JVI or EVI

My experience with EVI (electronic viewfinder) consists in communicating with Sony a7, a7 II, a7R, a9 cameras, some mirrorless Panasonic, Olympus and Fujifilm. For a long time I shot on SLR cameras with OVI (optical viewfinder), and after them it was very inconvenient for me to use EVI, but over time I felt all its charms and radically changed my mind.

The internal structure of the camera

The internal structure of the camera

On the Internet, I often see phrases like "Once I tried EVI, I realized that this is not mine." Such words can be said about me, but, fortunately, life made me communicate with EVI more closely and come to different conclusions.

Please note that OVIs are of two types - for SLR cameras and for rangefinder (mirrorless) cameras. The JVI design for these two different types of cameras is fundamentally different. In this article, by OVI, I mean a viewfinder specifically for SLR cameras.

EVI, power consumption and inclusion

One of the most serious drawbacks of EVI is considered volatility. In order to see what you want to shoot, in the case of EVI, the camera must be turned on. In this case, the matrix of the camera will be turned on, the processor and the EVI sensor will work. All this consumes energy, and even worse, it takes time to turn on the sensor, processor, and other hardware. As a result, there is a huge lag between turning on the camera and displaying the image.

Electricity consumption can be cured with more capacious or spare batteries - it's not a big problem for me... But the EVI lags when turning on, turning off, exiting the camera from sleep mode, activating the sensor after it was turned off while viewing the footage, and so on, get on your nerves. Lag when turning on EVI - biggest flawwhich I highlight in EVI.

This drawback can be easily solved - for example, always keep the sensors on, or just make the lags very short. I believe that in the future there will be no problems with power consumption and lags when turning on / switching a camera equipped with EVI.

Is the finished result really visible in EVI?

A strong advantage of EVI is the ability to see the finished result before releasing the shutter. But there are caveats here. The observed image is formed by a rather small sensor of 1-2 Megapixels, which does not transmit the entire amount of data received from the camera's matrix. In this case, JVI is more informative, the matte screen of which, in fact, has a very high resolution. Also, the camera's processor is not able to immediately apply all image enhancement add-ons, such as dynamic range control, color control, noise reduction, distortion, vignetting, and chromatic aberration. As a result, the image after the shutter is released may still be slightly different from the one that I observe in the EVI.

In the Sony a7 camera and many others, it is very noticeable that the image is still being finalized after the shutter is released. It often happens that after the shutter is released, the camera shows the received picture, 1-2 seconds pass and the picture changes its appearance - additional processing takes place, which could not be obtained immediately.

Also, the future result is not visible when working with pulsed light. True, this is not visible with JVI either.

And EVI does not always correctly convey the blur zone. The picture obtained in the EVI, in fact, is always the result of the operation of a fully electronic sensor shutter. But when the mechanical shutter is released with the front electronic shutter, the photo can acquire new artifacts, which were affected by this same mechanical shutter. In the end, the image in the EVI will be very different from the one that will be obtained after the shutter is released. For example, a similar problem reviewed here.

I really like that when working with EVI, a finished picture (obtained after releasing the shutter) can be viewed immediately without taking your eyes off the camera’s eye. In the case of the JVI, you need to take the camera away from your eyes and look at the main display to see the received image. It turns out that with EVI much less time is spent on monitoring the shot material.

As for the small differences from the image observed in the EVI and the final frame (after releasing the shutter), this is just a processor limitation, which can be easily cured in the future. Yes, and many cameras already fully display in EVI directly the frame that will be after the shutter is released - with all additional image quality adjustments turned on.

EVI in the studio

Usually, sighting through an EVI makes it possible to observe the picture that will be at the time of shooting, but this may not always be convenient, and sometimes it is contraindicated. This primarily concerns shooting in the studio using pulsed light. The bottom line is that in the studio all frames are usually shot with manual settings exposure. For example, in the studio it is most often used exposure control mode "M". Suppose I set ISO 100, F / 4.0 and 1/125 sec. With these settings, the camera’s EVI will display a black rectangle, since there can be very little pilot light (pulsed flashes will be used at the time of shooting). It is practically impossible to focus on and compose the frame in such conditions. To overcome this inconvenience, on cameras with EVI there is a function that disables “displaying pictures with actual parameters” and includes “display simulation”. In simulation mode, the camera does not use user-defined parameters. exposure, but selects its optimal ones, in which the EVI produces a distinct image, through which you can focus on sharpness and compose the frame. If you turn on the simulation, then in this case it will be very convenient to endorse in the studio.

In the Sony a7 camera menu, the function that is responsible for the display mode is called 'Display. Live View '(Setting whether to display settings such as correction exposure, on the display screen). This function can take only two values ​​“Display. Param. ON ”and“ Display Param. Off. "

When I first got into a studio with a mirrorless camera using EVI, I did not know about the possibility of simulation and it was very difficult for me to shoot.

Of course, simulation of the display can be useful for other types of shooting, for example, for shooting with very slow shutter speeds.

Inertia EVI

EVI suffers from inertia - when rearranging a frame, the display of changes may occur with a delay, and the EVI may slowly rebuild with a strong change exposure filmed scene. For example, if I was shooting in the shade of trees, and sharply pointing the camera towards a bright street, then in EVI instead of the expected type of street, for an instant I will get a white spot that has normalized and will take the expected form over time.

With a sharp change in lighting, the Sony a7 loses consciousness and within a few seconds adjusts to the correct exposure.

Most likely, this drawback can be eliminated and in the future cameras with EVI will be deprived of this drawback.

Pixelization

They say that one of the main problems of EVI is the pixelation of the image. Perhaps this was a problem many years ago when sensors for displaying images in EVI had low resolution. With the cameras that I indicated at the beginning of the article, I did not observe or did not notice the pixels of the EVI display.

If some EVIs have such a disadvantage, then over time the number of pixels on the EVI sensors will increase and everyone will forget about this problem.

Feeling of light

The EVI sensor has a constant or variable brightness within certain limits. On the one hand, this is a great achievement compared to the JVI. In the JVI, the brightness directly depends on the maximum aperture of the lens and the illumination of the scene. But constant brightness can play a trick on the eyes of the photographer. When shooting in bright light, I often saw that when I was vising through the EVI, my eye was tuned to a certain light intensity, and as soon as I took the camera away from my face and looked at what was happening without EVI, it took my eyes time to change to another illumination. The same thing happens when in the bright sun you bring the camera to your face, while in EVI you can’t see anything for a while until your eyes accommodate.

