The difference in viewfinder's

Hi There

Whats the difference between a optical viewfinder and a Electronic
viewfinder (EVF) found in digital camera's.I see most of the ultra zoom
camera's users Evf. Why is that.

Thanks in advance

Jamie

jamie wrote:
Hi There

Whats the difference between a optical viewfinder and a Electronic
viewfinder (EVF) found in digital camera's.I see most of the ultra
zoom camera's users Evf. Why is that.

Thanks in advance

Jamie

The EVF, like the finder in an SLR camera and like the LCD on the back of
many cameras shows exactly what will be taken. An optical finder will
show only an approximation (it is not in the same position as the taking
lens, so there is parallax error), and it would be too expensive to build
a 10:1 optical finder as well as a 10:1 zoom into a camera.

David

"jamie" writes:

Hi There

Whats the difference between a optical viewfinder and a Electronic
viewfinder (EVF) found in digital camera's.I see most of the ultra zoom
camera's users Evf. Why is that.

There are 3 different types of view finder:

1) A optical viewfinder is typically found on 3x zoom cameras. Like the film
point and shoot cameras, this is a separate lens than the camera lens.
Particularly for close objects, this suffers from parallex where it points
to a slightly different location than the camera lens points to. On the
other hand, it is cheap to make.

2) An electronic viewfinder or EVF is typically found on higher zoom cameras.
The viewfinder is a miniture LCD screen that is powered by the sensor. It
is used in high zoom cameras, because it sees though the lens of the
camera. It can be a problem using an EVF in low light, since the sensor
doesn't have enough light to use on a quick basis, and in manual focusing
due to the limited number of pixels in the display. Some EVF's are hard to
use in tracking moving subjects because the refresh rate isn't high enough.

3) A SLR viewfinder uses a mirror or pentaprism to switch light between the
viewfinder and the sensor. You can see exactly what the shot is going to be
(though note most DSLRs that aren't pro-level only have a 90-95% view of the
scene). The downsides are more weight, mirror slap noise (as the mirror
switches between the viewfinder and sensor), and you can't use the LCD for
framing, only reviewing the pictures after you take them.

--
Michael Meissner
email:
http://www.the-meissners.org

Danke - this is good

I am toying with the idea of becoming the owner of a 10X+ optical zoom
camera

My shortlist includes
Fuji
Oly
Panasonic FZ20

Any views out there?

I mean really nitty-gritty personal experience rather than review websites
(good as they are)

Aerticus

"Michael Meissner" wrote in message
...
"jamie" writes:

Hi There

Whats the difference between a optical viewfinder and a Electronic
viewfinder (EVF) found in digital camera's.I see most of the ultra zoom
camera's users Evf. Why is that.

There are 3 different types of view finder:

1) A optical viewfinder is typically found on 3x zoom cameras. Like the
film
point and shoot cameras, this is a separate lens than the camera lens.
Particularly for close objects, this suffers from parallex where it
points
to a slightly different location than the camera lens points to. On the
other hand, it is cheap to make.

2) An electronic viewfinder or EVF is typically found on higher zoom
cameras.
The viewfinder is a miniture LCD screen that is powered by the sensor.
It
is used in high zoom cameras, because it sees though the lens of the
camera. It can be a problem using an EVF in low light, since the sensor
doesn't have enough light to use on a quick basis, and in manual
focusing
due to the limited number of pixels in the display. Some EVF's are hard
to
use in tracking moving subjects because the refresh rate isn't high
enough.

3) A SLR viewfinder uses a mirror or pentaprism to switch light between
the
viewfinder and the sensor. You can see exactly what the shot is going
to be
(though note most DSLRs that aren't pro-level only have a 90-95% view of
the
scene). The downsides are more weight, mirror slap noise (as the mirror
switches between the viewfinder and sensor), and you can't use the LCD
for
framing, only reviewing the pictures after you take them.

--
Michael Meissner
email:
http://www.the-meissners.org

Danke - this is good

I am toying with the idea of becoming the owner of a 10X+ optical zoom
camera

My shortlist includes
Fuji
Oly
Panasonic FZ20

Any views out there?

