do you use the evf or the lcd?

i've just recently got a Z6 and i'm finding i'm using the evf in preference to the lcd. this is my first evf. out of doors, the evf is much more visible, of course, but also i find i can brace the camera so much better. the basic settings of the Z6 can be controlled by buttons and i've found it's just a matter of learning what to press. without putting the camera down and looking. the Z series has been criticised for the lack of symbols to show what does what on the four way controller, but i find this is not a problem at all once you get used to the camera. the four way controller does a number of things depending on the context. no, they're not intuitive. but once you learn them, it's better to have functions that can be altered quickly using buttons rather than accessing menus. so you can make adjustments quickly without moving the camera away. especially if you've zoomed right it on something. it can be very hard to find something again at 12x zoom. using the evf, it's also easier to compose and recompose a shot.

i find with a 2 inch lcd and 8x magnification, i still can't really assess if a shot is in focus or not. i can only tell if the shot is badly framed or badly exposed (using the histogram). i tend to keep almost everything. and weed out the duds on my computer later.

so is the concentration on the lcd size and so on just so much marketing hype? the "chimp factor", as in: oooh, ooooh, ooooh.

I use the EVF the majority of the time. I find it easier to get accurate focus with the EVF. White balance and exposure are the 2 things I want to change most often and I can do that easily with the controller for exposure and the flash button set up for WB changes. The camera has a lot of flexibility and is very easy to use. It takes very nice pictures too.
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http://www.pbase.com/tgaf PBASE supporter Tom
Konica Minolta A2, Z6

EVF, only time I use the LCD is for the menu. Been that way for all my cameras. Im fairly new to digital photography, but shot 35mm film for years, so I am use to not having an LCD.

I think you nailed it with the oooh oooh oooh factor : p
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http://www.flickr.com/photos/son_of_snappy/

Personally I tend to use the LCD. That's probably carryover from my Canon A75 that didn't have an EVF, just an optical one.

2 prior comments re focusing make me wonder if I shouldn't think about switching, though I find the EVF to be a bit grainy. I do like the pics now that I've figured out to shoot @ 50 ISO if I want the highest quality.

i did use iso50, but i found it a bit "slow" for darker subjects. with auto ISO you get 50-160iso. it's the only way to get 160iso. the extra speed is a boost.

if i find my images too grainy, i use noise ninja now. there's a couple of really good noise reduction plug-ins for ps, but noise ninja is the cheaper. i find it very good.

if you feel you're loosing detail, you can always composite it over the original. have the original one on layer and the noise ninja on the other and use your layer controls to bring the original back a little.

a bit of grain is actually nice. if you put the original back again over the de-noised layer you can set it to luminosity and play with the opacity a little -- and then you get a nice colour neutral grain.

alas, the "chimp factor" is not an original observation of mine. i read it somewhere...

bugzie said:

if i find my images too grainy, i use noise ninja now. there's a couple of
really good noise reduction plug-ins for ps, but noise ninja is the cheaper. i
find it very good.

Click to expand...

Haven't tried it but I just downloaded the trial. Are you using the Z2 profile or ??

after some reports of disappointments, everybody seems pretty happy now. i must admit when i read reviews i had some reservations... should i wait and get a dslr, or the bigger slr-like. but i had the money for the Z3 and some. so i could afford a couple of nice big cards, and i've ordered the lens adapters and some filters. invested in more sets of batteries... and, most importantly, i'm running around shooting pics instead of poring over specs n' reviews...

...and i feel like christmas!

no, i can't see how the Z2 would be appropriate for the Z6. i auto profile and then fiddle a bit. if it goes too far, i composite layers.

i find you want shadow noise out but some times it attacks highlight detail. basically, i'm still learning to use it. i have no idea what certain settings are. LOL

try it on a high iso file. it's very good.

I've had a camera for 41 years now, since age 9. LCD's are a recent development. You can't teach an old dog new tricks. Viewfinder for me.

Another reason for people my age is eyesight. I need glasses to see the LCD clearly. Don't need them for the EVF.

I only use the LCD when shooting from a tripod. No rush, wear my glasses.

But it's not all hype. many compacts and ultra compacts don't have viewfinders at all. The LCD quality is critical then. The LCD is also important in cameras with an optical viewfinder which is not TTL (most digicams). At short distances you absolutely need the LCD to frame properly.

Just tried it on a low-light high-gain shot of the moon/power tower from the other night. I used the color chart to profile my camera - got 50, 64, 100, 200, 320 so far. I'm definitely impressed so now I guess I'll have to pay for it ;^)

Thanks for the tip!

oh, you're much further along with it than me! i've tried to read the manual, but i'm too busy with me pics. i will read the manual, really i will. ;-)

on auto iso you also get 125. i just found a pic at 125.

auto iso is quite good.

it never goes above 160 and the noise is quite manageable.

