Post by USM on Apr 13, 2011 3:45:41 GMT 8
These are the EOS Digital Cameras with the respective information on its viewfinders.
Let me go through some of the jargons.
1) Coverage refers to what you can see in the viewfinder with what will be recorded on the sensor. It is expressed as a percentage. For example, if you can see through the viewfinder half of what will be on the sensor, this means that the coverage is 50%.
2) Magnification refers to how big the image appears in the viewfinder. It is expressed as decimal fraction of one. 1X is the size that things appear to be when you look at them with your naked eye.
Note that magnification changes when you use different lens focal lengths. When you use telephoto lenses, they make things look bigger whereas wide-angles lenses make things look smaller. As such, camera magnification is specified with a 50mm lens focus at infinity. This is because magnification also changes slightly depending on how close or far you focus the lens.
For example, a camera's magnification is 0.75X. What this means is that your camera, with a 50mm lens on it, set at infinity, makes things appear to be 3/4 the size they look to be with your naked eye. 0.5X means 1/2 as big; 0.9X means 9/10 as big. Better cameras have higher magnification. 0.95x is better than 0.88X is better than 0.67X, and so forth.
Another thing to take note is that the magnification also determines the apparent relative size of the viewfinder image rectangle.
3) Eyepoint, also called eye relief refers to how close you need to get to see the whole viewfinder frame. It is measured in millimeters.
For example, if you hold a camera 6" from your face and look at the eyepiece, you can still see a portion of the image the camera is seeing. But you can only see a small portion of it, not the whole image out to the edges. As you move your eye in closer and closer, you see more and more of the viewfinder image, until you can see the whole thing at once.
Why eyepoint is important? It's useful for people who wear eyeglasses, since eyeglasses create a physical barrier between your eye and the eyepiece that keeps them a certain distance apart.
4) Prism allows the photographer to see through the lens. Basically, there are 2 types found in modern DSLRs.
The first is Pentaprism which uses a prism do redirect the light from the lens to the view finder vs the camera sensor. Pentaprism is the highest quality viewfinder - it provides the highest resolution and most natural representation of the photo about to be taken. Pentaprism is higher quality than penta-mirror and thus is found largely in most professional DSLRs, it allows more light to pass through permitting a brighter view of the scene being photographed.
Another type would be the Penta-mirror. It is commonly found in beginner digital SLRs. Most entry-level DSLRs use penta mirrors which, like pentaprism permits the image being captured by the lens to be redirected (in this case by a series of mirrors) through the viewfinder. This permits full resolution and a natural immersive view of what your are taking a photograph of. Penta-mirrors provide the same function as a pentaprism by are typically constructed of plastic and cheaper to produce; on average they produce a darker image in the viewfinder.
Get a camera with at least 95% viewfinder coverage. So far, Canon has fulfilled it. All the EOS DSLRs have at least 95% viewfinder coverage. However, the higher the better.
As for the magnification, it should be at least 0.80x unless the viewfinder coverage is higher than 95%. Forget about those magnification that is less than 0.70x. Fortunately, I have not seen it in any EOS DSLR models.
On top of that, the eye point should be not be less than 15mm. Again, Canon has not made any EOS DSLR that falls into this category.
The viewfinder is a very important feature which you should not overlook. It is where you see the world through the camera. Hence, do not underestimate it.
Let me go through some of the jargons.
1) Coverage refers to what you can see in the viewfinder with what will be recorded on the sensor. It is expressed as a percentage. For example, if you can see through the viewfinder half of what will be on the sensor, this means that the coverage is 50%.
2) Magnification refers to how big the image appears in the viewfinder. It is expressed as decimal fraction of one. 1X is the size that things appear to be when you look at them with your naked eye.
Note that magnification changes when you use different lens focal lengths. When you use telephoto lenses, they make things look bigger whereas wide-angles lenses make things look smaller. As such, camera magnification is specified with a 50mm lens focus at infinity. This is because magnification also changes slightly depending on how close or far you focus the lens.
For example, a camera's magnification is 0.75X. What this means is that your camera, with a 50mm lens on it, set at infinity, makes things appear to be 3/4 the size they look to be with your naked eye. 0.5X means 1/2 as big; 0.9X means 9/10 as big. Better cameras have higher magnification. 0.95x is better than 0.88X is better than 0.67X, and so forth.
Another thing to take note is that the magnification also determines the apparent relative size of the viewfinder image rectangle.
3) Eyepoint, also called eye relief refers to how close you need to get to see the whole viewfinder frame. It is measured in millimeters.
For example, if you hold a camera 6" from your face and look at the eyepiece, you can still see a portion of the image the camera is seeing. But you can only see a small portion of it, not the whole image out to the edges. As you move your eye in closer and closer, you see more and more of the viewfinder image, until you can see the whole thing at once.
Why eyepoint is important? It's useful for people who wear eyeglasses, since eyeglasses create a physical barrier between your eye and the eyepiece that keeps them a certain distance apart.
4) Prism allows the photographer to see through the lens. Basically, there are 2 types found in modern DSLRs.
The first is Pentaprism which uses a prism do redirect the light from the lens to the view finder vs the camera sensor. Pentaprism is the highest quality viewfinder - it provides the highest resolution and most natural representation of the photo about to be taken. Pentaprism is higher quality than penta-mirror and thus is found largely in most professional DSLRs, it allows more light to pass through permitting a brighter view of the scene being photographed.