I think that this drawback of EVI can be solved with brighter sensors, as well as light sensors (similar to those that are in modern smartphones and automatically adjust the brightness of the display depending on the light).

The viewfinder is directly linked to the focusing system and exposure metering system

Speaking about EVI and JVI, you need to immediately understand that the technology for displaying the future frame is directly related to the focusing system. For JVI, very fast and fairly accurate phase focusing systems have been developed, which are based on separate sensors. For EVI, phase or other focusing sensors should be placed directly on the camera matrix (SLT cameras do not count, since there is a mirror there). So far, there is an opinion that focusing on mirrorless cameras with EVI is noticeably worse than on SLR cameras with JVI. But in fact, it all depends on the specific model. Modern mirrorless cameras already have phase focus sensors limiting sensitivity much lower (which is better) than the most advanced SLR cameras.

Separately, there are SLT cameras, which also use EVI, but at the same time they have a fixed mirror and phase focus modules characteristic of cameras with JVI.

Conclusions on EVI and JVI

Advantages of JVI

  • JVI non-volatile, works even when the camera is turned off. True, modern OVI in some cameras have their own limitations, which are primarily associated with a transparent LCD display for displaying auxiliary information. I have considered this issue in detail here.
  • Lack of inertia, minimal lag of the displayed scene, instant sight of the scene. Very important for reportage photography.
  • High matte screen resolution with the possibility of replacing it with a more suitable one.
  • The brightness of the JVI automatically changes depending on the scene being shot.
  • Small shutter lag when using a fully mechanical shutter (with mechanical front and rear curtain). In turn, when using EVF, or Live View, before releasing the shutter, it takes time to close it completely (the shutter curtains must first completely close the shutter), and only after that the mechanical shutter itself is released (movement of the front and rear curtains). Sometimes this lag is just colossal (for example, in the Sony NEX-6). This problem is solved by using a fully electronic shutter, or using a front electronic shutter curtain (EFCS), but the latter method may have a significant problem, described here.
  • Many users subjectively prefer the non-digitized image from the OVI than the digital image when sighting through the EVF.

Disadvantages of JVI

  • The high cost of production and design complexity. For JVI, you need a very large number of mechanisms that can fail (tested more than once on personal experience). First of all, JVI needs expensive glass pentaprisms, mechanics of mirror control (two mirrors), separate metering sensor and separate focus sensor. When the cost of production is reduced, for example, when replacing a pentaprism with a pentamirror, the display quality decreases.
  • For accurate and perfect focusing, the mechanisms of the mirror / second mirror and the focusing module need to be very precisely calibrated; it is sometimes extremely difficult or impossible to programmatically make accurate focusing with each lens.
  • Simple ARIs have 90-98% of the frame coverage, the remaining percentages at the edges of the image are not visible. In expensive models, the percentage of frame coverage reaches 100%, but the cost of creating such a JVI increases. Details therefore you will find here.
  • Noise at work. Part of the shutter noise It is created directly by the movement of mirrors and their control mechanisms.
  • The movement of the mirror creates excess stirringthat may affect image blur. Some cameras have a tangible Mirror Shock.
  • Focus area limited by focus points due to reduced additional mirrorresponsible for focusing.
  • Image distortion... First of all, the OVI incorrectly displays the view of the out-of-focus zone, the bokeh when viewed through the OVI is displayed not at all the way it will look after the shutter is released. This is especially serious about the JVI based on a penta-mirror (pentaprism gives a clearer image). Also, when working in a backlight, the final image may have light artifacts (re-reflections, glare, etc.) that are not visible in the OVI.
  • The opaque OVI screen, mirror and matrix may become dirty, which reduces comfort during shooting. In EVI, only the matrix is ​​contaminated.
  • You cannot shoot video through the JVI. On cameras equipped with an OVI, the main display with the Live View function should be used for video recording.
  • JVI has a certain dimming timewhen the mirror is in a raised state. In this position, focusing and metering also stop. exposure. In some cameras with EVI it is possible to constantly sight, even when shooting in a series, and focusing can work constantly, but for this you need to use an additional electronic shutter (not all cameras with EVI have an electronic shutter).
  • JVI may suffer from flarethat affect metering exposure and / or illuminate the image for long exposures (this disadvantage is treated with a special eyepiece shutter, I examined this issue in more detail here). But the EVI is completely devoid of flares through its eyepiece.
  • JVI requires use retrofocus wide-angle lenses (due to the presence of a mirror, the focal length of the lenses is lengthened).
  • JVI does not allow sighting a stabilized image when using the built-in image stabilizer. To stabilize the image in JVI, you need to use lenses with a stabilizer. This problem is described in detail in the section 'An important disadvantage of the matrix stabilizer'.
  • In JVI, sometimes you can observe / feel air pump effectwhich can be unnerving.
  • With OVI, it is impossible to realize an arbitrarily high speed of continuous shooting with constant autofocus using the phase focusing module due to the closing / opening time of the mirror

