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Viewfinder or LCD screen?


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30 replies to this topic

#21
Jerry_

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95-98% viewfinder - but sometimes you can't get in a position to use the viewfinder, then the LCD is a backup solution.

#22
CanadiaNikon

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Viewfinder, other than those rare occasions where unusual perspectives are easier to set-up with the articulating LCD.



#23
morticiaskeeper

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I don't have a choice, both my Nikons are too old!

Even on a compact, I use the viewfinder.

#24
davjamrid

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So, what do you use to compose your pictures? The optical viewfinder, or the LCD screen?

I use the viewfinder. I would love to use the LCD screen for macro, and low shots where the articulation would've helpful. But I find it really unwieldy, for some reason. On my D5100, there seems to be a slight lag in what is displayed. I also can't take as many pictures as fast in a row.

Opinions?

 

This is why I use my viewfinder. I tend to take multiple shots in quick succession and the lag is too prohibitive. Unfortunately, I do not have a macro lens.



#25
alden

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If you are in a crowd and want to hold the camera over heads to get a shot, the LCD comes in very handy!

#26
TBonz

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I got used to doing that well before an LCD was an option - just have to get used to doing it and then you won't need the LCD...Sometimes I shoot like that at the end of games or from other (non-viewfinder) angles just to get the practice in and not because I expect to use any of the shots...



#27
K-9

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I am finding more and more reasons for using the LCD.  Since I purchased a fisheye lens for my Samsung NX20, using it with the flip out screen has become a critical combination, due to the angles of composition at the 10mm focal length.  An articulating LCD is invaluable when it comes to shooting video, street photography, and high or low angle shooting when there's no way you're getting your eye up to the viewfinder.  Even a non-articulating LCD wouldn't be effective for certain shooting angles.  It's one of the reasons why I was the only one who argued on the side of the D5300 in the D5300 vs. D7100 thread.  



#28
Ron

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I've been tempted to use the LCD when doing macro work but, for some reason, I've never tried it. I guess the act of raising the camera to my eye is so ingrained that I never give it a second thought. 

 

--Ron



#29
K-9

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That's exactly how I was, until I started using my Samsung's LCD.  It's come in handy more than I would have ever guessed.


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#30
Jerry_

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Here is one of the (rare) situations when I used the LCD: asa7e8eh.jpg It was a place where the stones made some overhead, thus the water that was draining through the soil and loading with sediments before freezing, was forming an icewall in front of the stone. While this allowed to have nice soft structures when taking a picture from the rear, the space between the ice and the rock was barely larger than the camera with the lens - so no chance to move the head in to check through the viewfinder. abebunu9.jpg .. jupateju.jpg

#31
RossCumming

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I tend to use viewfinder almost all the time. I find it easier to scan the entire image to ensure there are no unwanted surprises around the image edges while using the viewfinder that I do using the LCD screen and this simply down to the fact for me, the viewfinder is right at your eye and you have no peripheral distractions like the back of the camera or even wider - what you see in the viewfinder is what you are taking a picture of. Also for me to see the LCD accurately at anything less than arms length, I need to put my glasses on, which my glasses are are no use for distance, so I would then need to take my glasses off again to look into the landscape, so it is really not something I would use through preference. It is forced on me for using video, but that is all together different from taking a still image anyway and not something I do much of.