DSLR Viewfinders

Is there a significant difference in viewfinders among the entry- level DSLRs?

I am asking about things such as, brightness, eyepoint (for eyeglass wearers), clarity, accuracy, grids, etc.........
Thanks in advance.
Yankel

yankel said:

Is there a significant difference in viewfinders among the entry-
level DSLRs?
I am asking about things such as, brightness, eyepoint (for
eyeglass wearers), clarity, accuracy, grids, etc.........
Thanks in advance.
Yankel

Click to expand...

AFAIK there exist only two kinds of viewfinders on dSLR: pentaprism and mirror. Most entry-level dSLR cameras have mirror viewfinder which is darker compared to pentaprism viewfinder (and cheaper).

I wear eyeglasses... anyway IMO that has nothing to do with type of the viewfinder. Sure I would like to have brighter and bigger VF (pentaprism), but for my purposes (and budget) mirror VF does his job.

Eyepoint: it is always too small for those who wear eyeglasses. I've considered to get one of those "extender" -not because of better viewing, but to protect my nose from camera buttons

IMO differences in VF are not that big (when comparing same class of camera). Try them out and then decide.

Have a nice day,
Bogdan
--
My pictures are my memories
http://freeweb.siol.net/hrastni3/

there is a significant difference between, for instance, the *istDs viewfinder [big and bright pentaprism] and the Canon Rebel and Rebel XT [tiny, dim view pentamirror at the end of a very long tunnel].

the nikons fall between these extremes.

i suggest you look thru an *ist Ds or *ist Ds2 to see what things can look like thru an entry level DSLR before deciding.

barrett

Even allowing for the differences between prism and mirror viewfinders
other things such as the focusing screen used and the native magnification
can affect clarity and brightness. Some cameras implement grids on the
focusing screen but this may mean paying to have your screen changed.
Cameras based on Nikon bodies such as the Fuji S2 and Nikon models
have a grid which can be switched on or off. The Pentax viewfinders
have been praised for their brightness and clarity but I haven't used one
myself so I don't know if its true.

Yes, quite a bit of difference! Viewfinder magnification is going to be the biggest and most easily-seen difference. Pentax leads the way in terms of biggest and best finder image at the true entry-level. The Nikon D70 for example, has a very low finder magnification of around .76. Olympus also has some very,very low finder magnification measurements. Konica-Minolta's Maxxum 7D, while not entry level, has a very GOOD, almost exemplary viewfinder image, with high magnification and a very high quality all-glass pentaprism and a good viewfinder screen system.

Eye relief is a big factor for eyeglass wearewrs like myself, but the raw numbers can be a bit deceptive at times, with rectangular eyepieced camera models typically offering a bit better eye relief than round-eyepiece cameras,at least in my experience. Eye relief is something you can easily see when you,yourself actually handle a prospective camera. On two models with similar specifications, one may have a fairly easily-seen advantage in actual use, in the real world. Again, the Maxxum 7D for example, is very easy for me to see through. Better,and easier than a competing model with a slightly higher specific relief in millimeters.

Seeing is believing. "Most" entry level D-SLR's have poor finder image quality, but a selct few are better than their peers. This is one reason to shop in a store,and to actually try out prospective cameras. But,basically, look at finder magnification (higher the better) and eye relief, as well as the overall,total finder image quality. The bestway to make an actual decision is in person.SOmetimes the numbers don' quite add up the way they should,and you can NOT judge a finder by its specs alone!
--
Happy Shooting!
Derrel
Fu-ji EssWun(on extended loan),EssTu,Nik-On
DeeSvnD,DWun,DTuEx. And a E-Ohs TwunT-D

Inspired by this thread, I looked around for how the VF was on my recently aquired Minolta 5D - it seems like this camera also has the good type VF, a pentaprism - and 0.83 magnification I think.... Rebel XT has a pentamirror prism. So there definitely are differences between the entry level dSLRs.

Thanks for the great information!