[ BBBBug ] - Olympus VF3 viewfinder
- Thread starter jlpk007
- Start date
Beside manual focus when you are shooting outdoor under strong sun light looking at the LCD screen may not always give you a good view this is when the EVF become useful.May I know whats the use of EVF? Cos i search webby, mostly said it used for manual focus.
If I'm using auto focus mainly, so it would be useless?
Please correct me if I'm wrongly info.
thanks!
I have the same experience.
I have problem viewing the LCD under strong sunlight ... LED screen may not have this problem.
tomcat
Senior Member
Nope... Same problem. The OLED screen of the EP3 was just as difficult to view under strong sunlight to me.
cannedpineapples
New Member
May I know whats the use of EVF? Cos i search webby, mostly said it used for manual focus.
If I'm using auto focus mainly, so it would be useless?
Please correct me if I'm wrongly info.
thanks!
Some people like it for stability; some people like it for manual focus; some people like it because they can't see the LCD in bright light.
Having used LCDs all my life (P&S upgrader), I'm perfectly happy with my LCD. I also like that with my EP3 I can press the screen to take candid shots real quick. If I had a swivel screen I imagine that might also be a good reason to not use the EVF. Plus, LCD photographers tend to be ignored more than DSLR photographers putting a big camera to their eye.
The only thing that might make me change my stance is stability. But then again, to improve stability, maybe a tripod is a better idea.
Resolution is one main difference.
My view is that, for such a small LCD, different in number of pixel don't really matters.
Might as well save the money for other stuffs.
Note: I did not tried VF-2 before, so cannot make good comparison ... but I won't spend more for that minute different.
My view is that, for such a small LCD, different in number of pixel don't really matters.
Might as well save the money for other stuffs.
Note: I did not tried VF-2 before, so cannot make good comparison ... but I won't spend more for that minute different.
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tomcat
Senior Member
You should try out the VF2 and VF3 side-by-side like jamestan75 did and see for yourself if the differences are substantial enough to sway you one way or the other.
The specs alone are very telling already:
VF2 1.15x Magnification 1440K dots resolution
VF3 0.97x Magnification 920K dots resolution
Looking through the VF2, you cannot make out any dots at all and to many people, it's just like looking through an optical viewfinder. The resolution of VF3 is only 64% that of VF2. Most likely you will be able to discern the dots that make up the image.
Because of the lower resolution, the magnification of the VF3 is also deliberately designed to be <1.0 so that the image would look smaller and further away and the dots would not be so obvious. The resolution of the VF2 is so good that Olympus dare to magnify the image to 1.15x and even then we cannot see the individual dots. A larger image is of course much better for manual focusing especially if coupled with a high resolution display.
tomcat said:
Nicely summarized!
I would think vf2 is great for manual focusing purpose which is niche market, vf3 could be target for more mass market which is good enough for use with native lenses in daytime. I would think the difference is manual focus lens, there's a shimmering when use with vf2 at certain conditions which also helps in focusing, I wonder if vf3 will have that. A test of both at the next meetup may reveal that perhaps.
I think if EVF is needed, it seems to go against the idea of a mirrorless system. If you encounter a fair number of situations where you really need the EVF, then a prism is needed. The EVF is a poor substitute for a prism. It's not just about resolution, but the response speed as well. Of course, for static images, it is alright.
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tomcat
Senior Member
People buy a mirrorless system because they want a small-sized system camera. While a prism and optical viewfinder may be preferred over an EVF because of the image quality, you can't remove it to make the camera smaller and lighter when you don't need it. With an EVF with high resolution and fast screen refresh rate like the VF2, the difference between EVF and optical viewfinder narrows to very acceptable levels. You really do need to try the VF2 to see for yourself the image quality. It is that good.
http://www.photocitizen.com/reviews/olympus-vf-2-electronic-viewfinder-hands-on-review/
And one feature that an optical viewfinder can never, ever do as compared to a good EVF like the VF2 is the ability to zoom in to the part of the scene that you want to check on and finetune the manual focusing accurately and absolutely. Most entry level and many semi-pro DSLRs do not even give the user 1x magnification or full coverage through the optical viewfinder.
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People buy a mirrorless system because they want a small-sized system camera. While a prism and optical viewfinder may be preferred over an EVF because of the image quality, you can't remove it to make the camera smaller and lighter when you don't need it. With an EVF with high resolution and fast screen refresh rate like the VF2, the difference between EVF and optical viewfinder narrows to very acceptable levels. You really do need to try the VF2 to see for yourself the image quality. It is that good.
http://www.photocitizen.com/reviews/olympus-vf-2-electronic-viewfinder-hands-on-review/
And one feature that an optical viewfinder can never, ever do as compared to a good EVF like the VF2 is the ability to zoom in to the part of the scene that you want to check on and finetune the manual focusing accurately and absolutely. Most entry level and many semi-pro DSLRs do not even give the user 1x magnification or full coverage through the optical viewfinder.
To add on, changes to settings (exposure/WB) is reflected immediately before shutter is pressed, can even see histogram and adjust accordingly. So it's easier to 1 shot 1 kill. The only big minus about EVF is that it drains battery.
cimman said:
I agree with Tomcat. The eve on Olympus is very good. Nearly if not better than a prism. If u try panny evf u will the all evf are crap. In any case I have learnt that a very good LCD screen can reduce a need for evf. The only reason now for evf for me is to use it for stealth shots or for shooting low..
tomcat
Senior Member
It's also very useful for old foggies (like me) who are getting long-sighted with old age and need reading glasses to even see the LCD screen clearly.
It's also very useful for old foggies (like me) who are getting long-sighted with old age and need reading glasses to even see the LCD screen clearly.
haha...
