[drougge]

This could be a good idea for the next model, which should then also have the corresponding crop frames available in the viewfinder.

Given that the whole finder goes uniformly darker when you take the battery out I think it's reasonable to think that the hardware can put whatever frames the firmware wants in the finder.

[Adam]

Given that the whole finder goes uniformly darker when you take the battery out I think it's reasonable to think that the hardware can put whatever frames the firmware wants in the finder.

Unfortunately not. The LCD is an array of predefined shapes, as shown below:



As you can see, there's no provision for other frames. These could easily be added in a future model, though. Other manufacturers (such as Nikon) do support multiple frame displays in the viewfinder.

[drougge]

Unfortunately not. The LCD is an array of predefined shapes, as shown below:

As you can see, there's no provision for other frames. These could easily be added in a future model, though. Other manufacturers (such as Nikon) do support multiple frame displays in the viewfinder.

I can see this image (and the similar image on page 17 of the manual) shows no such provisions. I still think the hardware is not limited to this, because if it was this is what I would see when I take the battery out. What I actually see is the whole finder darkening. Why would that be if the hardware was limited to what they currently document?

[Adam]

Why would that be if the hardware was limited to what they currently document?

It's just like a calculator LCD display, which shows nothing when the battery is dead or the power is off. If you shine a light at the focusing screen and look closely when the power is off, you can see the faint outline of all the liquid crystals on the display.

Adam
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[drougge]

It's just like a calculator LCD display, which shows nothing when the battery is dead or the power is off. If you shine a light at the focusing screen and look closely when the power is off, you can see the faint outline of all the liquid crystals on the display.

With just the power off I see whatever I have selected to see. With the battery out, so the camera really is without power, I see nothing. Actually I see a hint of something right in the middle, smaller than the circle displayed on the LCD. But no trace of the lines are visible to me when the camera is without battery.

When I put the battery back in (without turning the camera on) the LCD clears, and no lines are visible. The thing in the middle gets a little easier to see though. When I turn the camera on the lines I have selected re-appear, and stay there if I turn it off again, until I take the battery out.

[jcdoss]

Unfortunately not. The LCD is an array of predefined shapes, as shown below:



As you can see, there's no provision for other frames. These could easily be added in a future model, though. Other manufacturers (such as Nikon) do support multiple frame displays in the viewfinder.

Is it possible to alter what's already there? If so, then for a square crop, activate the vertical sides of the crop rectangle, but keep the top and bottom horizontal lines off. That should give a rough framing for a 1:1 square crop mode, using the sides of the crop rectangle and the top of the frame.

[Adam]

Is it possible to alter what's already there? If so, then for a square crop, activate the vertical sides of the crop rectangle, but keep the top and bottom horizontal lines off. That should give a rough framing for a 1:1 square crop mode, using the sides of the crop rectangle and the top of the frame.

If the current crop frame were composed of multiple independent segments, it would be possible, but that's not how the K-1's VF is implemented.

The Nikon D800 does this quite effectively.

Adam
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[drougge]

If the current crop frame were composed of multiple independent segments, it would be possible, but that's not how the K-1's VF is implemented.

Do you have a source for that?

We can see in the video npc posted on the first page that there was a 1:1 mode on preproduction models, and I still maintain that since the whole finder goes dark and blurry when you remove the battery there is a display covering the whole thing.

I took a photo through the finder that I think shows at least that the crop frame and the grid are not really the same display. (This is the lower right of the crop frame, showing the grid line in focus but the crop frame not so much.)

[Adam]

I took a photo through the finder that I think shows at least that the crop frame and the grid are not really the same display. (This is the lower right of the crop frame, showing the grid line in focus but the crop frame not so much.)

The crop frame and grid are independent of each other, yes.

Do you have a source for that?

It's evident from the viewfinder's appearance. Again, the K-1's viewfinder overlay is not a matrix of pixels, but rather an array of much larger liquid crystals that can be turned on and off independently of each other. However, just like segments on an 8-digit calculator display, there's no option for only half to be illuminated at once.

Note that if the display were a matrix of pixels, the various components would have discernible gaps and diagonal lines (such as the ones in the grid) would appear aliased.

We can see in the video npc posted on the first page that there was a 1:1 mode on preproduction models, and I still maintain that since the whole finder goes dark and blurry when you remove the battery there is a display covering the whole thing.

Based on pre-production testing that one of my reviewers did, the VF did not change in 1:1 mode. I'm almost certain that this is why the option was ultimately removed.