Advantages of EVI

  • When sighting EVI immediately displays that imagethat will be obtained after the shutter is released (with some reservations described in this article). Also, in the EVI it is convenient to see the real-time image settings and select the best option.
  • The conclusion is very ba lot of supporting information. First of all, it helps to use a number of very useful functions, for example: focus picking, live bar chart, function - "zebra", electronic level and many others. Also, EVI allows you to instantly increase the selected part of the frame in real time, which can be very useful for accurate focusing.
  • EVI allows you to view the photo you just received without taking your eyes off the eyepiece. Allows you to more quickly control the quality of the filmed material.
  • The focusing method used with EVI is less prone to problems with back / front focus.
  • Allows you to dig into all the settings of the camera without taking your eyes off the eyepiece EVI. In the case of the JVI, to access all the settings, you should remove the camera from the eye and turn on the main display.
  • Constant, or automatically adjusted brightness at any aperture value, excerpts and the scene being shot. EVI brightness does not fall when closing the iris, for example, to view the depth of field.
  • Simplicity of construction (unlike JVI does not require mechanical mirrors [two mirrors in case of CDC], matte display, pentaprism, optional focus sensor, optional metering sensor exposure and heaps of serving devices). Also, this design allows you to make cameras more compact and lightweight.
  • EVI works silently (unlike clapping mirrors), and also does not create unnecessary movement from the movement of the mirror. Missing Mirror Shock
  • EVI has a greater potential to expand the area of ​​the frame responsible for focusing. Theoretically, the entire area of ​​the frame may be responsible (or already responsible in the case of focusing by contrast) for focusing.
  • Large (in fact 100%) percentage of frame coverage. In the JVI, it is not so easy to achieve 100% frame coverage.
  • The use of EVI allows you to create non-trivial focusing capabilities: focusing on the eyes of people and animals in real time, predicting the behavior of objects in the frame.
  • The ability to simultaneously sight through the EVI and connect in parallel other devices for image output. For example, you can connect a monitor to the camera with EVI, through which other participants in the shooting will see what the photographer is taking, without disturbing him at all.
  • From the previous it emerges that EVI allows you to shoot video.
  • EVI allows you to sight a stabilized image using the image stabilizer built into the camera. This will not work through JVI. This problem is described in detail in the section 'An important disadvantage of the matrix stabilizer'.
  • Shutter release time may not be available when using the electronic shutter.
  • With EVI, you can realize an arbitrarily high speed of continuous shooting with constant automatic focus. EVI does not have a constant need to close / open the mirror (taking into account the electronic shutter).
  • Phase focus sensors, built into the sensor of mirrorless cameras, in many models have record high sensitivityup to -9 EV For example, a mirrorless camera Nikon z9 the sensitivity of phase focus sensors starts from -8.5 EV, and the most advanced SLR camera Nikon D6 only from -4.5 EV, while the most advanced SLR camera Canon EOS-1D X Mark III only from -4 EV (the lower the value, the better: '-8.5' is less than '-4.5') This is primarily due to the lack of translucent mirrorwhich directs to focus phase sensors SLR cameras have only a third of the light output. Phase focus sensors on mirrorless cameras receive all the light from the lens.
  • The use of EVI partially forced the development of the capabilities of modern sensors faster. The transition to a fully electronic shutter is partly due to EVF and mirrorless cameras in general. The electronic shutter gives a virtually unlimited shutter life. A fully electronic shutter, for example, is used in Nikon z9.

Disadvantages EVI

  • Insufficient brightness. On a sunny day, it may seem that the image in EVF is too dark (in the future, the deficiency can be corrected)
  • Low resolution of the sensor, forming images for display in EVI. Here you can add low-quality sensors, which when sighted create various unpleasant visual artifacts (in the future, these shortcomings can be corrected)
  • Volatility (theoretically it cannot be fixed, but in the future it can be improved by using sensors with lower power consumption and more capacious batteries, not everything is so bad now)
  • Inertia, lag in image output (in the future may be fixed)
  • Power-on lags or at low temperatures (may be fixed in the future)
  • Shutter lag when using a fully mechanical shutter (with mechanical front and rear curtain). Before releasing the shutter, it takes time to close it completely, and only after that the shutter is released. This problem is solved by using a fully electronic shutter, or using a front electronic shutter curtain, but such an output can have a significant problem. described here
  • Matrix heatingoverheating of the matrix, which in the first place can be negatively displayed at the noise level (in the future it can be fixed)
  • Difficulty working in low lightrelated to the brakes of image display and / or displaying an image that is too dark (may be fixed in the future)
  • In EVI are much more noticeable artifacts from the dirty matrix, this reduces comfort during shooting (may be fixed in the future with an improved sensor cleaning system)
  • Phase focus sensorslocated on the camera sensor can be poorly masked and produce artifacts in the final image. May be fixed by new placement and/or masking technology in the future. Mirrorless cameras that focus only on contrast do not have this problem.

Some of these deficiencies have been corrected to one degree or another or are actively being corrected.

I can summarize that EVI technology has a lot to develop, its shortcomings can eventually be improved by the best hardware and software solutions. OVI technology has reached its logical end and does not have serious opportunities for improvement. At best, the JVI will move toward a hybrid JVI. Nevertheless, you need to understand that the JVI is a very ancient, proven technology that will please more than one generation of photographers.

Materials on the topic

  1. Full frame mirrorless systems... Discussion, choice, recommendations.
  2. Cropped mirrorless systems... Discussion, choice, recommendations.
  3. Cropped mirrorless systems that have stopped or are no longer developing
  4. Digital SLR systems that have stopped or are no longer developing
  5. JVI or EVI (an important article that answers the question 'DSLR or mirrorless')
  6. About mirrorless batteries
  7. Simple and clear medium format
  8. High-speed solutions from Chinese brands
  9. All fastest autofocus zoom lenses
  10. All fastest AF prime lenses
  11. Mirrored full frame on mirrorless medium format
  12. Autofocus Speed ​​Boosters
  13. One lens to rule the world
  14. The impact of smartphones on the photography market
  15. What's next (smartphone supremacy)?
  16. All announcements and novelties of lenses and cameras

Comments on this post do not require registration. Anyone can leave a comment. Many different photographic equipment can be found on AliExpress.

Material prepared Arkady Shapoval. Training/Consultations | Youtube | Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | Telegram

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Comments: 250, on the topic: JVI or EVI

  • Yaroslav

    From my experience of using the sony a6000 when shooting in poorly lit rooms in the EVI, unpleasant noises are visible, but the picture is certainly lighter than the JVI.

  • Yaroslav

    Yes, moire is still visible, but I don’t know whether this is a6000 problem or a common phenomenon.

  • Dmitriy

    Thanks to the author for the informative article!
    I encountered OVI 10 months ago, having bought my first DSLR, I constantly ran into EVI, in all my previous soap dishes and mirrorless cameras. The howling about the mirrorless revolution began back in 2006 when I bought my first Olympus-510UZ (which was better than the modern central dial brake in megapixels, aperture ratio and zoom).
    For a person with good or excellent eyesight, the only choice is the OVI, since even the LiveView on the D7100 (the screen on it is one of the best among the CZK) cannot convey the entire gamut of colors without strong optical distortions. You look at EVI, take a picture, and the picture is different. In fact, EVI is needed only to save energy, it is a rudiment that with the invention of more powerful batteries should outlive itself. In fact, that EVI, that the camera screen is not a picture, but a picture frame where all the colors and sizes are distorted, we see the exposure, and we will see the colors and the actual size of the picture only after the image is formed by the camera.
    Based on the school course of physics in the foreseeable future, it is impossible to obtain an image on the screen equivalent to the image formed on the retina of the human eye.
    Modern mirrorless cameras are still too imperfect, to wear them you need either a photo bag or a jacket like Wasserman's (with space for 4 batteries per day). To whom the SLR seems heavy, you can take a cleaver and an ax and chop wood for a day, cut tails, etc., your fingers will immediately become stronger.
    Thus, if the eyesight is good, there is no alternative to the ARI in the near future, although there are certainly disadvantages of such a system in the form of dimensions and weight.

