Though improved drastically over old versions, the refresh rate of an electric viewfinder still lags a little. And by removing the mirror, it’s easier, physically, to increase the shots taken per second.Ĭons: Even with all the bells and whistles, the latest and greatest EVFs are often not good enough for many photographers. Remove the need for mirrors, and the camera can be made much smaller, even open the possibility for entirely new shapes and ergonomics. Using an EVF can also change the physical shape of a camera. It’s not just what you see through the viewfinder that’s different. It can show a live preview of white balance settings and simulate shutter speed, among many things. Besides exposure numbers, an EVF can show a live histogram map of the dark-to-light tones in the image. The EVF can also show much more information than an OVF. In the quest for smaller, lighter camera bodies, OVFs are being replaced with their less-bulky digital equivalent, the electronic viewfinder. A final downside of an optical viewfinder is that the mechanisms required to make it work take up space. Also, all autofocus cameras can be a challenge to focus manually while looking through an OVF.

The OVFs on entry-level cameras (sub $1,000) can be a bit dimmer than the ones found on high-end models. Nikon D3100’s viewfinder shows 95% of what the sensor captures. Camera manufacturers will list the percentage of the frame a viewfinder covers in a product’s specs. Cons: Optical viewfinders usually show a smaller portion of a frame than what the final image will actually include, and they can feel a bit like looking through a tunnel. The Canon G12 has an optical viewfinder, which sees through the hole above the lens. And anyone who has tried to use an LCD screen in bright sunlight can appreciate that eye-level viewfinders aren’t affected by reflections. OVFs also save battery since looking through them doesn’t require any charge, and the photographer can take time to compose a shot before turning the camera on. Sports shooters rely on this system to see action immediately and anticipate the kind of timing necessary to capture the right moment. Pros: The advantages of the OVF are that the photographer sees a scene with no time lag, no resolution limits, and with all the clarity the lens and the human eye can produce. The optical viewfinders on point-and-shoot cameras are different in that they don’t show you exactly what the lens sees they look through a separate hole above the lens and show a slightly different view from the final image.

Viewfinder photography definition