My comments here; context reproduced below. On my Optio 550, I use the viewfinder most of the time. But it's not good for framing macro stuff (major parallax error) plus there's a certain minimum distance past which the eye can focus on the subject through the viewfinder anyway (in other words, get too close and can't see comfortably through the viewfinder.) Also, the viewfinder doesn't provide shooting data, so if you want to see your settings while composing the shot, it would be necessary to use the LCD screen. I don't find the LCD screen very convenient most of the time anyway, because I don't wear bifocals but am probably, at most, two eye exams away from going into them! Optio 550 has a nice little viewfinder all the same, except that the diopter adjustment slider gets accidentally shifted waaay too easily.
> on 8/23/03 7:42 AM, Lon Williamson at [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: > > > I don't know, not having used digicams myself. A friend of > > mine, a long time film shooter and darkroom type, just bought > > a 3 MPixel rangefinder digicam, and according to him, the viewfinder > > on these things is useless. He found himself quickly using the > > LCD for all shots. Knowing him as I do, he didn't start working > > that way just to look "in". He does it because it is the best > > way to work. > > > > Ramesh Kumar wrote, in part: > >> > >> I guess most of the people may be using LCD screen for > >> everything; I do not think viewfinder adds any value. > >> > >> Do we need viewfinder at all? > > > > > > I've looked at the Optio S, have not actually used one. IIRC, the viewfinder > was not bad. On my Optio 330RS the viewfinder is quite adequate for framing > the shot. Using the LCD rather than the viewfinder would never never be the > preferred mode unless: > a. you are talking about a camera with a viewfinder that is just too dark to > see through; > b. the camera is on a tripod; or > c. you are doing low-level macros, high-level over the crowd shots, or some > other weird thing and have no choice in the matter. What the heck, no film > costs to worry about, click the shutter and 1 out of 50 might work. > > I can guarantee you that physically there is no way you can get as steady a > shot with the camera held out in front of you as you can with the camera > held close to your face as you look through the viewfinder. And don't forget > that you are often shooting with 100 or 200 film (equivalence), low shutter > speeds, and not all that fast lenses. And the AF is going to be slower in > dimmer light, so just when you need to be steadiest, you get the longest > shutter lag and the biggest challenge to holding the camera steady. > > > IMHO, forget the notion of LCD as framing/focusing device. If you cannot use > the viewfinder on a given P&S digicam, don't buy it expecting to use the LCD > as a work-around; you will get lots of blurred shots. > > Stan >
