D7000/D7100 Viewfinder Brightness: When shooting in Manual,I have trouble seeing the exposure meter and other settings,particularly in low light. I can't find an adjustment and notice...

DaveO Loc: Northeast CT

When shooting in Manual,I have trouble seeing the exposure meter and other settings,particularly in low light.

I can't find an adjustment and notice that it is dimmer when focusing on darker areas,and nearly impossible with bright light around me.

Is an eyepiece recommended? Thoughts?

Dngallagher Loc: Wilmington De.

DaveO wrote:

When shooting in Manual,I have trouble seeing the exposure meter and other settings,particularly in low light.

I can't find an adjustment and notice that it is dimmer when focusing on darker areas,and nearly impossible with bright light around me.

Is an eyepiece recommended? Thoughts?

I use a Hoodman eyecup on my D7100, and i do not have an issue, or less of an issue in bright daylight.

What I like about the Hoodman is it is large, they also make eyecups for glasses wearers, and it snaps on securely, but is easily removed if you need to remove it.

http://hoodmanusa.com/cgi/commerce.cgi?search=action&category=CI07

DaveO Loc: Northeast CT

Thank you,Don. I checked them out at a couple places and they're on back-order,not a problem. The Vello was available,but I think that I'll wait.

I thought there might be a brightness adjustment that I missed in my research.

Jahawk Loc: Rhode Island

Dngallagher wrote:

I use a Hoodman eyecup on my D7100, and i do not have an issue, or less of an issue in bright daylight.

What I like about the Hoodman is it is large, they also make eyecups for glasses wearers, and it snaps on securely, but is easily removed if you need to remove it.

http://hoodmanusa.com/cgi/commerce.cgi?search=action&category=CI07

:thumbup: :thumbup:

Dngallagher Loc: Wilmington De.

DaveO wrote:

Thank you,Don. I checked them out at a couple places and they're on back-order,not a problem. The Vello was available,but I think that I'll wait.

I thought there might be a brightness adjustment that I missed in my research.

If there is a viewfinder brightness I have not found it either. The LCD has an adjustment, but have not seen one for the viewfinder myself.

DaveO Loc: Northeast CT

Thank you Jahawk.

DaveO Loc: Northeast CT

Dngallagher wrote:

If there is a viewfinder brightness I have not found it either. The LCD has an adjustment, but have not seen one for the viewfinder myself.

What was peculiar,I thought,is that if you look in your viewfinder with the lens cap on,it is dim,but lightens up when you take the cap off.

Focus on something and then point towards a dark area and it dims.

Kind of like a fiber optic gun sight collecting light.

MT Shooter Loc: Montana

DaveO wrote:

When shooting in Manual,I have trouble seeing the exposure meter and other settings,particularly in low light.

I can't find an adjustment and notice that it is dimmer when focusing on darker areas,and nearly impossible with bright light around me.

Is an eyepiece recommended? Thoughts?

I have to ask if you wear glasses? If so, the gap between your eye and the viewfinder is increased because of the glasses and that causes you to have a lot more difficulty seeing the data presented inside the crop sensors viewfinder. The larger viewfinder of a full frame camera makes this extra distance less noticeable, but still a factor.
If you are referring to the LCD monitor and not the viewfinder, then a hood for that LCD is a good way to go.

DaveO Loc: Northeast CT

MT,

Yes, I wear glasses and have no trouble shooting inside. I'm talking about putting my eye to the eyepiece and adjusting S or A or ISO as I look at the exposure meter in brighter outside light. The LED's are too dim.

MT Shooter Loc: Montana

DaveO wrote:

MT,

Yes, I wear glasses and have no trouble shooting inside. I'm talking about putting my eye to the eyepiece and adjusting S or A or ISO as I look at the exposure meter in brighter outside light. The LED's are too dim.

Thats what I figured was going on, no inside lighting is nearly as strong as sunlight. There is no adjustment available for the internal LEDs, the only answer when wearing glasses is to look for a viewfinder eyecup in the aftermarket or remove your eyeglasses. I had the same issues when I used to shoot crop sensors, the larger full frame viewfinders make seeing this data much easier outdoors.

DaveO Loc: Northeast CT

Thank you much! I didn't really want to go that route,but whatever it takes! I'm trying to use M to get what I want,particularly with the Sig 150-500. I'm hopefully going back to Yellowstone in September and want to do a better job! If I get through my neck operation okay,I'm going!

Meanwhile I need a lot of practice...

CO

UHH members have already given great answers to your question. One thing to do is to check if the diopter is adjusted properly. It has nothing to do with brightness but if it was out of adjustment it would be harder to see the information in the viewfinder.

DaveO Loc: Northeast CT

CO wrote:

UHH members have already given great answers to your question. One thing to do is to check if the diopter is adjusted properly. It has nothing to do with brightness but if it was out of adjustment it would be harder to see the information in the viewfinder.

I spent a fair amount of time with the "search" feature and to no avail,no great answers for my needs,that's when I posed my question. I found nothing relating to my problem. Perhaps my search was poorly executed. The diopter adjustment is set and not a contributing factor.

I think that perhaps I described my needs poorly so that you did not understand what I was trying to convey. Thank you for your reply. :)

dcampbell52 Loc: Clearwater Fl

DaveO wrote:

When shooting in Manual,I have trouble seeing the exposure meter and other settings,particularly in low light.

I can't find an adjustment and notice that it is dimmer when focusing on darker areas,and nearly impossible with bright light around me.

Is an eyepiece recommended? Thoughts?

Brightness control for the D7100 on the LCD screen is in the menu, I don't think there is one for the viewfinder eyepiece. The monitor brighness is in Setup / monitor brightness. I verified that there is no control for the info displayed through the viewfinder but it is illuminated and should be visible in most dim lighting. I can see mine in complete darkness. As for focusing in low light, and stuff actally on the viewfinder screen rather than under it, these are illuminated by the image and will be hard to view in low light. This is why, in extremely low light, I tend to use LiveView on the rear monitor screen. In additon, the camera always has difficulty focusing in low light as the focus mechanism requires an illumnated subject in order to focus correctly. In such instances (I keep the focus light turned off on the camera as it is only good at short distances and is a distraction in total darkness), I use manual focus and liveview. Keep in mind that Liveview greatly increases battery consumption. This is why I always carry at least one spare battery.

dcampbell52 Loc: Clearwater Fl

DaveO wrote:

What was peculiar,I thought,is that if you look in your viewfinder with the lens cap on,it is dim,but lightens up when you take the cap off.

Focus on something and then point towards a dark area and it dims.

Kind of like a fiber optic gun sight collecting light.

LOL, I often use a laser pointer to focus at night, they are inexpensive (you can get them in the pet aisles of most stores to use to tease cat and dogs) and I point it on a tree or other object in the general area of my shot and focus on it manually. (it helps to have the camera on a tripod while doing this.)