    • BB

      'cannot reproduce the entire gamut of colors without strong optical distortion' - why is this, in principle, when shooting?

      "In fact, EVI is needed only to save energy" - many cameras have energy consumption, both with OVI and with the main display turned on, the same, or very slightly different, because both the display and the matrix and electronics consume energy. The main advantage of the EVF in comparison with the display is the ability to sight / view material without side illumination, for example, on a bright sunny day, so it will remain on serious cameras.

      Many point-and-shoot cameras show a result quite close to the final picture (including correction of optical distortions on the fly), of course, with a reservation about the quality of color rendition, but this is fixable (again in the future)

      "it is impossible to get an image on the screen that is equivalent to the image formed on the retina of the human eye" - yes, in principle, it is possible. Yes, of course, creating a matrix with a concave spherical surface is more difficult than a flat one, plus all modern optics are sharpened for a flat matrix. And the main question is why? The eye is not a perfect optical instrument! It also has a bunch of distortions, which are processed by a powerful 'video processor' built into the brain: this is the 'flipping' of the image of each eye, and the constant gluing of a stereo panorama, not to mention the work of AutoISO, exposure priority and white balance))

      In general, I agree with you (as well as with Arkady): the EVI have not yet grown up to a full replacement of the JVI, and only on some points do they beat the JVI.

      • BB

        Was sealed, it should read: 'energy consumption, what with _EVI_, what with the main display turned on ... "

      • Dmitriy

        Thanks for the detailed answer! I agree with you in everything except energy consumption. Maybe in the most modern cameras, EVI consumes almost as much as the main screen, but in cameras until 2012 the difference was about 100 shots, which is significant if you can take only 300-400 shots on a single charge. By the way, my Olympus was surprisingly tenacious with EVI batteries, enough for 500 shots + videos, the terrible branded flash drive was slow and small in scope.

        • BB

          And my Panasonic_FZ50 (bought in 2007) has almost the same consumption of 0,27A with a display and 0,25A with EVI (the difference is less than 10%), and according to the passport, the same power consumption is generally declared. I won't say by the number of pictures - I always took pictures with EVI.

          Then I did not buy Olympus_510 due to the lack of a shoe for a flash, and so I looked in his direction)

          • Dmitriy

            Yes, without a flash, a terrifying amount of noise. Mirrors and soap dishes were thrown precisely because of this, well, they do not have to shoot on the manual.
            There would be a mirrorless camera with adequate control and a set of cheap lenses in the range of 10-300 mm. would buy. And so EVI and so on. This is still talk for those who take pictures for a family album and it doesn’t matter that the camera lifts the ISO to 6400, EVI shows it, so everything is fine :)

            • BB

              Well, yes, there is already noise on the ISO 200, the ISO 400 is conditionally working if you shoot RAW.
              I was not happy with several factors, including the low speed of working with RAW: one picture is processed / written to the card for several seconds (this is on a fast card)

              • Ruslan

                Are you talking about 1 / 2,3 soap dishes?

              • Dmitriy

                Writing raw to the Olympus card is an eternity, you can go have a drink of coffee. The card itself was worth a downed Boeing (1/7 of the price of the camera). In general, mirrorless machines profiteer greatly on the price of components.
                Noise at 200 ISO is already noticeable. Now I'm watching a whole bunch of videos with laudatory odes to both cell phones and mirrorless cameras. I don't know how sony alpha a77, but shooting at dusk (when you can get the coolest photos), at dusk and dawn is unrealistic, in a building it is unrealistic - noises allow you to take only 10x15 photos without processing, and EVI actively contributes to this, there is no noise on it it is seen.
                Of course, “I'm going to take pictures on a summer day in Moscow” is an excellent picture until it gets dark (and “dark” from 18-00 to 8-00), and the temperature does not drop to -20-30.

  • Artyom

    In the future, in the future, in the future ... Maybe, it can't. The whole article is like that. What for?
    EVI has one powerful plus - WITHOUT GLASSES VISIBLY PERFECT! The rest for me personally is trivia :)

    • BB

      Without glasses, it is also poorly visible (-2,5 / -3).
      Therefore, there are two solutions: contact lenses, or a nozzle with a corrective lens (I had one on Zenith).

  • LDS

    There is not enough technical data, but the material is available and interesting. The topic itself is not very simple, it affects not only applied, but also the fundamental problems of photography. In my opinion, it is completely wrong to consider JVI and EVI from the point of view of technological novelty. By and large, there is and cannot be anything fundamentally new in this old world, for any technology is based on physical laws that are at least several billion years old. If people invented EVI only in the 21st century, and JVI a hundred years earlier, then this does not mean that JVI is in all respects better than JVI. Each technology has its own strengths and weaknesses.

    In reportage, sports shooting, the optical viewfinder will be indispensable, because it requires a quick response to the situation. Also, shooting with wiring, when the camera moves behind the main object, is more convenient to do through the JVI. Taking pictures of animals requires not only JVI, but also fast, tenacious autofocus. When shooting portraits, landscapes, you can use the electronic viewfinder, and that is not always the case.

    In fairness, I must say that neither JVI nor EVI give out a live picture. OVI of modern DSCs is not optics in its pure form, but a combined device with various kinds of sensors and indicators on liquid crystals. Without power, such a JVI is dull, dark, muddy. They do not fulfill their primary function. Conventionally, they can be called pseudo-JVI. Another feature of the OVI is that the image is formed by the lens on the open aperture. The aperture closes to the desired value after fully pressing the shutter button, and this is another picture. Thirdly, the finished image is formed by the matrix and processor of the camera, and this is not at all what the human eye sees.

