LCD SCREEN CONTROVERSY

jack · Oct 21, 1999

i am on my second dsc-f505.

i exchanged my first one because i could not see anything on the lcd screen under low light and some outdoor (non-direct sunlight) locales.

(yes i tried to toggle the backlight on and off. yes i have adjusted the lcd brightness.)

many people in this forum assured me that my camera must be defective: in their experience "both in bright light and low light the lcd screen was clear, bright and easy to see".

now i'm guessing that both my units are not defective.
but the lcd still fails completely time and again.

i went to the sony showroom in ginza, tokyo. they say that what i am experiencing is NORMAL.

i can only guess that people are doing COMPARISONS with, say, the nikon coolpics screen, rather than an ABSOLUTE appraisal of this screen in different conditions.

the nikon lcd is in fact inferior to this one. but the nikon can be used in pretty much any light using the optical view finder.

the statement that this unit does not need an optical viewfinder seems patently false. a case of the emporer's new clothes?

mind you, i'd love to proven wrong here, but i just don't see it.

Bruce Komusin · Oct 21, 1999

jack said:
i exchanged my first one because i could not see anything on the lcd
screen under low light and some outdoor (non-direct sunlight) locales.

I'm not an expert, but just browsing about the Sony F505. I noticed this which might explain your problem:

Paul Cooper, in his messages in this forum, says that, in manual mode, sony purposely dims the screen if you have the aperture set too small -- this to give you a clue that your shot is going to come out too dark.

Maybe this is what you are experiencing.

-Bruce

Steve Giannoni · Oct 21, 1999

Well, though not quite a case of "The Emperor's New Clothes", there's no doubt that there is some exaggeration of the merits of the F505's screen. Yes, it's way better than say the CP950's, but bright and clear under all conditions?, not really. Under many conditions?, yes. Useable under essentially all conditions?, yes. Bright and clear in direct sunlight?, yes, with possibly some minimal angle adjustment.

Jack said:
i am on my second dsc-f505.

i exchanged my first one because i could not see anything on the lcd
screen under low light and some outdoor (non-direct sunlight) locales.

(yes i tried to toggle the backlight on and off. yes i have adjusted the
lcd brightness.)

many people in this forum assured me that my camera must be defective:
in their experience "both in bright light and low light the lcd screen
was clear, bright and easy to see".

now i'm guessing that both my units are not defective.
but the lcd still fails completely time and again.

i went to the sony showroom in ginza, tokyo. they say that what i am
experiencing is NORMAL.

i can only guess that people are doing COMPARISONS with, say, the nikon
coolpics screen, rather than an ABSOLUTE appraisal of this screen in
different conditions.

the nikon lcd is in fact inferior to this one. but the nikon can be used
in pretty much any light using the optical view finder.

the statement that this unit does not need an optical viewfinder seems
patently false. a case of the emporer's new clothes?

mind you, i'd love to proven wrong here, but i just don't see it.

John Burns · Oct 21, 1999

Perhaps your eyes just have trouble in some conditions where others do not.
I think you gave it a good chance by trying two different cameras so perhaps

you need to look elsewhere. Thankfully there are quite a few excellent cameras the have a viewfinder. I was concerned about the same things that are troubling you but when I got the camera I found I could see it fairly well under the conditions you mention although it

certainly is harder to see in shade then in direct sunlight. For me the camera is a keeper. If i had the same trouble you are having I would have moved on.

John

jack said:
i am on my second dsc-f505.

i exchanged my first one because i could not see anything on the lcd
screen under low light and some outdoor (non-direct sunlight) locales.

(yes i tried to toggle the backlight on and off. yes i have adjusted the
lcd brightness.)

many people in this forum assured me that my camera must be defective:
in their experience "both in bright light and low light the lcd screen
was clear, bright and easy to see".

now i'm guessing that both my units are not defective.
but the lcd still fails completely time and again.

i went to the sony showroom in ginza, tokyo. they say that what i am
experiencing is NORMAL.

i can only guess that people are doing COMPARISONS with, say, the nikon
coolpics screen, rather than an ABSOLUTE appraisal of this screen in
different conditions.

the nikon lcd is in fact inferior to this one. but the nikon can be used
in pretty much any light using the optical view finder.

the statement that this unit does not need an optical viewfinder seems
patently false. a case of the emporer's new clothes?

mind you, i'd love to proven wrong here, but i just don't see it.

Robert Maclellan · Oct 21, 1999

I have the F55 which has the same LCD and have never had a problem. I would think that if you can't see anything through the LCD then a viewfinder wouldn't be any better. It is much more common for LCDs to have trouble in bright sunlight since those situations come up much more frequently.

If the F505 isn't for you, then you can just return it and get something different but I don't think it will really make much difference. If it is too dark for the LCD, how do you expect the autofocus to work?

jack said:
i am on my second dsc-f505.

i exchanged my first one because i could not see anything on the lcd
screen under low light and some outdoor (non-direct sunlight) locales.

(yes i tried to toggle the backlight on and off. yes i have adjusted the
lcd brightness.)

many people in this forum assured me that my camera must be defective:
in their experience "both in bright light and low light the lcd screen
was clear, bright and easy to see".

now i'm guessing that both my units are not defective.
but the lcd still fails completely time and again.

i went to the sony showroom in ginza, tokyo. they say that what i am
experiencing is NORMAL.

i can only guess that people are doing COMPARISONS with, say, the nikon
coolpics screen, rather than an ABSOLUTE appraisal of this screen in
different conditions.

the nikon lcd is in fact inferior to this one. but the nikon can be used
in pretty much any light using the optical view finder.

the statement that this unit does not need an optical viewfinder seems
patently false. a case of the emporer's new clothes?

mind you, i'd love to proven wrong here, but i just don't see it.

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