Another type would be the Penta-mirror. It is commonly found in beginner digital SLRs. Most entry-level DSLRs use penta mirrors which, like pentaprism permits the image being captured by the lens to be redirected (in this case by a series of mirrors) through the viewfinder. This permits full resolution and a natural immersive view of what your are taking a photograph of. Penta-mirrors provide the same function as a pentaprism by are typically constructed of plastic and cheaper to produce; on average they produce a darker image in the viewfinder.
No. | Camera Model | Type | Coverage | Magnification | Eyepoint | Dioptric adjustment | Focusing screen |
| 1. | 1000D | Eye-level pentamirror | 95% | 0.81x | 21mm | -3.0 to +1.0 m | Fixed |
| 2. | 1100D | Eye-level pentamirror | 95% | 0.8x | 21mm | -2.5 to +0.5 m | Fixed |
| 3. | 300D | Eye-level pentamirror | 95% | 0.88x | 21mm | -3.0 to +1.0 m | Fixed |
| 4. | 350D | Eye-level pentamirror | 95% | 0.8x | 21mm | -3.0 to +1.0 m | Fixed |
| 5. | 400D | Eye-level pentamirror | 95% | 0.8x | 21mm | -3.0 to +1.0 m | Fixed |
| 6. | 450D | Eye-level pentamirror | 95% | 0.87x | 19mm | -3.0 to +1.0 m | Fixed |
| 7. | 500D | Eye-level pentamirror | 95% | 0.87x | 19mm | -3.0 to +1.0 m | Fixed |
| 8. | 550D | Eye-level pentamirror | 95% | 0.87x | 19mm | -3.0 to +1.0 m | Fixed |
| 9. | 600D | Eye-level pentamirror | 95% | 0.85x | 19mm | -3.0 to +1.0 m | Fixed |
| 10. | D30 | Eye-level pentaprism | 95% | 0.88x | 20mm | -3.0 to +1.0 m | Fixed |
| 11. | D60 | Eye-level pentaprism | 95% | 0.88x | 20mm | -3.0 to +1.0 m | Fixed |
| 12. | 10D | Eye-level pentaprism | 95% | 0.88x | 20mm | -3.0 to +1.0 m | Fixed |
| 13. | 20D | Eye-level pentaprism | 95% | 0.9x | 20mm | -3.0 to +1.0 m | Fixed |
| 14. | 30D | Eye-level pentaprism | 95% | 0.9x | 20mm | -3.0 to +1.0 m | Fixed |
| 15. | 40D | Eye-level pentaprism | 95% | 0.95x | 22mm | -3.0 to +1.0 m | Interchangeable |
| 16. | 50D | Eye-level pentaprism | 95% | 0.95x | 22mm | -3.0 to +1.0 m | Interchangeable |
| 17. | 60D | Eye-level pentaprism | 96% | 0.95x | 22mm | -3.0 to +1.0 m | Interchangeable |
| 18. | 7D | Eye-level pentaprism | 100% | 1.0x | 22mm | -3.0 to +1.0 m | Fixed |
| 19. | 5D | Eye-level pentaprism | 96% | 0.71x | 20mm | -3.0 to +1.0 m | Interchangeable |
| 20. | 5D mk II | Eye-level pentaprism | 98% | 0.71x | 21mm | -3.0 to +1.0 m | Interchangeable |
| 21. | 1D | Eye-level pentaprism | 100% | 0.72x | 20mm | -3.0 to +1.0 m | Interchangeable |
| 22. | 1D mk II | Eye-level pentaprism | 100% | 0.72x | 20mm | -3.0 to +1.0 m | Interchangeable |
| 23. | 1D mk II N | Eye-level pentaprism | 100% | 0.72x | 20mm | -3.0 to +1.0 m | Interchangeable |
| 24. | 1D mk III | Eye-level pentaprism | 100% | 0.76x | 20mm | -3.0 to +1.0 m | Interchangeable |
| 25. | 1D mk IV | Eye-level pentaprism | 100% | 0.76x | 20mm | -3.0 to +1.0 m | Interchangeable |
| 26. | 1Ds | Eye-level pentaprism | 100% | 0.7x | 20mm | -3.0 to +1.0 m | Interchangeable |
| 27. | 1Ds mk II | Eye-level pentaprism | 100% | 0.7x | 20mm | -3.0 to +1.0 m | Interchangeable |
| 28. | 1Ds mk III | Eye-level pentaprism | 100% | 0.76x | 20mm | -3.0 to +1.0 m | Interchangeable |
| 29. | 1D X | Eye-level pentaprism | 100% | 0.76x | 20mm | -3.0 to +1.0 m | Interchangeable |
Get a camera with at least 95% viewfinder coverage. So far, Canon has fulfilled it. All the EOS DSLRs have at least 95% viewfinder coverage. However, the higher the better.
As for the magnification, it should be at least 0.80x unless the viewfinder coverage is higher than 95%. Forget about those magnification that is less than 0.70x. Fortunately, I have not seen it in any EOS DSLR models.
On top of that, the eye point should be not be less than 15mm. Again, Canon has not made any EOS DSLR that falls into this category.
The viewfinder is a very important feature which you should not overlook. It is where you see the world through the camera. Hence, do not underestimate it.