    Once I had a task to take close-up photographs of fresh flowers and inflorescences. Especially for this I took a Fujifilm S5 Pro camera, a good standard lens and a fast professional telephoto lens in addition. I focus on red tulips - the picture in the OVI is just super, every vein is visible. I shoot and get red spots instead of flowers. It's the same story with roses. Autofocus error excluded, tried it in manual mode. The result is negative - blurry spots instead of colors. I still do not understand what is the matter. Other plant flowers and leaves came out distinct. It looks like the camera is “allergic” to tulips and roses. Most likely, due to the characteristics of the matrix, the processor of this camera cannot correctly process some narrow parts of the spectrum, plus parasitic illumination of red and pink shades with infrared light, to which the Fujifilm S5 Pro is very sensitive. By the way, I tried to shoot tulips on Canon later, but it still didn't work. So much for the optical viewfinder.

    If we talk about EVI, then he lies even more, because there is nothing natural in him. Initially, the entire image was synthesized by electronics. It’s a paradox, but the picture will still have a different picture than in EVI, because the image will still be finalized by the camera processor. I believe EVI should be used where it is necessary to amplify the signal or see what is not visible with the naked eye. This can be astro shooting, ordinary night shooting, shooting in difficult lighting conditions, with combined or special lighting (for example, shooting dark tunnels, underpasses). In other cases, the optical viewfinder will be more useful.

    I think that soon all DSCs will be equipped with both optical and electronic viewfinders. JVI should become non-volatile, i.e. Do not fade without power, and when the power is on, provide an indication and navigation of the main camera settings. EVI should be removable. This can be a separate optical shaft with an eyecup, through which it is convenient to shoot video (almost all modern DSCs have a video recording function). Amateur DPCs are likely to be equipped with a standard connector for connecting an external rotary display, where the EVI signal will be output. By the way, in the same display, you can place additional Flash-memory for recording captured material or for downloading pictures from the camera without wires and card readers. Apart from the camera, such an external display can be used as a photo frame and as a kind of electronic photo album. Modern technology allows you to do this without much difficulty. The only question is whether such an external EVI display will be included in the camera kit or purchased separately. This will be decided by marketers.

  • Peter Sh.

    About the fact that it is poorly visible in the JVI, the increase is dead, dark, vision is nowhere, you can’t see anything, but I'm wearing glasses, etc.
    I have astigmatism. Setting the diopter does not help, of course. I don’t take off my glasses, I can’t stand it. This is on all carcasses, and no problem. I highly recommend it to everyone.

  • Peter Sh.

    You can buy Chinese, it costs half as much as your own.

  • Peter Sh.

    Sorry, I’ll try to attach the picture again.

    • Oleg

      I am using Tenpa 1.22. Not much limits the review and you need to firmly press the gas to the eyepiece. With this feature it is much easier to focus in the manual.

      • Peter Sh.

        In what sense does it limit the review?
        The themes that I use enlarge the frame, but do not trim anything.

        • Oleg

          The higher the magnification, the more the field of view is limited. This is an obvious effect.

  • Neofot

    Hello. Not all technologies have caught on. No, they seem to exist, but they did not take root in the mass. I think EVI should be given time - he is still young. What will grow out of it - we'll see. Maybe it will remain on budget cameras as a cheaper technology, or maybe it will become so good that it will not be a shame to put it on serious cameras. Now it's a shame. Arithmetically, there can be as many disadvantages and advantages as you like, but in fact, just ONE position can easily cross out all the others, for me this is inertia - that's it, I won't delve into anything further - none of the advantages. Someone - something else ... And EVI has a lot of coordination minuses at the moment.

    • Ruslan

      Sony A7, Fujifilm X-T1, Olympus OM-D E-M5 Mk II, are these budget cameras for you? And yet you missed one point. All digital video cameras are equipped with EVI. JVI is a relic of the past, it is like analog devices in modern cars.

      • anonym

        Yes you, my friend, an idolater!).

        • Ruslan

          What?

      • d.martyn

        In the comments above, we have already tried to hint that EVF is not compatible with a full-fledged SLR camera in principle, since the beauty of DSLRs is in the MIRROR, which allows you to keep the matrix “cold” and use a separate focusing sensor. I do not mention direct sighting through optics bypassing electronics, since this is the subject of discussion. Then, how many professional photographers do you know or at least have seen with the “non-budget” Sony A7, Fujifilm X-T1, Olympus OM-D E-M5 Mk II?
        ZY: I already wrote above, if you like EVI so much, look once through the medium-sized JVI (you can inexpensive film Kiev 88), after that, after the coolest JVI, you will watch it for another 10 years.

        • Ruslan

          EVI for mirrorless cameras, what is there to hint then?
          We go to the Olympus website and look at the list of photographers. We go into the Fuji group in VK and see how many people are shooting on these cameras. I don’t know about Sony, I’m not interested.
          What does the medium-format Kiev 88 have to do with the article on digital technology?

          • d.martyn

            I do not like Kiev, look at the JVI of digital Hassel or Mamma. I don’t want to say anything bad about those filming for Olik and Fuji, but they are more likely just owners of cameras from these manufacturers, namely, photographers by profession are 99% equipped with Kenons and Nikons, + top-end studio workers in a medium format, by the way, JVI also reigns there (you don’t need to convince me of the opposite, otherwise you will make me and the others funny).

            • Ruslan

              So far, you are doing funny.
              I wrote that EVI is not the prerogative of amateur cameras. Because the top mirrorless cameras are no worse than their mirror competitors, and they are a completely professional tool. And comparing a camera for 900 bucks with a camera for 30 thousand is at least stupid. Can you compare them with the Hubble telescope? I would like to see how you will travel in the mountains with your Hasel, or how you will go to shoot a report in the pouring rain with a camera at the price of a Mercedes.

              • BB

                Only the same top optics for them the cat cried, and I generally keep quiet about the price - both carcasses and optics.
                Since EVI is both simpler and cheaper, why then do mirrorless cameras cost twice as much as similar DSLRs?

        • Victor

          I have long been moved by the fascination with the term “prof. photographer ”:) Prof. means that a person gets “loot” for photographing. In the vast majority of cases, only this. It has little to do with skill, taste and ability to create something unique. The forensic photographer is also a professional (masterfully photographs corpses). The photographer who once set the light, the background and the spanking of the passport cards - prof. Bombila at weddings working according to the same templates - prof. Therefore, I believe that the camera is in the hands of prof. not an indicator. Prof. chooses a camera not for creativity. The criteria are different. Earn more money with the minimum investment of time, with the highest possible technical quality.

