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Sony gives more details of OLED EVF from A77, A65 and NEX-7

Dec 5, 2011 at 19:56:49 GMT

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Sony has published details of two OLED displays, giving more detail about the electronic viewfinders used in its SLT A65, A77 and NEX-7 cameras. The displays are based on white LEDs slining through color filters, rather than direct-emitting colored LED technology, helping them to offer higher resolutions combined with 90% coverage of the NTSC color gamut. The company also claims a contrast ratio of 10,000:1 - ten times greater than that offered by its latest WhiteMagic rear LCD screens, also detailed in the company's latest semiconductor newsletter. Their appearance in the newsletter is likely to mean they are available for sale to other manufacturers, raising the prospect of other makers' cameras appearing with high-resolution OLED EVFs.

As well as the 4:3 screen used in the SLTs and NEX viewfinders, the company also reveals a larger 16:9 display, presumably for use in video applications.

Click here to read more about the Sony ECX331A OLED display as used in the SLT-A77

Sony Alpha NEX-7

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Sony SLT-A77

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Sony SLT-A65

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Comments

Total comments: 35

The Sony high-rez OLED sounded great on paper, but when I started to look through the a65's EVF, I quickly realized that I did not see any better of an image through it than I did with the a55's pedestrian LCD EVF. The latest technical description seems to explain well why this is so.

0 upvotes

Hello! Does anyone know when will the new Sony 850?

0 upvotes

I would expect Nikon to move on this as they already have a relationship with Sony. If you have not looked through the viewfinder of an A65, A77 or NEX-7, you don't get it. It is that innovative.

0 upvotes

I did. It's a toss-up between the OLED EVF and what is in the Alpha 33/35/55, in my personal opinion. But the Sony OLED 24-inch display monitor is really something else again.

0 upvotes

2 Questions:

1. Can you follow fast moving targets (electronic delay)?
2. What about durability? OLEDs are not made to last forever...
...when will visible degradation occur?

0 upvotes

I don't see any electronic delay.

By the time the EVF expires, I'll be playing with a subsequent generation. Camera bodies are becoming disposable, didn't everyone get the memo? :)

0 upvotes

2. actually, thats one of the reasons they went with the white oled. it lasts longer. and, with rgb oleds, you get different rates of degredation over time, resulting in weird colour shifts. so, the white oled lasts longer and wont have colour issues later on.

0 upvotes

If Sony is offering this technology to other makers of capturing equipment, then they might have something new in the pipeline.

At the moment, their EVF is differentiating their imaging products from their competitors. Why give up such a card?

0 upvotes

I tested tge SLT-A77 myself, and yes, has a delay! Is a small delay but still it is! You miss an action shoot! Also only the idea of having a fixed translucent mirror in the front of the sensor disgust me! You loose 1/2 stop of light no matter what! SLT is not the solution! Classic SLR design wins hands down!

0 upvotes

The delay could be caused by a number of functions being active, like lens correction when shooting in JPG. On the 5n, I've turn off all these process since I shoot in raw format. No lag on my 5n.

SLT, IMHO, is a transitional technology and will not have a long future—eventually, contrast detection focus will equal that of phase detection (Olympus is close already).

0 upvotes

@ Samyaza: DSLRs are probably best for still pix, whereas for video shooting, Sony's HDSLTs are markedly better. I wish I could see much of a difference between a Sony LCD and OLED EVF, however. No biggie either way, as the a65/a77 cameras are just too darn noisy, whether you shoot stills or video with them.

0 upvotes

if it is still LED shining through LCD... then, it isn't OLED, period.
OLEDs are strictly direct light transmitters although some are involved in hybrid variants with LCD (if that's what they mean). LED-LCD's have been around for quite awhile (from SONY; as in their HDTV Triluminos products in Japan many years ago (2003/5?))
Are they really OLED-LCD hybrids in the EVFs of these dcams?
The relatively slow response times are most likely due to the slowest component, which is the LCD portion, as OLED response times alone are 100-200+ times faster.
Either way, it seems an 'all-white' OLED is preferable to triple (or quad) color OLEDs as the color durability are unequal, so the 'all white' approach is the easiest for durable consistency for minimal color degradation over time.

Comment edited 4 times, last edit 6 minutes after posting

0 upvotes

Its simply a white OLEDs with a colourfilter(blue, green, red)l. There is still 2.4mio OLED's, and one white OLED per subpixel.
It have nothing to do with LCD-screens.
http://www.sony.net/SonyInfo/News/Press/201108/11-0831CE/

0 upvotes

It is not LED shining through LCD. It is white OLED shining through a color filter array. A little reduced contrast but in exchange for color stability, which is important. Also, no latency penalty.

1 upvote

No, the peaking function does not put an optical viewfinder to shame. Anyone who makes that statement doesn't know much about photography or DOF. The peaking function for example, isn't able to do eye-focusing on a close up portrait or see things like stems in a flower unless they are highlighted specifically with back or side lighting.

0 upvotes

No, it does not put OVF to shame. That's just a silly statement. However, it does allow you to focus more quickly and accurately in certain situations--macro or photomicrography, for example, where low light levels makes it hard to focus manually. Also, just as with EVF, you won't be able to easily do eye-focusing on a close-up portrait or see things like stems in a flower unless they are highlighted specifically with back or side lighting with OVF.

