The optical viewfinder of DSLR cameras is a tricky thing. On the one hand, in the classical view it consists only of frosted glass, a pentaprism or pentamirror and the viewfinder eyepiece itself. In fact, everything is much more complicated due to the fact that in modern SLR cameras there are visual additions in the viewfinder, an exposure metering system and a diopter adjustment of the viewfinder for the photographer's vision.
In general, the principle of the viewfinder structure in modern cameras can be described by the following image.
Viewfinder device on modern cameras. Canon 7D camera design taken as an example
Please note that above the focusing matte screen, which forms the image, in modern cameras there is a special transparent liquid crystal LCD display (Transmissive LCD). The essence of Transmissive LCD is to create informational visual effects in the viewfinder, such as shown in the picture below.
Optical viewfinder with a number of additional visual effects on the example of the Nikon D700 camera
As you can see, using the Transmissive LCD transparent display in the optical viewfinders, we can observe elements such as focus points and areas, framing lines, the backlight of the active focus point, the active lower and sometimes the side information panel. The information bottom or side panel is usually green and shows the most important camera settings, such as shooting mode, aperture value, ISO, shutter speed and many others. This is very helps a lot during shooting, because you don’t need to take the camera away from your face to check the settings on the main or secondary camera display. Modern cameras can even show a virtual horizon in the optical viewfinder.
Transmissive LCD has a special LED backlight that makes it glow informational visual indicators during work. I noticed that the LED backlight changes its intensity in different lighting conditions.
Principle of sight
Some Nikon cameras have very strange feature: When the battery is removed from the camera, the viewfinder becomes very dark, dirty and grainy. This is contrary to common sense, because the viewfinder is a completely mechanical device that should not consume the power of the camera and show the real image that the lens forms. But cameras such as Nikon D80, D90, D700, D3 when the battery or battery pack is removed, they lose all normal ability to sight through the optical viewfinder.
Here is what is written in the camera manual Nikon D80 (18 page)
'If the battery is completely discharged or not installed, the viewfinder screen becomes dim. When a fully charged battery is inserted, the viewfinder screen returns to normal. '
The same can be seen in the instructions for other cameras, for example, Nikon D90, D700. In the instructions to Nikon D700, in the troubleshooting section, the following is indicated:
'Viewfinder is dark - Install fully charged battery'
Most likely, this circumstance is due to the fact that when the power is turned off, the transparent liquid crystal LCD display turns off and loses its normal ability to transmit light due to the specific features of liquid crystals. You don’t have to worry about the battery charge; the transparent display consumes very, very little energy. LED backlighting most likely only works when the camera is on. When you insert the battery back into the camera and look into the viewfinder, you can see how all the visual elements of the LCD display are initialized and turn off again, leaving only the framing grid if the latter was included in the camera menu.
Which Nikon cameras have this feature - I can't say. But I noticed a peculiarity that cameras with a pentamirror do not have this property. I believe the developers might not have disabled LCD display behind the focusing screen, and use the battery power of the system timer, but most likely they had serious reasons to resort to such measures. Also, I advise you to look at the page where it is described The structure of the mirror of the modern central hall.
Conclusions
Optical viewfinder - an interesting device. Some Nikon cameras have a specific viewfinder function that becomes unusable when the battery is removed, an effect related to the design of the optical viewfinder itself.
Help to the project. Thanks for attention. Arkady Shapoval
Arkady, a question on the topic, what kind of viewfinder do you recommend replacing the standard one in Nikon d5100, Navigating with Liveviev is not always convenient, especially in sunny weather with my eyesight .. I can’t find any screens for this device with doden wedges and a matte screen, Mb what then tell me? I would also like to learn more about this type of viewfinder in an article in more detail.
Thank you for your work!
I rarely come across screens, I can't tell you, I know for sure that it's not a problem to install from Kiev on d3100 - http://bhag.in.ua/stati/fscreen-kiev-nikon.html and more http://evtifeev.com/1983-zamena-fokusirovochnogo-ekrana.html
And on Pentax Km you can put a focusing screen with wedges of a doden video camera like a radian camera? (:
Arkady is a small mistake. The focusing screen dims not only in Nikon's CZK with pentaprism, but also with a pentamirror. Nikon D3000. I checked it personally, observed this effect when discharging or when removing the battery. This camera, despite the obsolete model, has a very interesting focusing screen. I like it more than in d5100. Features - When focusing in backlit or very light areas, the selected focus point appears as black contrasting LCD brackets [] against a light background. If the pickup occurs in poor light conditions, the same focusing currents light up in the form of LED elements glowing in red. And the framing grid in the viewfinder is even more interesting. It is somewhat reminiscent of the backlighting of e-ink displays of electronic readers. At the ends of the screen, there are LED light sources, which are directed to the light-guiding strips (or reflective grooves etched into the plastic of the screen) applied in the form of a framing grid. In Nikon d5100 there are only LED indicators of focusing points, the current to which is supplied, obviously, through thin-film transparent paths made of sprayed metal. Therefore, it does not grow cloudy when removing the battery.
