I own an EP1, and uses the kit lens provided (14 - 42mm). Are there any view finders available in market (either by Olympus or by third parties) that I can use for this cam and lens pair. I find it kind of odd composing images via LCD screen!
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Olympus EP1 - View Finder
- Thread starter Thomas82
- Start date
Karsten Meyer
Leading Member
Then why did you buy this camera?
No, there isn't such a thing. You would need the E-P2 or the E-PL1 - or a Panasonic G1 (really cheap now, but without movie function), a G2 or a GH1.
Regards,
Karsten
Bobo Hodls
Forum Pro
Your only option is to use an optical VF for the hot shoe. Search this forum for "E-P1 OVF". Good luck (it's not an option with which I could find satisfaction).
--
...Bob, NYC
'Well, sometimes the magic works. . . Sometimes, it doesn't.' - Little Big Man
http://www.bobtullis.com
traveler_101
Senior Member
I have the EP-1 and what you need is an optical finder that may be attached to your hot-shoe. The solution to the problem as you've presented it, is to acquire a universal finder. That's because with a zoom lens you would need a finder that allows framing at various focal lengths. The Russian made ones by FED are very good for the money, see here:
http://fedka.com/catalog/product_info.php?cPath=34&products_id=331
There is another solution, though. I would recommend that you acquire either the 17mm/2.8 or the Panasonic 20mm/1.7 lens and buy the VF-1 to go with it. These are better lenses anyway and they go well with the Pen concept. The VF-1 by Olympus is really a nice optical finder and looks great on the camera. I use it with the 20mm and have it attached to the camera at all times because every now and then I find it useful. Most of the time, however, I use the LCD screen. On those occasions that I use the kit zoom (macro and when I need short tele) I do without a finder altogether.
Don't despair you will find a solution! Best of luck!
http://fedka.com/catalog/product_info.php?cPath=34&products_id=331
There is another solution, though. I would recommend that you acquire either the 17mm/2.8 or the Panasonic 20mm/1.7 lens and buy the VF-1 to go with it. These are better lenses anyway and they go well with the Pen concept. The VF-1 by Olympus is really a nice optical finder and looks great on the camera. I use it with the 20mm and have it attached to the camera at all times because every now and then I find it useful. Most of the time, however, I use the LCD screen. On those occasions that I use the kit zoom (macro and when I need short tele) I do without a finder altogether.
Don't despair you will find a solution! Best of luck!
Twelveish
Well-known member
Can you elaborate a bit on how you find using the VF1 with the Pana 20mm? The viewfinder for E-P1 is matched to the Oly 17mm as you know. I got mine with the camera but have no m4/3 pancake lens yet. If there is for example a way to use the translucent markings/lines in the VF-1 to give you a good indication on where the 20mm FOV ends in the viewfinder, that would be very helpful for me in my decision. I'm OK without a VF on my m4/3 most of the time, but as you say, every now and then...
traveler_101
Senior Member
Hi Twelvish. The bright line markings on VF-1 work perfectly with the Panasonic 20mm lens. And the VF-1 is really a very nice finder: the markings are very clear and it is also set to 4:3 ratio of these cameras. I don't have the 17mm, but read that the VF-1's bright lines actually fit the 20 better than 17. If you want absolute precision than you would need to run tests: one photographer claims that the VF-1 = 92% of the actual image produced by the 17 (see link below). I've not done tests with the 20 so I can't be definitive. All I can say that I like the results when I frame with the finder.
What I find interesting is that some guys actually manage to turn the LCD screen off and shoot with the finder alone. I have yet to try it. Why would one wish to? Well saving battery power and taking photos rapidly are the obvious reasons, though for me having intuitive control over the instrument (the camera) necessary to use less instrumentation is very attractive. Here is an thread on that.
http://www.mu-43.com/f67/olympus-vf-1-viewfinder-823/
Best of luck!
traveler_101
Senior Member
Right, I've read that this works well. There are many solutions to getting the most out of the camera. I just hope that Thomas82 who started this thread is still reading it and hasn't given up on the E-P1!
Lamprecht
Leading Member
I became interested in the use of the view finder for the EP1 as you can now buy the EP1 with the 17 mm and 14-42 mm lenses with the viewfinder for £499, which seems like a good buy.
Richard
Richard
traveler_101
Senior Member
Great deal! 750 American (roughly) for both lenses and the VF-1. I got a very good price on the EP-1 + the 14-42 lens, that made it easier to buy the Panasonic 20mm lens which I wanted; however, I had to fork over $84 to get the VF-1. It was well worth it, but its nice when it comes as kit.
Twelveish
Well-known member
Thanks a lot, very helpful. I just set my kit 14-42 to 17 and 20 respectively, or as close as I can get without checking the EXIF info, and played around with the VF-1. Seems to me you'd have to keep a slight framing adjustment in mind for both the 17mm and 20mm FOV. For the 20mm it seems to be mostly a matter of adding some space to the upper lines in the VF. The bottom one is very very close to what you will get.
Definitely seems usable in practice for the 20mm to me.
Definitely seems usable in practice for the 20mm to me.
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