It's time to eliminate the R from the DSLR

I just posted this in another thread:

"... there is one thing I don't like with DSLRs: the mechanical mirror. It's time to replace it by a high resolution EVF. And possibly Panasonic is only preparing this step with their DSLRs with the smaller sensor size and live view."

And I thought it is an interesting aspect of discussing a possible successor of the FZ30/50. What do you think ?

Olaf

...with anything approaching the clarity and detail you get via an optical reflex finder - without lag - and I'll sign up. Someday, not now.

--
BJ Nicholls
SLC, UT

BJN said:

...with anything approaching the clarity and detail you get via an
optical reflex finder - without lag - and I'll sign up. Someday, not
now.

Click to expand...

That's a problem if you consider the world from the point of a DSLR user, but my point of view is that of an user of a bridge camera. In earlier days I used an analog SLR, but with the upcoming digital age I only owned a Kodak Z650, a Sony H2 and the Panasonic FZ50 and FZ18.

I can live with a bit longer lag and there is much room to improve it by better processors and faster memory.

Olaf

There has been a rumor Pany is bring one to market, so it may show at photokina.

danbarry said:

There has been a rumor Pany is bring one to market, so it may show at
photokina.

Click to expand...

If that is true it would be a good reason for Panasonic to keep silence about a successor of the FZ50. And it would fit exactly into the niche between the FZ18/28 and the DSLRs of their competitors.

Olaf

As a 40+ SLR veteran and a 2-year FZ50, I see a strength and weakness of both the reflex and EVF viewfinders.

Reflex is sharper, tracks moving objects better and has no smearing or blurring in tracking. The EVF can be made brighter for low light shooting, saves weight and eliminates the mirror noise, motion and vibration of the reflex.

I find the FZ50 EVF to be very easy to use in most situations, and is limited in tracking BIF and freezing in burst shots.
--
Rich
Take many pictures - a few are keepers, the rest are are lessons.

Nothing wrong with an EVFI camera. EVF and LCD displays have their advantages and disadvantages. I've used EVF cameras and obtained many successes with them, I'm not biased one way or another. There are times when the EVF is advantageous and other times when it is not. Just like the traditional Rangefinder vs SLR debates, there are justifiable reasons for why a photographer might prefer one over the other in all manner of shooting situations.

Given satisfactory resolution, the chief disadvantage of an EVF is the responsiveness of the display. No electronic display can ever be as responsive as an optical viewfinder ... there simply is no way that a display of any kind can display a change in the subject you're viewing at the speed of light the way a reflex or optical tunnel viewfinder does.

One advantage of an EVF is that it can be made to auto-adapt to the illumination and provide a clear view when there isn't enough light for any optical viewfinder to provide an adequate image for accurate framing purposes ... such as when fitting an IR filter for instance.

A high quality Electronic ViewFinder camera with Interchangeable (EVFI) lens camera is just about feasible today, given high resolution, large sensors that can run in dynamic acquisition mode without overheating and high resolution small displays that can be built into an eyepiece. I'm sure that some will surface in the next year or three.

And I'm sure when they do there will be the usual caterwauling and bellyaching about 'where's all this going? the end of photography is nigh!' and the equally nutty 'finally the godsend has arrived! at last there is a camera we can use!' on every equipment list, just as there is today over whatever minutiae du jour is at stake.

Because complaining seems to be the constant in this universe. ];-)

Godfrey

Sorry- of course I don't want to eliminate the R from all DSLRs, but instead of leading users of bridge cameras to entry level DSLRs it would be a good alternative and I'm waiting for a good alternative.

Olaf

BJN said:

...with anything approaching the clarity and detail you get via an
optical reflex finder - without lag - and I'll sign up. Someday, not
now.

Click to expand...

The Panavision Genesis is supposed to have a very good EVF. I haven't
had the pleasure of seeing it, though.

It is now over 2 1/2 years since Joe Wisniewski claimed to have handled a
4/3rds body, small and silent and with possibly the nicest EVF he had
seen bar the abovementioned Genesis.

I think AF performance and getting the yield/cost isses of the EVF
under control are the main reasons we haven't seen one yet. Maybe
finally for Photokina?

Just my two oere
Erik from Sweden

I have one. Its Digital (D), has a Single Lens (SL) which you view through with an LCD or EVF. It still has the "R" which does not stand for reflex but "R1" as in Sony DSC R1.

Many people hoped the "1" implied future versions.
--
Canon A2E, Sony R1 & Panasonic TZ5

Had one. Took fantastic photographs.

I sold it as it wasn't responsive enough for my needs. I don't think Sony is doing any further development on that line of camera ... a similar camera with a bit more RAW buffer and greater responsiveness would be great.

Personally, I view the Konica Minolta A2, the Sony R1, the Panasonic FZ50 and the Leica V-Lux as the last great "pro-sumer" fixed lens cameras. Then DSLR prices came down to the level that these cameras were selling at and there are too many advantages to larger sensors and interchangeable lenses to overlook for a fixed lens prosumer camera, regardless of viewfinder type.

Godfrey