          • d.martyn

            For example, you’ve visited 35photo or 500px, or any resource you have chosen where exactly creative photographers sit (there is something to learn, they’re cool to take pictures) not anatomical bombers, look at the percentage of who shoots what, I assure fans of EVI there are not many :)

            • Ruslan

              There are not very many who like to eat healthy food. Non-singers and nonsmokers are also a minority. Judging by your logic, do you need to thump and eat all kinds of shit? After all, most do so ...
              The mind is given to man in order to take informed actions, and not be a clone in the herd and move in the crowd without having his own point of view.
              You have not written a single intelligible argument why EVI is bad. Only a story about professionals and medium format cameras.

              • d.martyn

                EVI is not a bad thing, I think that today I am simply not ready to fully compete with JVI, and the arguments are higher (they are inherent in the mirror system of camera arrangement). And about healthy food, smoking and drinking alcohol: shoot with your phone, it is both digital and with EVI, and you will not be a clone in a herd of photographers :)

          • Ruslan

            Truth is his mother!

          • Peter Sh.

            “In the vast majority of cases, just that. It has little to do with skill, taste and ability to create something unique ... ”

            Himself a fool.

  • CHIC

    Good day. I would like to thank Arkady for the article and for the many years of popularizing the PHOTO. And readers - to call for a careful reading. The article contains the advantages and disadvantages of optical and electronic viewfinders. Someone has long made a choice, and someone else has not. To insist on the exceptional correctness of your choice is IMHO nonsense. It is not necessary to tear your clothes and hair. If it is convenient for you to work with the JVI to solve your problems - a flag for you in ...
    I myself prefer EVI (I like the convenience, information content and the ability to accurately protrude focus and exposure), because taking photos without extreme. Even if I work outdoors with a tripod, I try not to chill the camera. I warm (I feel sorry for her) under a hollow jacket.

  • Anatoly

    They did not mention another advantage of EVI - the so-called "electronic magnifier"

    • Arkady Shapoval

      I pointed this out:

      Also, EVI allows you to instantly increase the selected part in real time.

      • Anatoly

        Yes, I missed.
        Thank you

  • Gene jb

    when the EVI will be 10-20 thousand PPI, then it will be possible to talk about it, but now it is grainy, clumsy in colors. they gave me some photoshoot of Sonya, and I didn’t understand what can be seen there. Well, only a composition if, and then according to the light, a snag is somehow.

    • Gene jb

      but in general, it would really be that the EVI matched the matrix - pixel to pixel. even with processing, etc. but that the map was exactly the same as on the matrix by pixels.

      • Yaroslav

        I think you can create iron with the necessary performance, maybe even with acceptable power consumption. But the projection of such a picture on a small screen is a problem. In theory, you need to increase the size of the projection. For understanding, it can be compared with a computer monitor and a modern camera.

      • Ruslan

        Can you imagine what kind of processor is needed and how much RAM will be needed to ensure perfect screen operation of 16 megapixels? In fotik you will need to install percent, Intel, eight cores and a battery weighing half a kilo so that it all works for at least half an hour.

        • Yaroslav

          I'm wondering if you can imagine it or not? And what is the ideal job, decipher this term. And at the same time you have a question about the ULTRA HD 4K format - how many megapixels?

          • Ruslan

            If I hadn’t imagined, I wouldn’t have written. Is it logical?
            An ideal robot, this is the code. You play GTA5 on a 4K panel and nothing slows down.
            What, Google banned you? 4K is 8 megapixels.
            And now you have a question. What does the television format have to do with camera viewfinders?

            • Yaroslav

              And do you think the video is not displayed in EVI? 4K is 8 megapixels, as you indicated, that is, half of 16. Honestly, I expected that you yourself will find the answer to the question about the performance of mobile processors. But you just didn't use Google http://www.3dnews.ru/909005. We carefully look at the power consumption of the product.

              • Ruslan

                In my opinion, an image is displayed in the EVI.
                I suggest first to study the mat part, and then compare the phones with cameras;)

            • Yaroslav

              >> In my opinion, the image is displayed in the EVI.
              And what is an image? Decrypt the term. And then after a battery a pound it’s clear that you measure its capacity in kilograms.
              >> I propose to study the mat part first, and then compare phones with >> cameras;)
              This is a general-purpose processor that, with low power consumption, provides more than enough performance for playing video in 4K resolution. Answer why do you need a battery with a capacity of half a kilogram and an 8 core processor with x86 architecture?

    • Ruslan

      What for? You are going to watch 4K movies on it? EVI and JVI are needed only to build a frame. On neither one nor the other will you take away the real picture to be saved. Although in EVI the picture is pretty close to what the camera saves. if everything is set up correctly.

      • Gene jb

        behind the closet. I think that if you strive for the best, then EVI should be better than JVI, otherwise at .. it is generally needed. JVI is easier and cheaper. and yes, I will watch 4k movies on it, if the camera allows me to shoot 4k. moreover, if it is manufactured as a viewfinder in the DSLR, it will visually look as if you are looking into a large monitor. and video can be viewed on an additional monitor. Unfortunately, I still have not seen a normal EVI. miserable 1mp in a diagonal of 3-4 inches is not at all what you want. even phones now produce screens with wild ppi 200-300, and ovs on sleepyheads are still made on CRTs.

        • BB

          On a CRT, are you sure? How much battery is enough, for about five minutes, taking into account the gluttony of a CRT, or a two-kilogram battery in the kit? )))

        • d.martyn

          JVI is not cheaper than EVI, the production of pentaprism is very very energy- and labor-intensive.

        • Ruslan

          For some JVI, and so, already, a ray.
          Do you even know what to shoot and watch are two different things?))
          Ovi, on the contrary, is more expensive and more complicated)) What is only pentaprism, not to mention a transparent display and a mirror.
          In what year was the last time you read the news of photographic equipment? The Olympus OM-D EM-5 Mk II has a 2,36 million dot viewfinder and a 3 ″ display with 285dpi.

