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What are the disadvantages of electronic viewfinders? such as the ones used in Sony SLT cameras?

What is the reason that major camera manufacturers are still using the classic viewfinders while using EVFs could have many benefits such as reduced size and weight of the camera and better usability in different conditions.

mattdm
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Omne
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    Observation only: I've owned 5 x DSLRs (4 x Sony/Minolta, 1 x Nikon D700) and have a Sony A77. For me the advantages of the EVF and permanent "electronic image" with phase focusing, no mirror madness, WYSIWYG, focus peaking good frame rate and much more are so great that I can't imagine going back to an OVF. The disadvantages are real, but the gains are stunning. The term "live view" is meaningless - it's just "view" permanently - viewable either on EVF or back LCD as suits. Response time for any action is bearable - eye and brain can do well enough. – Russell McMahon Feb 02 '13 at 13:04
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    Terrible EVF performance in extremely low light (Moonlight on down) is my biggest complaint. Dynamic range I can live with. The half a stop sensitivity loss to pellicle mirror is sad but acceptable. || I'm wondering how to afford an A99 and also wondering what their 36 Mp sensor FF is going to look like and cost. || TRY a Sony with EVF and see if it suits. If it does you'll love it. || My D700 is a better camera and takes better hi ISO photos - BUT the A77's always View system makes it an integrated photo making system and as such is superior in most cases to "just a camera". <Flame_suit = 1> – Russell McMahon Feb 02 '13 at 13:09
  • Thanks Russell, please see the comments below, what do you think about the battery life? – Omne Feb 02 '13 at 15:17
  • I have not tested effect of EVF on battery life. I can see no reason why it has to be major despite what others said. BUT the exposures per battery under std conditions are available for all good DSLRs - check and see how they compare. The BIG life affector on the A77 is GPS - when it is on the sleep current is high and it is unwise to "wealk around all day" with the camera in standby. Other than that I have not noted that the A77 is terrible. The SOny battery used by A700/A77/A99 and some others (NP-FM500H) is 1400-2000 mAh @ 7.2V and substantially larger than some - Sony or others. – Russell McMahon Feb 03 '13 at 02:51
  • I have 5 batteries - 2 original and 5 aftermarket. Aftermarket batteries have lower mAh usually (and claim higher) and may not give as many cycles BUT are much better value/$. I have had no problems with then. They are not a vast cost compared to body, lenses etc. On a very long day I charge on the fly either from car 12V charger or mains.Seldom necessary but nice to be safe. DPReview A77 test says 470 shots with EVF, 530 live veiw (ie LCD) CIPA standard. I probably get more than that when VERY busy. – Russell McMahon Feb 03 '13 at 02:56
  • NB: Again, "Live View" has no meaning for an A77. It is ALWAYS in live veiw - you just choose to look at EVF or LCD at rear. There is essentially no difference. Sony pellicle mirror cameras have removed the distinction. Buy one! :-). <flame_shields = 1> – Russell McMahon Feb 03 '13 at 02:57
  • Hmmm 2 + 5 = 5? / Make that 2 + 3 = 5. – Russell McMahon Feb 03 '13 at 03:55

1 Answers1

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There are both advantages and disadvantages to EVFs. The very best ones with high-resolution and high-refresh rates are actually quite suitable for most uses when well-implemented.

The main disadvantages are:

  • Lag: There is a short lag between action happening in front of the camera and what you see.
  • Dynamic-Range: EVFs are small LCD screens and have limited dynamic-range.

Lag is a problem for action and photography where following action is critical. The limited dynamic-range means that it is possible for areas to be blocked up (either fully white or full black) without details even though there are details which will be captured.

