Originally posted by Harald Only remarkable advantage is that they are cheaper to manufacture.
Originally posted by FotoPete: why would they elminate the mirror box and pentamirror/prism combo? Not only would I imagine it to be more costly (more electronics and another sensor) but the battery drain will be noticeably faster.
I agree with Harald, it will be a lot less costly to build. And this is a huge incentive for the manufacturers, don't you think? But the biggest incentive is market acceptance. I truely believe the consumers love live preview on a big screen - remember that the majority of current DSLR buyers are family snapshots shooters, not your definition of true photographers.
Mirror box is a mechanical part which is expensive to manufacture because of labor cost. And the cost would only go up with labor. For electronics parts, the cost would only go down.
Quote: EVF techonogyn is in its infancy and it takes a long time before it is even adequately good compared to optical solution.
Yes, I would expect the 1st or 2nd generations would not be very impressive. But as with any electronics, it will progress quickly and will catch up.
To be honest, having grown up with 35mm SLR, I like optical viewfinder. But I don't feel that this is where the future lies.
Quote: Optical:
pros: light speed update rate; as good as possible resolution (eye is limiting factor);
cons: angle finders clumsy;
Other cons: Misalignment of AF module causing front or back focus, Misalignment of AF focal point indicator, Dust in mirror or focusing screen (a nuisance though not affecting output), inaccurate exposure metering, inaccurate white balance (vs using the whole sensor and image area for metering), no live preview, large size camera, camera shape dictated by pentaprism and mirror box.
By eliminating the mirror box, in one fell swoop, you eliminate the cost of mechanical parts like mirror, focusing screen, pentaprism, metering sensors, AF modules... And you eliminate time and cost of the alignment/adjustment phase in the manufacturing process for AF module alignment, mirror box and focusing screen/pentaxprism alignment.
And you can have the freedom to design the camera to be in any shape you like, and potentially much smaller in size.