Peaking is just a focusing aid for EVF, something OVF lacks. If it's not your cup o' tea, fine. I just wish Sony gives me the option of having a traditional SLR alongside the SLT. I'd probably get both, if I had that choice.

Comment edited 3 times, last edit 3 minutes after posting

3 upvotes

focus peaking is only good for video, its not accurate enough for still photos; if you have a 1.4 lens and a 16mp or higher sensor, do you think that the 800x480 LCD image with peaking is going to be accurate enough? even at xga resolution its not good enough; if youre going to MF, use the magnified image function

0 upvotes

Focus peaking doesn't work with magnified view? That would be an omission as I think even by stone age Sony H2 could do that.

0 upvotes

peaking does work with magnified view. but, why would you use peaking if youre going to use magnified view, its only a distraction.

for still photos, use magnified view. its far more accurate.

for video, peaking is fine only if youre doing run and gun, ENG.. otherwise, just use the magnified view.

peaking is far less useful than people make it out to be.

0 upvotes

With my H2 the accuracy of the peaking function increased with magnified view and made manual focusing easier still. That's why I wondered.

Comment edited 17 seconds after posting

0 upvotes

Focus peaking is an aid to focusing. And like any new feature, you have to learn to use it. I did some test with my 5n and EF 135mm f2 @ f2 and was able to compose, focus and shoot without magnification—at broad range of distances.

Focus peaking takes the joy of photography to a new level.

0 upvotes

you guys are insane. if you have ever manual focused a f 1.4 lens on a ovf you would know. Unless you have a type m screen in your ovf it does NOT show you a representitave dof of anything shalower than f 3.5 it just doesnt happen. it may seem really shallow to you but not nearly as shallow and it is from a type m screen or evf. if you dont understand this, go put on any fast lens an either stop it down or use dof preview and see that the view thrugh the viewfinder does not change AT ALL untill past 3.5 thats why film had split prisms. they ha no autofocus sonyou needed to have a
reliable way to focus even at f1.4. these people dont know what they are talking about. ive used a 50 1.4 and a 85 1.4 on both ovf and evf and evf was wayyyyy easyer to get accuratly. your not guessing where the real plane of focus is inside the sherical matte cut viewfinders represented dof.

Comment edited 2 minutes after posting

0 upvotes

the ECX332 (720p) is the one used in their HMZ-T1 3D personal viewer where you want to create a more immersive experience.

0 upvotes

as reported at SAR a month ago :)

0 upvotes

Only in the loosest sense, from what I can see.

0 upvotes

I would rather they did away with this whiz- bang black magic EVF rubbish as well as those new fandangled digital gobbledy-gook sensors and pesky internal combustion engines. Today's young people don't know a hard days work!

Comment edited 1 minute after posting

4 upvotes

Soooo..... what're you looking for on this website then? Hammers and sandpapers?

4 upvotes

"raising the prospect of other makers' cameras appearing with high-resolution OLED EVFs."

I'd rather they stay with the good old fashioned optical viewfinders...I dislike these digital ones and IMO they become tiresome at one point...

Just my 2 cents.

2 upvotes

Try manual focusing with legacy glass using the NEX 5N's EVF and peaking function - it puts optical VF's to shame in terms of MF accuracy. It really is a revelation for this type of photography. I'm just waiting for a FF mirrorless camera.

4 upvotes

Agree with Michael49, far more easy to do e.g. Macro focus om Nex5 compared with my A900 (which happen to have one of the finest OVF)

3 upvotes

Michael49:

Nex system focus peeking manual control is good, but you really think better than the manual focus on Leica M cameras?
Simply no. And Leica M lenses can indeed be mounted on the Nex system.

(One big problem with focus peeking is how one has to hold the camera body to use that system and the touch screen.)

2 upvotes

jakobr :

No actually rangefinders like the Leica M have in many ways the best optical view finders, with the exception that going beyond full frame 90 mm doesn't work too well.

2 upvotes

2 HowaboutRAW
How do you think focus on rangefinder with macro or 135mm+ telephoto lens or use tilt|shift lens?
Or focus off-center without moving camera?

And even with Leitz production you still depends on rangefinder adjustment.

P.S.
Still wish for new hybrid finders

0 upvotes

The peaking function on my Nex is indeed a nice feature. It allows faster manual focusing in many situations. However, zooming in and manually focusing using my eyes to detect sharpness still produces better results than peaking. Peaking will often give false indications and will often fail to produce any indication on the feature I want to focus on.

This is not a feature I miss on my DSLR, since I'm not restricted to MF legacy glass for lens options, and the live view allows accurate manual focus during macro shots. I would not trade the OVF for an EVF simply to gain peaking through the view finder on my DSLR. I’d much rather see these features limited to the live view, for use with video and such, maintaining the flexibility of an optical (VF) and electronic (live view) option with the same camera.

0 upvotes

Nikolai Vassiliev:

Did you not read my point about 90mm lenses?

And just try seeing what is just out side the frame with an SLR or a digital P&S.

Do you shoot a lot of macro?

Leica is not the only range finder out there.

0 upvotes

Total comments: 35


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