electronic viewfinder vs optical viewfinder

Sports, people, and candids are some general areas where seeing directly through the camera just makes more sense to me. However for most common photographic subjects, I still prefer the optical viewfinder. Live-view on DSLRs complements the optical viewfinder for these and many other shooting situations. It performs the 3D to 2D conversion in real-time, making it easier for photographers to see the results of their compositional choices. Live-view LCDs are appearing on DSLRs as engineers overcome the challenge of designing such a system while maintaining the traditional optical system.Īs I point out in my upcoming review of the Olympus EVOLT E-510 DSLR, live-view is very useful for tripod mounted shooting of subjects from formal portraits to landscapes to macro work. And now with live-view capabilities appearing in several models from different manufacturers, it’s easy to expect that most DSLRs will offer this functionality in the future. On the other hand, DSLRs are tough to beat for speed, quality, and versatility.

They combine almost all the qualities we want for general imaging purposes. In a way, consumer cameras have an advantage over DSLRs in their size, weight, and LCD screens. Compared to an optical viewfinder, compact camera LCDs display far more information about control settings and provide other useful feedback such as the histogram. They typically exclude any optical viewfinder (that’s why they’re compact!) or they come with a viewfinder of limited practical use. So why not use the screen for framing full-time?Ĭompact consumer cameras (point-and-shoots) do exactly this. If there is some compositional problem present, it’s pretty obvious on the screen. Casual and serious photographers alike find that this immediate feedback aids the development of “photographic seeing.” Put another way, digital playback performs the visual 3D to 2D conversion for you, simplifying if not eliminating this mental process. We all know that regardless of the camera type, digital enables us to playback the image immediately after capture. But as digital cameras improve, DSLR users may have the best of both worlds. Unfortunately, one size doesn’t fit all: our choices, such as they are, are limited by the type of camera we use and the type of photography we do. Is one better than the other? Do we have a choice? While each individual varies in their ability to visualize, I believe that this skill is greatly influenced by our camera framing technology–you know, those high tech camera features known as the optical viewfinder or the LCD monitor. One of the trickiest skills photographers learn is the ability to mentally convert the world they see from three dimensions to a two-dimensional plane (such as a print).

Electronic viewfinder vs optical viewfinder