I purposely abstained from commenting on this rant, but think that Bob's
message below is a fantastic summary of what I think the purpose of the
viewfinder should be.
BTW, it is prolly pointless to point out the benefits of a large display that
you can stare at with two eyes instead peeping through a hole and most
importantly that if you look through an optical viewfinder, you don't have an
idea what the exposure is, except that the camera tells you that it is going to
take a picture using certain speed and aperture, thus severely limiting your
creativity.
My Yashika D does not have a lightmeter. Back in the film days, I used a
handheld meter with that camera and once the one in my OM1 died, I started
using it at all time. Then I got lazier and started to use the directions
inside the carton that my film cartridge came in with somewhat limited
success. I then came across a wonderful post by John Lindt about properly
exposing film and quickly applied his skills on the field and got fantastic
results. Within a very short time, I was able to select the proper combination
of an f-stop and shutter speed after performing in my head numerous trades in a
matter of seconds that would give me for example the best cloud detail, while
preserving the overall picture quality etc. etc... I even became an expert of
properly under and overexposing pictures in order to achieve the desired mood.
But do you know what? It was still and educated guess...One can easily develop
these skills, but why, when we have the technology which helps us avoid the
uncertainty and frustration after you realize that the moment is gone. On the
flip side, the lightmeters in our cameras make educated guesses too.
Unfortunately, as of today, only one manufacturer can give you this amazing
tool. No, it is not Nikon, it is not Canon either, yes I have checked the
cameras from all the major players Olympus/Panasonic isnt either.
Seriously, I find my small articulating LCD on my A200 much more useful than
the viewfinder of my OM1 as I can see in real time how each individual object
in my picture is exposed or over/under exposed and by how much, what my
composition is just the way someone else would see it once it is printed: Most
likely from a distance first and then a little bit closer, using both eyes of
course....:)
There you go, Bob. Look what you did: I once again got carried away, because
of you...:)
Best
Boris
Subject: Re: [OM] EVF Rant (Was: For Ken: finally an E1 upgrade)
From: Bob Whitmire <bwhitmire@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Date: Tue, 28 Aug 2012 08:04:34 -0400
Most of the time I see the photograph before I even lift the camera. (Too often
I see the photograph and have no camera to lift. <g>) Then the viewfinder
becomes a framing device, as you note. Very infrequently do I use the
viewfinder for the actual recognition and composition. I suppose the type of
viewfinder wouldn't matter to me so much, all things considered. That said, I'm
currently using a nice Nikon with a 100-percent view, fully optical viewfinder
that is exceptionally nice. <g> But then again I also use my itty-bitty Canon
G-12, using the LCD on the back for framing, and that works, too. --Bob
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