I am thinking of buying an Olympus D-535 for my daughter. The only con I can see is lack of a viewfinder. Is this a big problem? If she tries to take a picture in bright outdoor light, will she be able to see the viewfinder, or will it be washed out and inoperative?
I NEVER use the viewfinder on my digital camera, and I take a lot of photos in a lot of different situations. (I think it’s filled with lint anyways.)
I do use the viewfinder on my digicam sometimes, but i could certainly live without it. For a point-and-shoot camera, i think you’ll be fine without a viewfinder.
I ONLY use the optical viewfinder on my camera. You can’t hold a camera steady while looking through the LCD, it uses up more batteries (I backpack, my batteries have to last a long time) and in bright light many LCDs are useless. I wouldn’t consider a camera without an optical viewfinder.
Having said that, many people never use the optical viewfinder and get along fine.
I’ve had digital cameras for 6 years now, and Telemark hit on the big advantage of the viewfinder. Using the LCD uses up batteries much faster then using the viewfinder.
No new digicams ive read about recently have had optical view finders and about half had electronic viewfinders. (not particulary good.)
My adivse is dont worry about it, what you should be concerned about is can the LCD be viewed in low light?
IE: does it gain up?
No point having a camera that can take great pics if you cant view before you press the shutter.
I tend to use the LCD screen almost exclusively. My camera has auto-focus and light-meter tricks, and it takes a couple of seconds or so after panning before it’s ready to shoot. By looking at the screen, I can see when the camera is ready, as well as what the photo would look like. Another advantage to using the LCD is that it enables me to shoot from difficult angles where I can’t physically be to look through the viewfinder, but from where I can still see the screen (arms extended over head; camera in a position where I can’t stand behind it, etc.). This situation actually comes up fairly often.
That said, though, it’s nice to have both as options.
I’ve decided that while she will probably use the lcd screen almost exclusively it is probably worth paying extra to have both. Thanks for all the advice.
I’ve got a Sony digital camera that just has the LCD panel - it’s really surprisingly bright and I’ve never had a problem with visibility, although I do live in the UK, so the constant gloom and rain probably helps.