Originally posted by reh321 Out-of-doors, when I use my smart phone as a camera, I'm getting a vague snap shot .... I point it in the general direction of interest, touch the shutter, and then look for a sheltered spot to see what I got. With my camera, I carefully compose a photo using the viewfinder. There is no comparison between the two.
I note that the difference in opinion over the need for an EVF often centres on the quality of sunshine in the local environment. My Q is fine on a cloudy day but in full sun it’s as hopeless as a smart phone for seeing what you’re shooting.
On the other hand, an eyepiece viewfinder not only allows you to see in bright light, but it helps you to better frame the subject because it concentrates your vision. I tried several hotshoe optical viewfinders on the Q, but their accuracy was something of a lottery even with a wide fixed FL lens – on a zoom they were thoroughly useless. In the finish, I gave up and bought a Fujifilm X30, which has an EVF: even though I don’t like the colours it produces very much, and its low-light EVF performance is pretty ugly, at least I can be confident of framing a subject.