Well, Someone Finally Said It…

I read a review of a small travel camera today. A lovely thing that would take stunning shots, if we were allowed to travel. A good alternative to just packing a mobile phone and getting marginal images.

But the reviwer was honest – the EVF at the upper left corner of the camera body was tiny. A little squinty thing that had a narrow eyepiece and a small screen inside. He referred it as an alternative to the LCD screen when you were forced out into bright sunlight.

Finally, the truth. And it is not a miserable one, either.

I shoot dance shows and value the ability to catch the peak of a movement. A mirrorless camera with an EVF won’t do it – you always see the subject in it just after the action is finished. So with an EVF’d camera you end up squinting over the top of the body at the action on stage and firing it from there. If you’ve left plenty of air around the subject you get a file that stops the action but can be cropped effectively. It’s crude, but it works.

The other evocation of the maker’s design has an optical viewfinder as well as a screen inside. You can switch to a straight-through view and see what you need directly. I love the shows that are so brightly lit that this older camera body can be brought into play – I get better action while still keeping the noise under control.

But I have to admit that there are times when I set a camera to see a stage by fastening it to a tripod and positioning it with the LCD. Then I switch this off and just peer at the dancers, firing as needed.

The LCD is not a panacea, nor is it an admission of vice or failure. It is a valid feature on the cameras – it would be far more so if someone would bring back the dear old waist level finder hood to allow us to use it in the day. Or invent a coating for the LCD that would let it be seen in the sun.