I use the EVF on my A2 all the time, I also wear glasses, but the EVF has a diopter correction dial, so it's very convenient to use without glasses.

One more thought: in Red Menu #3: the Manual exp. I have set to Exposure priority, so this way the EVF will change brightness once you adjust aperture or shutter speed respectively. It' a good tool to supplement the live histogram. Try it if you haven't yet!!

LCD I also use only for menus.

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Cheers, Feri

'I can look at a fine photograph and sometimes I can hear music. Ansel Adams.'

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Esa 'E.T' Tuunanen

Hi Guys,

So, when you hold your A2 against your face looking into the SuperFine EVF you're gonna experience the viewing pleasure equivalent to looking at a 21" monitor from a distance of about 3 feet/ 60 cms. Try it, no kidding!!!

But how close would you need to hold the cam while looking at the LCD to get the same effect,...probably 4 inches/ 10 cms, or so!!! Even the ones bless with the most healthy eyes will have some problem to focus their eyes on the LCD plane, eh? ;-)) So, no way out but to hold the cam with a stretched or semi-stretched arm to get a clear picture!! But then, comes the problem: size matters!! Don't laugh, I'm talking about the size of the LCD relative to the distance of your stretched arm!! )) Clear? ;-)

And that's not all!! Coz on another note I'll tell you something more.

KM has brought us many wonderful cameras with an Anti-shake feature. Yeap, it's great when it gives us 1 or 2 or even 3 stops down for the settings of the shutter speed resulting in razor sharp images.

But, hey, why not be able to do a bit more?

If you hold the cam with a stretched hand (or semi-stretched hand) can you imagine that your body shake will be amplified by the length of your stretched arm? Phenomena of physics, isn't it? OK, just to some extent, coz your arm is not a rigid steel bar, but nonetheless, the result will be something you're not gonna like.

Instead, if you know that our human body is supposed to be at it's utmost steady point at the time of keeping our breath at the very last moment of exhaling, then you know that that is the precise timing to hit the shutter release to take advantage of the anti-shake combined with the breathing technique just introduced.

Beleive it or not, my record so far of a handheld night shot had been made with a 1.3 sec shutter speed.

Here's the sample pic:



EXIF: f2.8, 1.3 sec, ISO 64, focal length 28 mm (35 mm equiv.)

And if you look very closely at that sample pic taken with a 1.3 sec shutter speed handheld, you might say that the red rubber boat on the right side is blurry, so all the above consideration should be thrown in the waste bid, eh?

But, while on one hand the combination of the anti-shake feature with the breathing technique is a really wonderful tool to get rid of blurry pix, the relatively long exposure time with the camera on another hand will never be able to compensate motion blur (in this example due to the movement of the red rubber boat caused by a wave of the water), but as an overall result, I think the pic is still a keeper.

But these are all just my thoughts on LCD versus EVF, and a bit more!!! )

Whaddaya think?

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Cheers, Feri

'I can look at a fine photograph and sometimes I can hear music. Ansel Adams.'

This is borrowed from sharpshooting training:

Use either the pause between inhaling and exhaling or the pause between exhaling and inhaling to shoot.

When you need to keep the target in your sights, inhale fully, let out about 1/3 of the air volume, and hold your breath. This will give you enough oxygen to hold still for a few seconds.

The "! 3" technique is what I usually use for photography.

Same age, history, limitations and reasoning (with a Z3)!!
Bill.....................;-)

I've still got the original D7 (ug) and a Z3. I pretty much always use the viewfinder. Only time I use the lcd is for reviewing an image.

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Mark Pernal, FPSA
Lk Mary, FL
http://www.photosig.com/go/users/view?id=21985
http://photobucket.com/albums/v213/digiartiste/

It looks as though all of us agree that the EVF is by far the best way to assess the picture before you take it - and the most likely to produce a shake free image when you do.

However, before KM (and others) read this thread and decide that they can start saving on costs by doing away with LCD's altogether, let's share our thoughts about when we find the LCD is the better option.

Personally, I find that on super-macro, the use of the LCD better allows me to monitor camera to subject distance and what the lens sees at the same time as well what else is going on in the area and where bees and wasps are concerned I definitely want to keep my distance. I get a fairly high failure rate but usually these shots are easily repeated after a quick view of the image recorded.

The other occasion (an obvious one) is when I can't get my eye up to the EVF - usually this is when the camera is almost sitting on the ground - I find shots of my cat far more dramatic from that angle - but it's also a good way of getting candid shots where raising the camera to eye level would draw attention.





\Clive

I shot 291 macro shots last night with my Z6 (see http://www.pbase.com/mtf_foto_studies/c47_glass ). Probably 25% of them could not have been shot nearly as easily with EVF because of camera angle and/or precarious tripod setup necessary to get the shots.