Originally posted by RyanW My own take on EVF's is they are the future, but the future is not now.
I wear glasses, so and EFV on a bright sunny day is no treat due to the light leakage around the cup. I have to use my hand to shield external light, not so with the OVF. Also sometimes I shoot with sunglasses, polarized sunglasses. Switch from landscape to portrait orientation and find out that the EVF is polarized to and I can't see much of anything.
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I don't think the EVF/OVF thing is going to involve a switch like change, so that one day everyone suddenly starts buying and using EVFs. Rather, its going to be gradual conversion and leveling off. So that 10 years from now, some types of cameras will always use OVF and others will use EVFs. Look at film usage, folks are still shooting it.
The transition is already underway. Sony makes all their cameras with EVF vice OVF. Found this post on the Sony forums on dpreview:
Quote: I shoot events and I find the EVF really helps me a lot than using the traditional OVF. The best thing is whatever you see on the back LCD screen is exactly the same as the one in the EVF, means you can operate the menu and preview your photos without leaving the EVF.
A handful of Zeiss and G lenses suppot AF-D on the A99, means faster and better continuous focusing, with the expense of shorter battery life, which is also one of the A99's drawbacks. You need to prepare almost double the amount of batter than our Nikon counterpart, for me, a full event needs at least 4-6 batteries. And more if its a full-day event, but also depends on your shooting style.
I find it really hard to go back to traditional DSLR after switching to Sony, I hope you make the right decision for yourself. Good luck and happy shooting
Originally posted by mecrox I suspect a part of the problem is that many camera-makers seem undecided whether they are making solid, practical and very carefully thought-through items of photography equipment or, instead, fashion statements or almost throw-away items for the consumer electronics industry. The Sony A7/A7r are classic examples of the second tendency, I'd have thought. They do have the sensor and the form factor spot on but almost everything else about them suggests lack of thought, lack of clarity and a hasty rush to the beancounters' deadline. If light-leakage around the VF cup is an issue for any manufacturer then it needs to be studied, remedied and appropriate accessories offered. Alas, fat chance with many camera outfits these days.
You express the frustration that many of us have very well! But at times, i'm not sure whether the camera makers just don't get it, or whether the real problem is that folks have so many different preferences - its hard to put it all in one camera.
I play this game where i try to sell pictures out of 2 outlets. And the game is: picking out pictures that people might want to buy - the old "What will people want" game. Size, style and content choices.
Yet, when Fuji came out with their latest series of specialized cameras, there was some widespread appeal of their efforts. And for some specific models in each brand, some seem to hit the target and others don't. And then there's the need for manufacturers to hit a specific price point, a specific size and shape, etc. So many cameras do come out with the look that a large committee designed them. Then there's the K01, designed by a specific individual - how did that work for you :-)
The marketplace isn't just one individual, its many groups, and the more groups a camera will appeal to, the better the chance for large sales. Too many compromises, and its the old vanilla camera again.
Last edited by philbaum; 04-01-2014 at 01:38 PM.