Optical viewfinders have been eclipsed

Using the 10x Live View mode on the Olympus cameras now allows more
precise focusing than an optical viewfinder can provide. In some
cases with fast long lenses, the difference between precise focus and
moderately precise focus could be as little as a small fraction of a
mm in a turn of a manual focus ring on a lens. With modern 2.5" LCD
screens and the 10x magnification, there is never any doubt about the
focus point. It also has the additional benefit of amplifying the
light level if you are focusing under dim lighting conditions.

I wish somebody would eclipse you...

--
John Bean

On Jul 11, 2:04 pm, John Bean wrote:
I wish somebody would eclipse you...

--
John Bean

You and the cabal on dpreview doing your best for God, country and
Olympus?

On Wed, 11 Jul 2007 12:26:15 -0700, RichA
wrote:

On Jul 11, 2:04 pm, John Bean wrote:
I wish somebody would eclipse you...

You and the cabal on dpreview doing your best for God, country and
Olympus?

Rich, don't be a ****wit all your life, give yourself a day
off.

--
John Bean

"RichA" wrote in message
oups.com...
Using the 10x Live View mode on the Olympus cameras now allows more
precise focusing than an optical viewfinder can provide. In some
cases with fast long lenses, the difference between precise focus and
moderately precise focus could be as little as a small fraction of a
mm in a turn of a manual focus ring on a lens. With modern 2.5" LCD
screens and the 10x magnification, there is never any doubt about the
focus point. It also has the additional benefit of amplifying the
light level if you are focusing under dim lighting conditions.
The question I have is...
Have you ever used either?
Have you ever used Olympus live view to manually focus on an object? If your
saying it "eclipses" the optical viewfinder, then I'm guessing you've never
used it. If you had used olympus live view on the E410 or E510, you'd know
about the 1-2 second shutter lag when using live view, which makes it
completely useless except for a small number of circumstances where you have
a completely static subject. This makes it good for stuff like macro work,
landscapes, product shots etc, but useless for stuff like portraits,
wildlife, sports, etc. And since you talk about precise focussing with long,
fast lenses, how frequently do you use a long, fast lenses to take photos of
completely static objects?

On Jul 11, 12:39 pm, RichA wrote:
Using the 10x Live View mode on the Olympus cameras now allows more
precise focusing than an optical viewfinder can provide. In some
cases with fast long lenses, the difference between precise focus and
moderately precise focus could be as little as a small fraction of a
mm in a turn of a manual focus ring on a lens. With modern 2.5" LCD
screens and the 10x magnification, there is never any doubt about the
focus point. It also has the additional benefit of amplifying the
light level if you are focusing under dim lighting conditions.


Wow do you even think this stuff through?

Why do they put optical view finders on P&S cameras? Because if you
are out on a bright day an LCD viewfinder is pretty much useless.
Removing the viewfinder on a SLR would be foolish. Even if they did
manage to make an LCD bright enough to handle an extremely bright day
- it would SUCK batteries dry in no time.

Maybe Olympus should fix their autofocus algorithm instead of coming
up with new ways for people to go back to manual focus. Yes I know
with long lenses AF can be a problem on most systems - but I'd rather
the camera manufacturers figure out how to fix that then to try and
make us do the focusing. I'd rather spend time composing the picture
than focusing my images.

Another thing - your comment about the difference between almost in
focus and "precise" focus being only a fraction of a millimetre off -
even if I can zoom using an LCD that is not going to change things.
Instead, the camera manufactures could learn from their microscope
divisions (Olympus, Nikon, Leica all make nice scopes) and give us two
focus rings - one for "gross focus" and another for "detailed focus".

Bates....

On Jul 11, 5:38 pm, Bates wrote:
On Jul 11, 12:39 pm, RichA wrote:

Using the 10x Live View mode on the Olympus cameras now allows more
precise focusing than an optical viewfinder can provide. In some
cases with fast long lenses, the difference between precise focus and
moderately precise focus could be as little as a small fraction of a
mm in a turn of a manual focus ring on a lens. With modern 2.5" LCD
screens and the 10x magnification, there is never any doubt about the
focus point. It also has the additional benefit of amplifying the
light level if you are focusing under dim lighting conditions.

