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Viewfinder for E-PM2?

Started May 30, 2014 | Discussions thread
dougjgreen1 Veteran Member • Posts: 4,068
Not all VF-2/camera combos are loose

Klarno wrote:

The VF-1 is a compositional aid optical viewfinder specifically for the 17mm focal length, to be paired with the 17mm f/2.8, or 17mm f/1.8.

The VF-2 is a very good electronic viewfinder, the same LCD and optics as are in the E-M5, E-M10 and Stylus 1. A rebadged, electronically identical version is also sold for the Leica M Typ 240 and Leica X2. It's biggest deficiency is that it does not have a locking mechanism-- I found it extremely prone to falling off and I had to have a safety tether on the thing.

The VF-3 is a step down in EVF quality (lower resolution and lower magnification), but it has a lock.

The VF-4 is a superb EVF, the same LCD and optics as are in the E-M1. It also has the lock.

Get the VF-4 if you can, otherwise the VF-3, I'd say. The VF-2 frustrated me. It made my E-PL1 too tall to fit in my bags (same problem will happen with the others), and I had to have it tethered onto my camera lest I drop it in the mud out in BFN. I ended up selling the VF-2, but before I did I tried it on my E-PM2 and found the layout of the camera simply too cramped to use next to my face with a viewfinder.

Also, if you want to be discreet doing portraiture or street photography, forget the viewfinder. In this day and age, nothing screams "I'm taking a picture of your entire life" louder than bringing a camera up to your face.

My VF-2 fits quite snugly on my E-PL5.  It has never come close to coming off inadvertently, and it takes a slight bit of effort to remove it.  This works for me, as I actually never care to remove it.   If you can get one that fits this tightly, for a significantly better price than the VF-4, it's worth the savings, IMHO.

 dougjgreen1's gear list:dougjgreen1's gear list
Olympus Stylus XZ-10 Nikon 1 V2 Olympus PEN E-P5 Olympus E-M1 Olympus E-PL7 +17 more
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