The Second Best Thing About MILCs

My number one like about mirrorless interchangeable lens cameras that I outlined in this post was the fact that when the focus is locked in it is dead on.  There is no need for micro focus adjustments of individual lenses with individual cameras, shooting test charts, etc.  Contrast detection focuses right off the front of the sensor.

The second best feature of mirrorless interchangeable lens cameras is the electronic viewfinder (EVF).  Being able to look through my viewfinder to see the "finished" image before I press the shutter button is a huge asset.  I wish I would have had this feature for the past 40 years!

I normally use the aperture priority setting when I am out making images.  Depending upon the subject and the amount of depth of field the image requires, I set the appropriate F/stop.  Then I bring the EVF to my eye, compose and look at the image presented before me.  In my viewfinder, with the rest of the exposure information, is a live histogram!  In other words, my de facto lightmeter is right in my viewfinder.  I can instantly judge my exposure.

I look at the position of my histogram as well as the overall luminance of the image itself.  If the image is too bright and some highlights might be blown out, I use my exposure compensation to reduce the exposure and move my histogram to the left.  If it appears that my image is too dark or I may lose some shadow detail, I merely add exposure compensation and move my histogram to the right.  I never have to take my eye away from the viewfinder.

When the histogram is well within both sides of the scale, I can decided whether or not I want to "expose to the right" (ETTR) or choose another exposure based upon how I want the final image to appear.  What a gift!  The upshot is that I can set the image tonality before I press the shutter button.  That saves time in editing as much less has to be done when you can "get it right in the camera."

The other aspect of EVFs that is nice is that you can set your camera to automatically boost or reduce the brightness the image in the EVF if it is very dark or darken it if it is very bright.  That doesn't allow you to see the various tonalities of your final exposure, but the upside is that if it is very dark, you can actually see your subject.  I prefer the EVF to reflect reality as that tells me how my image will look after I press the shutter.

I thought, from my previous experience, that I would continue to feel ambivalent about EVFs.  But the newer ones are so good and so close to optical viewfinders, that my reasons for my ambivalence have evaporated.

What about good old optical viewfinders?  How do I feel about them?  I still love them.  I haven't given up on them as my D800E has a great one.  But the trade-off for looking through that clear, bright prism is not knowing you have nailed your exposure unless you look at the image on your LCD after you have taken it. That, in an of itself, has potential consequences in breaking your concentration, rhythm, and possibly missing an important moment.  With the EVF, I put it to my eye, make a quick adjustment if necessary, and I don't have to check anything further.

Thanks for looking.  Enjoy!

Dennis Mook

Many of my images can be found at www.dennismook.com.  Please pay it a visit.  I add new images regularly.  Thank you.


All content on this blog is © 2014 Dennis A. Mook.  All Rights Reserved.  Feel free to point to this blog from your website with full attribution.  Permission may be granted for commercial use.  Please contact Mr. Mook to discuss permission to reproduce the blog posts and/or images.