Wow do you even think this stuff through?

Why do they put optical view finders on P&S cameras? Because if you
are out on a bright day an LCD viewfinder is pretty much useless.

I have no problem with a non-though the lens finder on a DSLR. Just
like a rangefinder.

Removing the viewfinder on a SLR would be foolish. Even if they did
manage to make an LCD bright enough to handle an extremely bright day
- it would SUCK batteries dry in no time.

Funny, I can run the E-330 for hours using the LCD for macro and that
doesn't happen.


Maybe Olympus should fix their autofocus algorithm instead of coming
up with new ways for people to go back to manual focus.

It's not as fast as Canon or Nikon but it is FAR more accurate and far
less often "confused."
But, with the E-3 coming, the claim is the fastest AF available. I'd
rather have accurate.

Yes I know
with long lenses AF can be a problem on most systems - but I'd rather
the camera manufacturers figure out how to fix that then to try and
make us do the focusing. I'd rather spend time composing the picture
than focusing my images.

Another thing - your comment about the difference between almost in
focus and "precise" focus being only a fraction of a millimetre off -
even if I can zoom using an LCD that is not going to change things.
Instead, the camera manufactures could learn from their microscope
divisions (Olympus, Nikon, Leica all make nice scopes) and give us two
focus rings - one for "gross focus" and another for "detailed focus".

Bates....

Be good if it was selectable, those last slow few milliseconds would
bother some people.

Great, wonderful for rapaid shooting or moving targets. For everyone else
there is real cameras with real viewfinders, oh soory you bought Olypus, bad
luck.

"RichA" wrote in message
oups.com...
Using the 10x Live View mode on the Olympus cameras now allows more
precise focusing than an optical viewfinder can provide. In some
cases with fast long lenses, the difference between precise focus and
moderately precise focus could be as little as a small fraction of a
mm in a turn of a manual focus ring on a lens. With modern 2.5" LCD
screens and the 10x magnification, there is never any doubt about the
focus point. It also has the additional benefit of amplifying the
light level if you are focusing under dim lighting conditions.

On Jul 11, 5:35 pm, "Doug Jewell" wrote:
"RichA" wrote in message

oups.com... Using the 10x Live View mode on the Olympus cameras now allows more
precise focusing than an optical viewfinder can provide. In some
cases with fast long lenses, the difference between precise focus and
moderately precise focus could be as little as a small fraction of a
mm in a turn of a manual focus ring on a lens. With modern 2.5" LCD
screens and the 10x magnification, there is never any doubt about the
focus point. It also has the additional benefit of amplifying the
light level if you are focusing under dim lighting conditions.

The question I have is...
Have you ever used either?
Have you ever used Olympus live view to manually focus on an object? If your
saying it "eclipses" the optical viewfinder, then I'm guessing you've never
used it. If you had used olympus live view on the E410 or E510, you'd know
about the 1-2 second shutter lag when using live view, which makes it
completely useless except for a small number of circumstances where you have
a completely static subject.

Small number of circumstances? Depends on what you shoot.
But I am referring to primarily static subjects or ones that if they
are moving, are not moving over large distances.
For macro, the E-330s live view 10x and articulated LCD simply cannot
be beat.

"John Bean" wrote in message
...
On Wed, 11 Jul 2007 12:26:15 -0700, RichA
wrote:

On Jul 11, 2:04 pm, John Bean wrote:
I wish somebody would eclipse you...

You and the cabal on dpreview doing your best for God, country and
Olympus?

Rich, don't be a ****wit all your life, give yourself a day
off.

--
John Bean

John,

Be fair, the Olys viewfinders are that bad that anything will help. For
those with real cameras it just isn't needed.