          • Ruslan

            Oh! typo, not JVI, but EVI)

  • Oleg

    In EVF, the image differs from the final one not only by post-processing, but also by the aperture. “Aim” you are in EVF with a fully open aperture, and when you press the trigger, it closes to the desired value.

    • BB

      when you press halfway, the aperture is closed to the desired value (after focusing), and you are already looking at the 'finished' picture, at least it was on my Panasonic.

      • Oleg

        On my Sony a77 this is not

        • Anatoly

          It is at all

    • Ruslan

      For this there is a diaphragm repeater)

      • Gene jb

        he does not know about it. Yes, and on younger models I have not seen.

        • Ruslan

          If you take the younger models, then there is no need for a mirror at all, since they are bought mostly by an amateur, in order to take a “professional” selfie in the toilet) And for this a mirrorless camera with a rotary display is much better suited.

          • anonym

            Maybe, before adding a comment, you should at least READ it? Literacy suffers ... or has it never happened?

            • Ruslan

              Couldn’t write anything smarter)))

              • anonym

                Sorry, what is your native language? Maybe this is not illiteracy? Maybe it's an accent?

  • Oleg

    Whatever you say, the future is for EVI, and the mirrors will die, just as the film died out.
    And JVI are heavy and jumbo.

    • BB

      DSLRs have been predicting death for about five years. Perhaps in ten years, the EVI will supplant the mirrors. Maybe.

      • Ruslan

        The people are used to the fact that it’s a wraparound, such as quality, such as a ray picture. So they buy all DSLRs, even those who would have had a compact with an inch matrix)

        • anonym

          Do you even know how much an inch is? The crop has a matrix a little over an inch ...

    • Yarkiya

      And not a jumbo jumbo. And they will disappear when there is no demand for them.

      • Ruslan

        Oh really. When comparing non-full-frame models, mirrorless systems are two to three times lighter and smaller. And some lenses do this every 5 times.

        • anonym

          There is no mirror! Mirrorless!

          • Yarkiya

            There is no one to argue with, shkolota is illiterate, victims of the exam, and if not, it’s doubly a shame.

      • Oleg

        Nothing depends on consumers at all. Advertising and marketing. JVI will disappear when Nikon and Canon want it. And if they buy with an old JVI, why should they make a new JVI? They save this trump card for later. And now you have almost no choice. All pros have an optics park from Nikon and Canon and are attached to them. None of them will go to Sony, and Sony’s smaller professional optics, and the functionality of top cameras is inferior.

        • Anatoly

          Sony has less professional optics? ))))
          But what about the whole composition of the almost legendary optics from Minolta?

          But what about Zeiss? (which essentially is Sony)

          So you annealed so annealed))

          • Oleg

            Minolta is the same used. Zeiss is there, but Canon and Nikon have more and the price of Zeiss is not at all kind.

            • Anatoly

              The price is not good - just because they are professional lenses.
              On the market (in terms of professional quality) there were no alternatives to Zeiss - and there are still no ...

              This is the platform of the highest professionalism (unlike the rest of the park - which, if Zeiss was not there - would be yes, prof, but compared to Zeiss - amateur optics)

              • Peter Sh.

                Yes, I heard Zeiss’s new AF lenses are simply gorgeous. All two.

  • Vyacheslav

    I would like a more detailed description of this item:
    OVI requires the use of retro-focus wide-angle lenses (due to the presence of a mirror, the working length is lengthened).
    That the working length is lengthened is understandable, but what is the retrofocus width is incomprehensible, and how do they differ from the widths for mirrorless?

    • BB

      The optical design is significantly more complicated when the RF of the lens is smaller than the working distance. And with DSLRs, it’s just quite large.

  • Vyacheslav

    About one advantage EVI did not say. However, this is not entirely about EVI, but rather about the BZK as a whole. The constant mode of LiveView, you do not need to switch anywhere to take a picture from an unusual angle and autofocus works just as adequately as through EVI =).
    PS
    There is a DSLR and a BZK (both of which are not the first freshness true), so it’s absolutely the same as shooting. For very dynamic stories, the JVI is still better, but I don’t have to deal with it personally yet.

    • Gene jb

      battery consumption, matrix heating. when shooting video in ten minutes in the summer, the matrix heats up to 70 degrees. and this is the red mode. well, ML has built such a monitoring function. Well, from here, for example, noises will climb, and for the matrix it's not ice - hot pixels are formed. in short, while everything is imperfectly there is not much sense in this. for soap dishes - yes, it will, there is a 5x5mm matrix, but for full-frame ones it will not work, at the back you need an aluminum blank for cooling or a cylinder with liquid nitrogen.

  • Igor

    The latest product from Leica in the form of a full-frame, mirrorless Leica SL camera (Typ 601) destroys the myth of the compactness of the BZK. Canon 6d is just a dwarf if it stands next to it.

    • Gordey

      this is a nonsense fsh

  • Novel

    Eeeeh! People - you are "stuck", that with EVI, that with OVI - you can and should shoot, everything is fine there. The main breakthrough in EVF is the ability to change lenses to almost what you want without having to put a different viewfinder, combine two images, etc. Finally, it became possible to shoot normally with rangefinders!
    Take some FED5S and just look through the viewfinder - the current state of affairs will seem soooo rosy to you! Hmm .. and the coolest thing will be if they bring to mind the screens on liquid ink and make EVI based on them - the power consumption is almost zero, but the response time is still wild.
    I shoot myself on the OVI, but with the next. updating the fleet of vehicles - I'll think about it, because many comrades-in-arms rushed to sleepyheads (ff), and kropniki to fuji!

    • Gene jb

      so twist these dormouse what’s the matter. For example, I was wildly surprised by the quality of EVI in the cell apiece + bucks. Yes, it's better than JVI. the most interesting thing is that I sawed the focusing screen from the zenith to 400d. yes it is dark. but in total darkness, at a disco, I caught them focusing on Helios 44, which I couldn’t do with either my family or wedges.

      • BB

        Share from which zenith sawed (model)?

        I tried to cut from Zenit ET, but there was a sandwich of 2 'glasses', the final thickness of the sandwich is too large (something like 2,5-3mm, I don't remember exactly), but one at a time they don't work normally.

