THE PROS AND CONS
The Canon Magazine 83
VIEWFINDER 101
n electronic
viewfinder (EVF)
brings a number of
potential advantages over
an optical viewfinder. As it’s
essentially a miniature
version of the rear display,
you’re able to see the effect
that important camera
settings have on the image
before you take it. Yo u’re a l s o
able to view the live histogram,
allowing you to make accurate
exposure adjustments, and you
can even quickly access the
camera’s menu options, should
you wish to quickly change the
camera setup.
While you can do all of this
using a camera’s rear screen,
one of the benefits of using an
EVF – aside from not having to
take your eye from the
viewfinder – is that you’ll have
no problem seeing the image
when you’re shooting in bright
light. You can support the
camera properly when you’re
working without a tripod too,
improving your chances of
taking sharp images.
But EVFs are not without
their drawbacks, chief of which
is that they draw more power
than a regular optical
viewfinder. While this doesn’t
impact day to day shooting, it
might be a concern if you’re
travelling. There is one easy
option though: always have a
spare, fully charged battery to
hand. More problematic is that
you can’t see anything in an
electronic viewfinder unless
the camera is powered on.
One recent development
which is now available on a
number of mirrorless cameras
is the option to turn the rear
touchscreen into a large
autofocus trackpad when
you’re using the EVF. By
touching the active part of the
screen with your thumb, you’re
able to drag the AF point(s) to
where you want on the image.espite the apparent
disadvantages with
optical viewfinders,
there’s a lot to be said for
them. Yes, unlike EVFs, they
are unable to show you how
the camera interprets
things, and yes, they get
dark when light levels drop;
but they are easy on the eye.
An optical viewfinder has
better clarity, and it doesn’t
suffer from time lag or refresh
rate problems; the live feed in
an EVF can look like a stop-
motion movie when you move
the camera and fire a burst of
shots. You also get an instant
view with a DSLR.
These days, optical
viewfinders are far from
passive bits of glass. The
‘Intelligent Viewfinder II’
available in advanced camerassuch as the 7D Mark II and 5D
Mark IV includes an LCD
overlay which keeps you up to
date with various camera
settings, such as the shooting
mode, white balance and AF
mode, so as long as you know
your way around the camera
buttons and dials, you can
make adjustments without
taking your eye from the
viewfinder.Small screen time
Intelligent optical viewfinders
The pros and cons of electronic viewfinders
Advanced DSLRs fuse a traditional viewfinder with an LCD device
A
D
Touch^ &^ Drag^ AF^
Available^ on^ a^ few^ mirrorless^
EOS^ cameras,^ this^ feature^
allows^ you^ to^ ‘thumb’^ the^ AF^
point(s)^ around^ the^ imageCUSTOMIZE THE DISPLAY
You can fine-tune the EVF in the Set-
up menu. For instance, on the EOS
RP you can opt to have fast-moving
subjects displayed more smoothly
(at the expense of battery life), and
have the shooting info rotate when
you shoot vertically.
Viewfinder sensor
This activates the viewfinderwhen you bring it up to (^) your
eye, but you can (^) set the camera
up so it’s always on or off