essential skills: digital photography in available light
Konica Minolta A2 and the ‘better-than-the-rest’ 1-megapixel EVF
Samsung Pro 815 and the ‘bigger-than-the-rest’ 235,000 pixel 3.5 inch LCDEVF resolution
When bright sunlight is falling on the LCD screen (making viewing the subject diffi cult or impossible
even with the larger high-contast LCD screens currently available) or when the photographer
requires detailed information to focus, the prosumer digicam user may need to switch to viewing
the scene via the EVF. Cameras such as the Konica Minolta DiMAGE A2 and the Sony DSC-R1
will automatically switch between the two using a proximity sensor that detects when you have
put your eye to the viewfi nder. The other prosumer cameras require a button to be pressed to
switch between the LCD and the EVF. It’s usually at this point where consumer satisfaction with
the digicams starts to falter and wane. What the meticulous photographer would expect from the
EVF is a bright high-resolution image with a fast refresh rate (reduced fl ickering). What we usually
get is our subject rendered with a view that is all too often just 450 x 300 pixels (135,000 pixels)
whilst the more expensive prosumer cameras now supply higher resolution 235,000 pixel EVFs
on their fl agship prosumer digicams such as the s9500 this is still no match for the information that
can be seen when using an optical viewfi nder. With dioptre adjustment available on most high-
end prosumer digicams you can make the view pin sharp - sharp enough to count the pixels! If
pixel counting sounds a little distressing and you feel you deserve more information then Konica
Minolta offer one of the few alternatives. Konica Minolta set the benchmark, that the others have
failed to live up to, when they released their impressive DiMAGE A2 by supplying an EVF with
nearly one million pixels (922,000 pixels to be precise). A high gain mode (black and white) can
be selected when the ambient light is low to reduce excessive noise and enable a relatively clear
view to be maintained. Why manufacturers (other than Konica Minolta) have been slow to grasp
the importance of the EVF to photographers is anyone’s guess. The upshot is that manual focusing
is problematic on most digicams. With this in mind it is worth checking that the auto focus options
are quick and accurate throughout the zoom range and in low light conditions.