I mean really nitty-gritty personal experience rather than review websites
(good as they are)

Aerticus

"Michael Meissner" wrote in message
...
"jamie" writes:

Hi There

Whats the difference between a optical viewfinder and a Electronic
viewfinder (EVF) found in digital camera's.I see most of the ultra zoom
camera's users Evf. Why is that.

There are 3 different types of view finder:

1) A optical viewfinder is typically found on 3x zoom cameras. Like the
film
point and shoot cameras, this is a separate lens than the camera lens.
Particularly for close objects, this suffers from parallex where it
points
to a slightly different location than the camera lens points to. On the
other hand, it is cheap to make.

2) An electronic viewfinder or EVF is typically found on higher zoom
cameras.
The viewfinder is a miniture LCD screen that is powered by the sensor.
It
is used in high zoom cameras, because it sees though the lens of the
camera. It can be a problem using an EVF in low light, since the sensor
doesn't have enough light to use on a quick basis, and in manual
focusing
due to the limited number of pixels in the display. Some EVF's are hard
to
use in tracking moving subjects because the refresh rate isn't high
enough.

3) A SLR viewfinder uses a mirror or pentaprism to switch light between
the
viewfinder and the sensor. You can see exactly what the shot is going
to be
(though note most DSLRs that aren't pro-level only have a 90-95% view of
the
scene). The downsides are more weight, mirror slap noise (as the mirror
switches between the viewfinder and sensor), and you can't use the LCD
for
framing, only reviewing the pictures after you take them.

--
Michael Meissner
email:
http://www.the-meissners.org

"David J Taylor" wrote in message
...
jamie wrote:
Hi There

Whats the difference between a optical viewfinder and a Electronic
viewfinder (EVF) found in digital camera's.I see most of the ultra
zoom camera's users Evf. Why is that.

Thanks in advance

Jamie

The EVF, like the finder in an SLR camera and like the LCD on the back of
many cameras shows exactly what will be taken. An optical finder will
show only an approximation (it is not in the same position as the taking
lens, so there is parallax error), and it would be too expensive to build
a 10:1 optical finder as well as a 10:1 zoom into a camera.

David

Except in a DSLR, in which the optical viewfinder shows exactly what is
being shot. Remember, they are optical...
And a rangefinder's optical viewfinder is corrected for parallax, but you're
right, the expense of correcting for a 10X zoom could be prohibitive.

--
Skip Middleton
http://www.shadowcatcherimagery.com

"Aerticus" writes:

Danke - this is good

You are welcome.

I am toying with the idea of becoming the owner of a 10X+ optical zoom
camera

My shortlist includes
Fuji
Oly
Panasonic FZ20

Any views out there?

I mean really nitty-gritty personal experience rather than review websites
(good as they are)

My 10x camera is an Olympus C-2100UZ, and it was last in production 3 years
ago, and I bought it at Olympus's great firesale 2 1/2 years ago for $500
(original prices was something like $1300). I figure I have taken 30,000 or so
images with it (I take a lot of candids in burst mode and a lot of sunsets in
bracket mode so I can pick the best one). Even though it is only a 2 megapixel
camera, I have printed up quite a few pictures at 11x14 that people liked, and
routinely print 8x10's with no editing save cropping for the aspect ratio.
However, unless you can get an Olympus refurb at ebay, you generally have to
get it used with variable quality. One of the features I like about it that
isn't in the later Olympus cameras is the Image Stabalization that helps avoid
camera shake. I have taken pictures at 1/10 second hand held and they came out
good as long as I could get a picture where the subject wasn't moving.

A lot of people feel the Olympus C770 has the best image, but it doesn't have
the stabalization. So unless you are shooting in bright light (rule of thumb
is the shutter speed should be faster than 1/focal length to avoid camera
shake, which means you have to shoot at 1/400 or faster) or are willing to use
a tripod/monopod for long shots, you might want to consider instead one of the
cameras with stabalization.

The Panasonic has a large enthusiastic following for the FZ20. I have three
major and two minor qualms about the camera if I were to think about upgrading
my C-2100UZ.

