding like a broken record, but for my GF1 I'm simply not interested in an EVF at this point. The LCD is quite good, and in situations where it poses problems (capturing action), I use it for framing, look past it and use my vision to time the shots. I find it quite liberating not having your face squashed up against an oily viewfinder all the time.
p.4 #7 · Electronic Viewfinders - The way of the future?
Sam Bennett wrote:
The LCD is quite good, and in situations where it poses problems (capturing action), I use it for framing, look past it and use my vision to time the shots. I find it quite liberating not having your face squashed up against an oily viewfinder all the time.
I used this technique last weekend while using the GF1 for some shooting at one of my dog sports events. This is sort of the ultimate in timing, and so responsiveness is very, very important. I could get by with the GF1, but it wasn't pretty. Much, much more difficult to time this kind of shot than with the D700 (well, duh).
Bottom line is that there's no way I would try doing this at an event where I was under a lot of pressure for getting every shot. There's just too much re-wiring that has to go on in your brain to switch between the highly-responsive D700 and the laggy GF1. If you only shot with the GF1, you could probably get to the point where you could anticipate shots like this, but... uphill battle. I'd rather us the right tool for the job.
But anyway... the point ultimately is that if you want to capture action - try using the GF1's LCD for framing/focus confirmation and then look "past" the LCD for timing, keeping the framing in your peripheral vision.
