New Rantatorial Just Publsihed - What Lies Ahead

[Two23]

My view is exactly the same. I want a clear uncluttered viewfinder for my compositions. The Canon 5DSR and the Niikon D850 are prime examples of very good viewfinders. I have not yet seen a mirrorless I could accept. I'm not sure it will ever happen since a viewfinder is fundamentally different from a backlit screen no matter the quality of it. I may come to a point where I have to. 😊

Looking back over the past ~130 years of camera development, one trend is clear:  compactness always wins.  A 100+ years ago the standard camera for people like us was a 5x7 inch view camera (or half plate 4.75x6.5 if you lived in the British Empire.)  That's a "viewfinder" of 35 sq. inches!  And things continually shrank until the present day where we find we are peering through a tiny hole in the back of the camera.  None of the modern cameras have a viewfinder even close to what we would use in 1918, and yet we prefer that.


Kent in SD

[adias]

Let's look at some trends where history shows that technology for technology sake, or for economical reasons, is reversed, at least in high-end products:

- Mechanical watch followed by electronic watch. Quality mechanical watches are sought after more than ever.

- Porsche offers GT3 with auto-manual only in 2013 forced to offer 6-speed manual in 2017.

[DP]

Let's look at some trends where history shows that technology for technology sake, or for economical reasons, is reversed, at least in high-end products:

- Mechanical watch followed by electronic watch. Quality mechanical watches are sought more than ever.

- Porsche offers GT3 with auto-manual only in 2013 forced to offer 6-speed manual in 2017.

in high-end only, what is the point to talk about niche markets ? Quality mechanical watches are like MF gear in the world where most money are made in small sensor non ILC gear (cell phones, auto, etc) 

[DP]

I want a clear uncluttered viewfinder for my compositions.

you can switch everything off in EVF to make it uncluttered...

[DP]

Anders Torger

very true, great piece of work ... albeit recently other things apparently distracted him and a number of certain bugs are not corrected for a while ... hopefully he will find some time & strength to go about his products again

[DP]

but I do not compose with it.

some people do not compose with viewfinder at all, so ?

[tsjanik]

Re Pentax giving up: who could blame them? They were way ahead of the curve with the 645Z, the K3 had the 24Mpx sensor and IBIS of the A6500 at 1/3 the price. The K1 has been reviewed as outstanding everywhere... but no one buys their gear. ..................

Indeed; the K-1 is a remarkable camera and when conditions allow pixel shift (available for years on Pentax bodies), the output rivals that of the 645Z .  As far as giving up, I have been reading about the death of Pentax for so long that I started as a young man, well relatively speaking anyway..   

[Hans Kruse]

you can switch everything off in EVF to make it uncluttered...

I know but the arguments for mirrorless is exactly all the things you can clutter the viewfinder with. I don't like that and don't need it either.

[armand]

I know but the arguments for mirrorless is exactly all the things you can clutter the viewfinder with. I don't like that and don't need it either.

There is also WYSIWYG which you can combine with highlights/ shadows blinkies for optimal exposure and/or with focus peaking for optimal focus.

Or variations such as this shot I found on internet for an X-T2 and focus assist: https://goo.gl/images/p8duLv

[Hans Kruse]

There is also WYSIWYG which you can combine with highlights/ shadows blinkies for optimal exposure and/or with focus peaking for optimal focus.

Or variations such as this shot I found on internet for an X-T2 and focus assist: https://goo.gl/images/p8duLv

Thanks and I know all this, but I have not seen an EVF yet that I would like.

[armand]

That's a different problem which time will likely solve.

I'm switching between a Nikon D750 OVF (decent but not top of the line) and Fuji/ Oly EVF (the X-T2 one is competitive) and I can't say I miss the other type when I'm with a particular camera. As most things if you give it a little time you get used to a lot.