PS Thanks for the article !!!
It's not a mistake.
just a very relevant article
thank you very much!!!
Not at all.
Interesting article. I immediately decided to check whether the presence of the battery affects the viewfinder of my D3100, and I can say that I did not notice the difference. So on younger models, they do not connect it with electronics.
In my Nikon D40 is also not affected :)
Interesting article, Arkady, thanks! The user always needs to know his camera. Now I checked the viewfinder's reaction to removing the battery on my D7000 - yes, it gets dark and becomes cloudy. Should there be 4 framing lines in the viewfinder? (if we mean the selection of a composition according to the rule of thirds). Is there any Russian-language literature on the technical aspects of Nikon cameras? I found it only in English by my model. lang. The instruction does not allow you to penetrate to many points.
The cat cried Russian-language literature, there are no English-language articles even on the darkening of the viewfinder, I had to figure out the reason myself for a very long time. There are 80 crop lines on my Nikon D700, D3, which divides the picture into 4 parts vertically and horizontally.
one big advice for everyone !!! if you yourself are not sure what you are doing, contact the service ...
interesting article thanks! Checked my fuji c5 pro. the viewfinder darkened and became cloudy with the battery removed. if the battery is standing and the camera is in the off mode, then everything is normal, the viewfinder is the same as when the camera is on
Good time of day. My camera is not a Nikon system. I've been using the Canon 7D for two years now. I have the same viewfinder. Starting from 40D, I don’t know how models behave younger, and ending with 1DX, a backlit viewfinder
This backlight works continuously until the charge in the battery is depleted or until you remove it. This “problem” used to scare me. But now I'm used to it. I don't have any difficulties and complaints about the destruction of the charge with this innovation. Although the instructions say that the charge does not go down, remove the battery. Successful pictures, GOD. And the article is not bad. I like it…!
Greetings!
I have a Nikon D3000, today I accidentally noticed that after removing the battery the viewfinder got dark =)
Interestingly, the camera is off, I insert the battery and voila - the viewfinder brightens.
It turns out in the off state (off position), the backlight works, did I understand correctly?
This is not a backlight, but a property of the crystal display that forms the grid, focus points, and viewfinder hints.
Arkady thanks for responding!)
I just wanted to clarify that the camera is off and the viewfinder is lightened - is this the norm?
I thought that he would only brighten when the camera was turned on, but the location of the power switch does not affect him, only the presence of a charged battery.
Is this the norm?
Yes, that’s the norm. I strongly recommend that you read this article, everything is clearly written there, why it is so, and it is indicated that the instructions write about it and this is normal.
Thank you!
Kind time of the day! Accidentally came to your site and is very glad. A lot of useful information as for me (beginner). I want to ask Nikon 3000
How to display information in the video finder as shown in the figure above. Thank you.
As shown in the figure, it will not work, since in the D3000 there are only 9 focus points.
Hello! My Nikon D90 camera charged the battery (it probably took a long time to charge for two days - I forgot about it) inserted it into the camera and looked through the peephole, focusing - everything is dull, I take a photo - it's normal!
I have already cleaned everything that is possible! This eyepiece itself, the lens ... no changes! What could it be?
Does the camera itself work?
Maybe they just knocked down the diopter adjustment on the viewfinder :)
No, everything is exactly as described in the article.
I have a focus question. I have a Nikon D90, I recently took a Carl Zeiss 50mm 1.4 lens with manual focus, before that I used mostly automatic. Unless with 85mm 1.8 I trained on the manual for a couple of days, but there I mostly hoped for a point-indicator of the correct focus. So, with Zeiss, I decided that I had to rely on eyesight, and practically did not pay attention to the point. Well, I noticed that in the resulting image the zone of sharpness is not where I see it in the viewfinder before I press the shutter release. I didn’t notice this on autofocus. I wear glasses and the viewfinder is adjusted to my vision. I sin on this insufficient diopter adjustment that it somewhat shifts the zone of sharpness. Am I right, or is it something else?
The fact is that with this lens the flu on the open is very small and it is difficult to determine by eye. This is a normal occurrence.