First, Panasonic is more aggresive about JPEG compression than the C-2100UZ
was, which might hurt picture quality (along with the noise that comes with
packing so many pixels on a small sensor).

Second, the firmware supporting the flash is completely bogus -- if you use
manual mode, which you need for using the flash, the EVF uses the shutter
stopped down to the f/stop selected, which can mean it is impossible to read in
a dark setting (other cameras will use the widest f/stop while using the EVF
and/or add gain to the sensor, possibly showing the picture in black and
white). The usual workarounds are to shoot in aperture priority mode which
doesn't do this and accept a shutter speed of 1/60 or focus in another mode and
switch to manual at the last minute. I also would prefer a TTL flash where the
camera controls the flash, but I can understand the design constraint in a $600
camera by a vendor that doesn't produce flashes.

Third, the memory compartment and tripod screw is completely misdesigned. I
shoot a lot on a flash bracket, and like to shoot events such as renaissance
faires, and the action doesn't stop when I need to switch memory or batteries.
The tripod screw is next to the battery/memory compartment, which prevents a
quick release mechanism when I need to change batteries or memory. In
addition, almost every other camera I've looked at, put the memory slot on the
side, so you can change memory cards when the camera is in the bracket without
taking it out, but not on the FZ20.

My minor qualms are the Panasonic uses lots and lots of menus to change things
rather tha dials/buttons, and it is nice on the C-2100UZ to have lens threads
on the lens itself instead of having to use an adaptor.

The Konica-Minolta Z3 camera from specs looks like a nice camera. It can use a
KM-TTL flash. It is ugly however.

The Canon S1 is another nice camera that people like. It is one of the cheaper
10x+ zoom cameras, and it has stabalization. The usual complaints are it is
'only' 3 megapixels, it has some trouble focusing in low light at high zoom,
and the images are a little 'plasticy' like many of the Canon prosumer cameras
(dunno if you can tone it down). It evidently has the best video mode of the
various cameras.

The Nikon 8800 has a lot of nice features not in the cheaper 10x cameras. It
also has a fatal flaw IMHO -- a rather slow lens at f/5.2 at full telephoto.
This means you won't be able to photograph stuff in low light situations that
you might be able to do with the other cameras.

--
Michael Meissner
email:
http://www.the-meissners.org

Skip M wrote:
[]
Except in a DSLR, in which the optical viewfinder shows exactly what
is being shot. Remember, they are optical...

Not quite. A DSLR, like and SLR, like an LCD, like an EVF shows an
approximation of what is being shot. Typically they say "97%" coverage or
something like that. Only if they claim 100% coverage can you expect them
to be exact. It differs amongst makes and models of cameras, with the
more expensive typically being nearer to 100%.

Cheers,
David

Skip M wrote:
[]
Except in a DSLR, in which the optical viewfinder shows exactly what
is being shot. Remember, they are optical...

Not quite. A DSLR, like and SLR, like an LCD, like an EVF shows an
approximation of what is being shot. Typically they say "97%" coverage or
something like that. Only if they claim 100% coverage can you expect them
to be exact. It differs amongst makes and models of cameras, with the
more expensive typically being nearer to 100%.

Cheers,
David

Aerticus wrote:
Danke - this is good

I am toying with the idea of becoming the owner of a 10X+ optical zoom
camera

My shortlist includes
Fuji
Oly
Panasonic FZ20

Any views out there?

I mean really nitty-gritty personal experience rather than review
websites (good as they are)

Aerticus

We have the FZ20 and it's excellent. It's the only one of the brands you
mention which has image stabilisation, almost essential for such an
extreme zoom.

(Commenting on Michael's points: people recommend turning off the "noise
reduction" to get fewer JPEG compression artefacts, and we see none in
normal use. The flash works fine without using manual. The camera works
well on a tripod - it you need to take the camera off the tripod so what,
just ensure that you have enough memory and battery charge to avoid the
need to remove the camera if that's important).

By the way, there is a new nesgroup devoted to cameras like the FZ20 -
SLR-like cameras. You can find it at: rec.photo.digital.zlr

Cheers,
David