A view on EVFs
The Panasonic Lumix DMC-G1 uses an electronic viewfinder.
(Credit: CNET Networks)The Panasonic Lumix DMC-G1 has made history as the first non-SLR digital camera to sport interchangeable lenses. And while it exceeds my expectations with respect to speed and photo quality, it lives down to them, unfortunately, with respect to the shooting experience, thanks to its use of an electronic viewfinder. (For the uninitiated, an EVF is a little LCD display used for eye-level shooting.) While EVFs aren't new--they're a staple on megazoom cameras and camcorders with eye-level viewfinders--I realized I'd never cohesively stated why I dislike them.
Some people have no problem with EVFs, and I daresay there may be people who even like them. They do have a couple advantages, such as the ability to preview exposure when implemented, which you can't do with an optical viewfinder (though some dSLRs are offering that capability in Live View mode).
But I find EVFs incredibly distracting when I'm shooting. For one thing, they never simply fix exposure; when you focus and recompose, or if the light simply changes, it has to gain up or down to compensate so that you can still view the scene. Even if you mentally adjust for that and know that what you see in the viewfinder doesn't reflect the real exposure, the constant change is incredibly annoying. The only time that can be useful is when you're shooting in extremely dark conditions where you probably couldn't make out the image in an optical viewfinder. But then there's so much noise in the EVF that it's hard to see anyway.
In addition, EVFs black out when you take a shot. That's not much of a problem with random single shots, but for any type of sequential shooting you can easily lose track of the subject. You might as well just close your eyes and pray.
Senior Editor Lori Grunin has been covering digital imaging for two decades, but her memory's kind of sketchy on the details. You can hear about it every week on Indecent Exposure, the podcast she co-hosts with Matt Fitzgerald.
Gordon Bear
Ramsey NJ USA
The whole point of an EVA is that you see the shot that the camera's image sensor is reading; it is a WYSIWYG experience. There has never been a light meter invented that is as good as the human eye. As you pointed out in your in your CNET review, "There's also a mode in which you can preview changes to settings such as aperture and shutter speed, to gauge the effects in advance." Why aren't you using it? Putting the camera in a constant 'bright screen mode' that does not display the exposure you will get defeats the whole advantage of an EVA.
R Morley
Yesterday, after spending one month reading previews&reviews, for the first time I've put a rapid sight in the EVF of this sexy camera. Matsushita designers derived the technology from their pro-cams, so the waiting was huge. The image is bright, very sharp (after setting the dioptric to my presbyopia) and full format but, I must admit, a little wrong-footing. The horrible neon lamps of the camera store pulsed in the viewfinder (maybe the wrong place to test). Anyway, as gordon pointed out, why in such conditions don't shift to the excellent Lcd ? On the other hand every pinhole is always an estimate. I suspect, as happened 60 years ago jumping from telemeters to reflex, it's only a matter of practice.
michele
italy
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by ed_hawco
November 25, 2008 7:02 AM PST
- I haven't tried this camera yet, but I've heard it's one of the best EVFs on the market. However, I'm really not a fan of EVFs, so I suspect I'll suffer the same annoyances as you do, and for that reason this camera isn't for me.
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(4 Comments)Which is too bad, because I would like to have an SLR-like camera in a small package, and that's exactly what the G1 is supposed to be. As you probably know, an optical viewfinder for this camera was never an option, because the "mirror box" that makes an optical viewfinder possible in an SLR has been removed to allow the camera to be smaller. In other words, this camera is ONLY and SPECIFICALLY for those who do not mind EVFs. That's the trade-off for the reduced size. (No camera can be all thing for all people.)
A note to Gordon Bear and butnotleast; while it is true that one can simply revert to the LCD, the whole point of this camera is to have an SLR-like experience. Besides interchangeable lenses, that also means holding the camera up to your eye and using the viewfinder. I suspect Lori is like me, in that composing in the viewfinder is one of the appeals of this kind of camera. But if that fails your expectations, then the camera is a disappointment.