EVF resolution - how much is the minimum?

[bluevellet]

The higher the better.

I know nearly all latest Olympus models having evf, like EM10-I/II/III, EM5-I/II and EM1-I/II/III all are in the range of 2.3M dots... Those 1.4M dots might be the older external add-on vf2 for the older Pen models only.

Ouch. The older Pen ones. I received one as a Xmas gift long ago. I find them ususable.

There was another older one for the Pens, the VF-3 - this came out after the VF-2 (which corresponds to the EVF in the E-M5 and 10, and which I like). I don't like the panel in the VF-3 though. Might you have had that one? It was painted a bluish silver, was smaller than the others, and had an unlock button for the mounting pin in the foot. The diopric correction is a big dial on the side and the eyepiece and cup are rectangular. Resolution was about 900k dots and the contrast was overly high.

The 2.3m ones that started appearing on the EM1mark1 and the Em5markII are the minimum as far as I'm concerned

Yep, it's the VF3. Lower cost.

The VF2 is the same EVF as the higher end OMDs.

 

[Helen]

The higher the better.

I know nearly all latest Olympus models having evf, like EM10-I/II/III, EM5-I/II and EM1-I/II/III all are in the range of 2.3M dots... Those 1.4M dots might be the older external add-on vf2 for the older Pen models only.

Ouch. The older Pen ones. I received one as a Xmas gift long ago. I find them ususable.

There was another older one for the Pens, the VF-3 - this came out after the VF-2 (which corresponds to the EVF in the E-M5 and 10, and which I like). I don't like the panel in the VF-3 though. Might you have had that one? It was painted a bluish silver, was smaller than the others, and had an unlock button for the mounting pin in the foot. The diopric correction is a big dial on the side and the eyepiece and cup are rectangular. Resolution was about 900k dots and the contrast was overly high.

The 2.3m ones that started appearing on the EM1mark1 and the Em5markII are the minimum as far as I'm concerned

Yep, it's the VF3. Lower cost.
The VF2 is the same EVF as the higher end OMDs.

The VF-2 is actually the 1.44M dot EVF, same panel (Epson Ultimicron) as used in the E-M5 and E-M10 (the original "Mark I" versions, if you will). It came in a warm silver or black version, without a locking pin for the shoe, and one rotated the circular eyepiece rim to alter the dioptre. There was even a larger eyecup available (you wrestled off the normal rubber rim to fit it!). The one which corresponds to the higher-end OM-Ds is the VF-4, the largest model of all - always all-black, locking shoe, a dioptre dial on the side (like the unloved VF-3), and a large rectangular eyecup (fixed) with proximity sensor for those models that could use the feature. That' the 2.37M dot one with the Epson Super Ultimicron panel, as also found inside the E-M1, E-M5 Mk II and E-M1 Mk II (presumably also the E-M1X too). (The Pen-F, E-M10 Mk II and E-M10 Mk III have the OLED 2.37M dot EVF that has never had an accessory EVF VF-series equivalent model).

 

[cba_melbourne]

Hi guys. I'm thinking of buying a micro four thirds camera, possibly an OM-D. Most of the bodies I can afford come with 1.4 million dot resolution viewfinder. Is this sharp enough, or do you see a lot of pixelation at this resolution? Would a 2.3 or 2.5 million dot EVF be significantly better?

Thanks for your advice!

Look, in the 1960's people were over the top happy, just having exchanged their B&W for a color tv.... with 480 lines. And they remained happy for the next 30 years.

In the 80's, PC monitors had 640x480 pixels (0.3 mio pixels) and we were proud to afford one of these. Then came 1080x768, 1k, 2k, 4k and now we are talking 8k.

It is completely painless upgrading to a higher resolution. Going back is the problem. It's human nature. Once we got used to a certain quality, we just do not like to go back.

You ask how much is the minimum for an EVF. I would answer this way: it is whatever your previous camera had. Anything less, and you will be unhappy. Anything more, you will forget about one week later, and it becomes your new normal.

Lol. My previous camera had none! Just the LCD.

There you go. Any viewfinder is better than none. I have a GM1 without it, and recently bought a GM5 with viewfinder (it is otherwise the same camera). I do not care about it's resolution, I do not care it is a very small viewfinder. It is a huge improvement in usability for this camera.

Some say the VF is only used for composing the picture. It does not make your pictures any better. This is generally true, but it is not always the whole truth.

- I like to use use manual focus a lot, probably more than others. Also, think of manual lenses, think of close-up and macro work. Now, I am not entirely sure if and how EVF resolution affects either/or the accuracy and ease of use of manual focus. After all, there are helpers such as focus peaking and digital zoom. All I can say, is that I find achieving manual focus easier and faster on my Pen-F and EM5-2 than on the GM5. I like to think it has to do with both EVF magnification AND resolution, as well as panel contrast and the quality of the EVF optics.

And think about it, if the EVF had the same resolution as the sensor, there would be no need anymore for the focus peaking helper! You could see focus directly.

- I use the EVF, together with the histogram helper, for adjusting exposure. The histogram tells me about the overall exposure, in the EVF I see where the highlights and shadows are and can decide which ones I want to prioritize for the effect I desire.

- The EVF does not need to be color accurate. You do color adjustments on your calibrated PC screen. I prefer the better color saturation and contrast of the Pen-F's OLED to the EM5-2's panel. But the panel is not everything, the quality of the EVF optics is at least as important, and probably more so.

- I rarely do action/sports, but if I did EVF panel speed would be an important factor to consider.

- I wear glasses, so the EVF's eye relief is an important factor for me. Eye relief is how far away from the EVF lens my eye can be, whilst still seeing the whole field of view. I do not like having to press my glasses against the EVF rubber, it leaves marks on my glasses. More eye relief is better, but harder to achieve optically. True, one can take the glasses off and use the EVF's diopter adjustment to see the panel sharp.... but some people cannot do that because they have significant astigmatism, and the diopter cannot correct for that.

....and BTW, why are extended rubber EVF hoods so expensive on certain camera makes? Panasonic wants something like US$50 for that GM5 rubber piece that looks like it costs 50 cents to make.

 

[frst16]

I still find the 230k screen on my old D3100 adequate unless I start zooming in to far to check focus and was blown away with the 920k screens that followed in the d3200, d300 etc. I imagine 1.4m dots will be pretty good.