      • Michael

        I have a 450D. I can say that the focusing screen on this camera is the worst I've seen. Manually I can easily catch focus only on dark zooms. Maybe light, but not informative - you can't see anything. On the Zenith (and on other films as well), the screens are heaven and earth - you don't need to strain at all.
        2 BB. You can search for a screen with Nikon-Canon (depending on what you have), it will be easier to put it on, and on old film cameras, the screens are very good. It is now saving steel.

        • BB

          And the point is to put the focus. screen with nikon canon, if it will be almost the same?
          Modern photocells are light, but they are designed for framing, and almost unsuitable for manual focusing. I compared FE with Zenit_E and Nikon_d5100: subjectively, on Nikon, the picture is lighter, but when defocusing, the 'blur' is less, i.e. the picture is clearer (with the same glasses), respectively, it is more difficult to 'see the sharpness' on it.

          • brighty

            For manual optics, there is a FE with the so-called wedges of doden.

            • BB

              That's what I’m looking for, something from the Soviet (to saw), because of type
              'Japanese' stand like a good lens.

              • Jury

                look at the screen in Kiev-19

              • B.R.P.

                yes, on Kiev 19 (M) a great screen

              • Lynx

                buy Chinese, on ebee or from diala .. the question is 7-15 hundred rubles, as far as I remember

          • anonym

            The film will not be the same. About that and talk.

          • anonym

            The fact of the matter is that on filmmakers he is much better

  • Dmitriy

    Today I photographed at the factory (for the report, I needed sharp pictures), so that other participants in the shooting could see, I turned on the screen (on the D7100 it is not bad), but as soon as I started taking pictures, one immediately switched to OVI. Now I understood why: EVI or the screen - with one eye you look at reality, with the other at the exposure on the screen, then you get a third picture, which you compare with reality and think whether it will go or correct something. Thus, the EVF or screen mediates for exposure. If the eyesight is good or very good, then the EVI and the screen only spoil and waste time watching (plus they slow down). OVI is necessary in order to see both reality and exposure, comparing a picture with reality (or with an idea), EVI does not give anything except exposure for shooting (all sorts of whistle deals like horizon, exposure metering, camera settings, etc. are omitted - these settings are everywhere, on there are even more of them on the screen).

    • Anatoly

      That is, in the end we get that the EVI is better?
      He already determines the quality of the exposure in advance (and all sorts of other settings are everywhere)

      They talked about the same thing ..

      • Dmitriy

        I am a complete amateur in photography, but as a person with normal vision, I can say for sure that the picture that is formed in the EVF or on the screen does not correspond to the photograph that we then get. I don't argue with the author, I just think that the “mirrorless revolution” is too much, as mirrorless cameras were 10 years ago, they have remained, as EVI was 10 years ago, and EVI remained - the main drawback has not been fixed.

  • Peter Sh.

    Today I shot the first day of the competition. There were a lot of photographers of all kinds of motley and variegated. I have not seen a single mirrorless one.

    • Yarkiya

      Peter, but you can read more about competitions, but in pictures. ;)

      • Peter Sh.

        Can. Three days later.

      • Peter Sh.

        So, ballroom dancing competition. Latina
        I shot the kids there, and between cases I ran to the adult flooring, with a dark old telezoom. Well, that would rest and arms. All photos with minimal processing, as the head no longer understands anything.
        So do not expect anything special:

        https://yadi.sk/d/kvxBgEg3kgaQj

    • BB

      In our village, at competitions, I saw a couple of mirrorless cameras from people (but not from the pros) - about one mirrorless camera for a dozen DSLRs, a bit more 'soap boxes'))

      And I am also amused by people who shoot video with tablets and phones, hand-held, with digital zoom, from a distance of> 10 meters to the subject ...

      • Peter Sh.

        I somehow tried to explain that it’s better to shoot a video camera instead of a phone. And it’s better not to pull, not to change the angle sharply, to rest against something. Then it’s impossible to watch, it will become nauseous right away, seasickness will begin.
        I was told that garbage, the main thing that would be visible who is dancing there.

  • BB

    This is what I'm looking for, something from the Soviet (cut through), tk. type 'Japanese' cost as a good lens.

  • Novel

    I learned a good article how you can now shoot manuals with a flash on your a7. And I like my viewfinder, I set the manual focus magnification on a small button next to the shutter release and voila - multiple magnification of the image for more precise adjustment. And it also seems to me that when you view the footage through it, you can better see the volume of the photo, which can only be seen at home after Lightroom finishing. And in general, I like to play a game with my girlfriend when she closes her eyes, I describe the shooting location and let me see the photo through the “peephole” - she has the feeling that she is there in the meadow taking pictures of flowers through this camera ...

  • Dmitriy

    Arkady, in the section “Sense of Light” you have written: until the eyes conduct accommodation. What is needed is adaptation. Although everything is most likely understood.

    • zengarden

      Arkady wrote everything correctly. This is a term from ophthalmology.

      • Denis

        accommodation is the same focus, not adaptation to brightness

  • Igor

    Please tell me, is it possible to disable viewing of the finished image in the electronic viewfinder? After all, this is a very inconvenient function when shooting anything not static.

  • Edward

    Have experience with evi and ovi
    Evie
    + Gyroscope is more convenient
    + It's good to watch the captured frames (much more convenient than on the main display)
    + Camera is lighter
    + Easier to spot (dust) spots on the sensor and lens
    + Depth of field always visible
    - very gluttonous
    - the frame is not clearly visible, in conditions of lack of lighting
    - the dynamic range of evi is less than matrices, and than eyes (it is not always possible to immediately understand how it will be with brightness)
    - overheating (at least the entire line of sony a7, a9) - during long-term operation it can write overheating, and be unavailable for 5 minutes
    - if mirrorless, then autofocus is worse (there may be DSLRs with evi - a la sony a99)
    - as a rule - the time of turning on the camera is a few seconds, and until it turns on - nothing is visible
    Lag at work did not notice

    Ovi
    + Almost does not eat battery
    + Very reliable
    + Quickly turn on the camera
    + Basically there are no lags
    + Mirror protects the matrix from dust
    - heavy
    - you can not watch filmed

    For reporting less reliable cameras with evi is a very serious minus.
    The fact that optics for mirrorless cameras are now expensive is not really an argument, TC is not connected with evi in ​​any way
    In addition, there are adapters
    The good news is that Nikon z will be released soon, which comes immediately with the switch to Nikon f

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