EVF free

I was going to write a long piece here, but realise I have said it all before:

Rangefound: A room with a view?

Honestly, my views haven't changed since I wrote that. Count me in the EVF camp, and preferably optical.

Just read your blog post. Brilliant, and absolutely on the mark. I'm one of the arms lengthers and blind as a bat in the midday sun so there is no amount of arms length to help me out. I jumped on the X100 because of its VF. I jumped on the Canon G11 for the same reason but the VF in that was pretty tacky. I'll jump on the X-10, and the XS-1 for similar reasons. All have a viewfinder of one kind or another. I have kept my elderly Olympus C760UZ because it has a viewfinder. I'm contemplating selling my F550 because it doesnt, and contemplating buying an addon VF for the GRD3.

I don't mind having an LCD screen and will use it from time to time, even on my DSLR, but I LOVE having the viewfinder, and having the option to choose.
 
The great diversity of opinion expressed in this thread only proves one thing. Yet again. Which is that THERE IS NO RIGHT WAY AND WRONG WAY, EXCEPT FOR YOU! I started shooting with viewfinders many years ago, but also shot with TLRs that I viewed at belly level looking down into them. And I very occasionally shot blind even with my SLR in the '70s. So the transition to LCDs never felt difficult or foreign or like a huge adjustment to me. It felt liberating. And it happend very slowly during my years away from photography when I was shooting my family with whatever cheap point and shoot was around, and they transitioned gradually from viewfinders to LCDs. So did I.

Now I prefer shooting without an eye level finder most of the time. Yet every now and then, I just feel like raising the camera to my eye and its nice to have camera's that give me the option, as long as the option doesn't get in the way. The X100 and X10 finders don't get in the way when I'm not using them. The GH2 finder got in my way big time and I ended up using it way more than I wanted - never bonded with that camera despite its great capabilities. Same thing during my brief time with the A33. The EPL3 is just fine - no finder unless I want it and then I snap it in and its excellent until I don't want it again, which is usually pretty soon. I can't imagine I'd EVER want a finder with the GRD3 and, thus, I don't have one...

The only opinions I object to are people who shoot exclusively with a finder who suggest its the only right way to shoot and there's no benefit to anything else and those who shoot without one who insist THAT's the only right way to do it. I've seen more of the former than the latter, but it can go both ways. Shoot how you like - the only thing most people will ever see and the only thing you'll ever be judged on (even by yourself) is the end result anyway, and how you get there shouldn't matter to anyone else, as long as no people or animals are injured in the process.

-Ray
 
The only opinions I object to are people who shoot exclusively with a finder who suggest its the only right way to shoot and there's no benefit to anything else and those who shoot without one who insist THAT's the only right way to do it. I've seen more of the former than the latter, but it can go both ways. Shoot how you like - the only thing most people will ever see and the only thing you'll ever be judged on (even by yourself) is the end result anyway, and how you get there shouldn't matter to anyone else, as long as no people or animals are injured in the process.

-Ray

Spot on.

I prefer a VF. But it's a preference. Sure, it's based on years of experience, and one about which I have strong feelings - but that's my experience and my photography. I have yet to have someone view my photographs, and then ask "..and did you use a VF or the main LCD screen with this one...".
 
I just want to remind everyone that this ins't about EVF vs LCD. I'm not saying that we've lost sight of that but I know how easily threads can change. I started this thread because I am choosing to use the LCD E-P1 as a challenge to myself. I feel like I use the EVF on my G2 as a bit of a crutch and I see that there is something more elmental about photography that I feel like I am missing and need to explore and the way I am choosing to do that is by putting some limits in what I can do. I have found using this technique has been productive for me in the past.
 
Just thought I'd check back in. I am still going through my library and doing the homework Don assigned me :eek:...and it's great but in the mean time I have also been getting out in my new EVF-less mode and I have a few observations.

6422411423_ae272aa2e7_b.jpg

Past Harvest by dixeyk, on Flickr

1 The LCD in the E-P1 is better than I remember it being. It still is difficult to see in direct light but I am finding it more useable that I would have thought. I added a GGS glass LCD protector to it and I am finding that it SEEEMS to have better contrast and is a bit easier to see than without it but that could also me just trying to justify the purchase.

2. The controls of the E-P1 take a bit of getting used to. That Panasonic thumbwheel spoils you. That said, the E-P1 has enough ability to customize and I'm getting used to it. The E-P1 is also more comfortable to use than my GF2 was and I think primarily because its larger and fits my hand better. In terms of overall performance, I find the E-P1 to be plenty fast. It's not as fast as my G2 or GF2 but really it's fast enough. I don't find myself cursing the heavens because I missed a shot.

3. The biggest surprise is that I am finding the Panasonic 14 and 20 to be both quite at home on the E-P1 (I thought I'd prefer the 20 by a mile). On the 14 I like the framing better, the speed of AF, the closer focusing and size. I like the 20's rendering a bit more and of course its sharper but for whatever reason the 14 and the E-P1 seem to be made for one another. Manually focusing is pretty simple using native glass but legacy glass is another matter. This is where that Panasonic thumbwheel makes a big difference. Right now my G2 is doing legacy lens duty.

4. Finally, I had a student of mine come in and show me their brand new Leica M8.2. It's a beautiful camera but I found myself not nearly as impressed as I thought I would be. The controls are not all that friendly, its heavy as h*ll and I found the VF to be a tad on the dim side. It's not like the VF on the Bessa R (which I know is nowhere as nice as a Leica M film camera). It had a cool CV 50 on it but then again that's easily resolved with m43. Now I won't say that the E-P1 is better than the M8.2 all I will say is that I didn't feel the 2 grand burning a hole in my pocket.
 
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