EVFs have advantages too:

  • WYSYWYG: With Exposure-Priority displays, like the ones on Sony SLT and NEX cameras, you see something much closer to the results on your display before shooting. With a OVF, you see with you eye and therefore there is no way to know how the image will be exposed. The same is true of White-Balance.
  • Sensitivity: EVF are electronic and can have the signals amplified to produce a bright image even in dark conditions. This makes them usable for framing with ND filters. For example, with my ND400, there is still an image shown while I cannot compose with a OVF with that filter on.
  • HUD: An EVF can show detailed information overlaid on the image, including a Live-Histogram and detailed camera status. One can also navigate menus and change almost any setting with the camera at eye-level.

Some things are on the fence:

  • Focus: With 1.5 - 2.4 MP EVF it is now quite easy to judge focus. The same cannot be said about most EVFs which have a mere 200K-350K pixels. Additionally, a lot of cameras can magnify the EVF to assist MF and some can highlight high-contrast edges (focus-peaking). The remaining problem though for MF is lag. Just like the EVF lags action, it lags behind the focus-ring too and on some cameras I find it rather hard to get focus exactly right without back-and-forth movement.
  • Coverage: The vast majority of EVFs show 100% coverage. For OVFs, it is sadly the minority.

Keep in mind that implementations vary widely and plenty of EVF are not Exposure-Priority and some do not properly boost the image brightness in low-light. There are also EVFs which do not show a correct Live-Histogram.

There are also some annoyances such as the need for a camera to be on to see something. With an OVF, it is possible to frame and focus (except for lenses with fly-by-wire focus rings) with the camera off. Finally EVFs require a lot of power, often as much as having the rear LCD on, despite being smaller. This makes the battery-life similar to using Live-View and roughly half of what it is with an OVF. The actual drain depends on the specific camera of course.

Itai
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  • How noticeable is lag in the best of current models? Is it still a concern? – dpollitt Feb 01 '13 at 23:25
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    This is nicely balanced answer. I agree that the disadvantages that you list are probably the biggest reasons more of the industry hasn't shifted to EVFs. Though I think that EVFs are closing the gap with OVFs. The jump in quality between the EVF in the A33 and the A77 was huge.

    @dpollitt I don't notice any lag with my A77, but I don't shoot sports. I would say that lag is not a concern for most scenarios.

     – CyberKnoy08 Feb 01 '13 at 23:28
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    As stated, the lag is only a concern for action photography. Some are better than others. The Olympus OM-D E-M5 has the fastest update rate and even kept up at 9 FPS shooting. The Fuji X-E1 which is also state of the art but higher resolution did has a more noticeable lag. Again, we are talking in the 10ths of a second, so not problematic for mostly still subjects. – Itai Feb 01 '13 at 23:33
  • Something else, additional to what Itai has mentioned, to consider is that electronic viewfinders drain battery! And quite a lot of it to.

    Cheers,

     – NULLZ Feb 01 '13 at 23:36
  • @D3C4FF That is what I meant by require a lot of power. I'll clarify. – Itai Feb 02 '13 at 00:07
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    Thanks Itai. except the short battery life, I think other disadvantages are minimal and could be ignored by normal consumers. – Omne Feb 02 '13 at 15:14
  • Sony A37 uses more battery power on EVF than on the rear LCD. Must be the much higher resolution in the EVF that makes the difference in power usage go that way around. – Esa Paulasto Mar 10 '13 at 21:30
  • @EsaPaulasto - Correct. Each pixel requires circuitry. That is why the highest resolution display uses the most power. In the case of an OVF, there is only a small LCD with very few segments at the bottom for the status line so it is extremely low powered. – Itai Mar 11 '13 at 00:04
  • Re "The remaining problem though for MF is lag. Just like the EVF lags action, it lags behind the focus-ring too and on some cameras I find it rather hard to get focus exactly right without back-and-forth movement." -> NB FYI only: On my Sony A77 with EVF I have never noticed manual focusing being a problem. I have high level focus peaking set "as of right". I can disable it but would probably never choose to. | Just had a play in low light conditions - focus ability not noticeably affected by EVF delay. – Russell McMahon Aug 30 '14 at 12:05