I understand that sharpness is hard to catch at a large aperture, but it is important for me to know even theoretically whether the viewfinder can show sharpness in the wrong place. Because on the 85th, I also noticed this on the open aperture in portraits with manual focus. Well, with the zeiss on the first day in the room, only somewhere around 3 out of 200 frames turned out to be in focus, although I can say that I saw much more sharp frames in the viewfinder :(
Yes maybe. Normal back / front due to mirror and lens alignment.
Indeed, he also took pictures of them, and realized that the calculation was carried out practically by millimeters at short distances and with an open diaphragm. By the way, I realized that the aperture 1.4 is practical, and it is not needed for this reason. Of course, it adds a stream of light, compared to 1.8, but photographs with it can probably only be portraits, and then only occasionally, because of the very small depth of field.
Please tell me what happened to the camera, the viewfinder darkened due to which I don’t know, apparently I pressed something and it doesn’t lighten anymore, even though remove the battery. I talked to her about the kettle.
Good day to all!
the question is non-standard, I shoot on d80 in night clubs, the flash on the cable on the softbox is mainly the problem is that I don’t have enough illumination of the camera’s native LED, it often doesn’t finish (smoke, strobe lights, etc.) is it possible to replace it with a diode with another camera, on a more powerful and ideally infrared (like on sony, for example)?
thank you
Hello. Today, while cleaning the matrix, I accidentally scratched the matte focusing screen. When I focus through the viewfinder, the photographer is very annoying. How can I be? Is it possible to replace it in the service center? Is it possible to replace it with any difficulties and troubles for the camera itself? Tell me, please, was someone planning to carry the camera to the service and would like to know what is being prepared for?
Hello! Well, firstly, thank you very much for the tons of information. And secondly, the question: I didn’t understand how Pts prevented the use of just a 45-degree mirror instead of a pentaprism?
Pentaprism allows you to expand the image, because the lens gives an inverted
I was very scared when I saw this on the D300s! Then I found the indicated note in the instructions.
in film cameras, this darkening effect is also present, in particular, in Nikon F80 and F100, if you take out 2 batteries of them A123, it’s dark as in the basement) it means that in the very pentaprism the pribluda loses the train and gets dark ...
In front of the prism is a matte display.
A little correction. The bottom information line is an LED, not an LCD. And in those cameras where the viewfinder does not grow turbid when the battery is pulled out, so in my opinion there’s no screen either. In the same D3100, neither the grid, nor the battery indicator, nor the focus points are displayed in the viewfinder.
Nothing of the kind. The nikon d3100 has focus points, low battery, etc. The lower LED bar is green.
Good day to all. Perhaps my question will seem far-fetched, but still. I have the first SLR in less than a year. I am a bespectacled man (+2,5), I endorse in 90% of cases through the JVI. Taking pictures on the street on a bright sunny day, I look at the JVI through sunglasses, which I also have with diopters. At the same time, I see the information in the JVI (scale, etc.) well. The question is, is it okay to take off wearing sunglasses? That is, otherwise I would have to constantly change my glasses: go in the sun, and at the time of shooting, cling to the usual ones, which is terribly inconvenient. Please share my experience with someone who has a similar problem.
Good afternoon. Such a question: on Nikon D700 (after which I don't know) the focusing screen began to work inversely - with the battery connected, the field is dark, translucent, closes the image, the dots are transparent, when the shutter button is half pressed, the field turns red, the dots are transparent, the image is still closed. Some kind of power supply short circuit? And what to do? I would be grateful for the answer
Hello.
The following problem arose: in the viewfinder I found a band almost in the center and something that looked like a speck of dust. I removed and cleaned the focusing screen, the problem remained: scratches (or dust) on the glass next to it (as I understand it, on the LCD). By blowing with a pear, the problem also did not resolve. But, if it is not dust, but scratches, where could they come from? Is there a chance to fix the problem yourself, or contact a service center?
Hello, Yaroslav! I have the same problem on my nikon D3300: some hair or something similar with a small pile of dust clogged under the screen with focus points (this is the one behind the focus). I also removed the focusing screen, cleaned it, tried to blow through the next one, but it was all useless. To remove the second screen itself, in my opinion, is difficult, but to put it in place will be even more difficult.
I would like to know how you solved your problem?
In my D300s I noticed such a feature, if you forget to turn off the camera (i.e. switch from ON to OFF) after lying in this state, the battery is discharged. It is unlikely that JVI “switching on” consumes the entire battery, but I don’t know what to think anymore ... Who thinks or knows what?
I noticed this feature for both of my cameras D2Xs and D 300 ……
TIP HOW TO PLACE A FOCUS POINT ON THE NIKON D90. THANKS IN ADVANCE.
No problem - page 56 instructions for the camera.
THANK YOU
Help me please!
The SLR camera stopped photographing through the viewfinder. What is the reason?