evf (electronic view finder): I was wondering if anyone has had issues with a time lag on evf's , I am looking to get another camera, and it would be the sony alpha a99. Then reading a...

robd Loc: New York

I was wondering if anyone has had issues with a time lag on evf's , I am looking to get another camera, and it would be the sony alpha a99. Then reading a few articles , they mention about a time lag with the evf. otherwise I would get a hold of a used a900 (which seem to becoming harder to find). I currently have a a850.. and have no complaints with it.
thanx for the help

JR1 Loc: Tavistock, Devon, UK

They have their good and bad points.

I have used them for years with video cameras and personally I prefer the standard prism, less to go wrong and less battery drain

photoninja1 Loc: Tampa Florida

I'm not familiar with the Alpha 99, but the NEX 6 uses it and I don't find any noticeable lag in it. My guess is that if there is any lag it will be measured in thousanths of a second so it's important to specmongers, but not in a practical sense.

MT Shooter Loc: Montana

I have looked through a few EVF's and so far am unimpressed. Its like looking at an in-camera JPG, you do not see the actual colors the lens sees, rather you see a processed rendition based on the cameras pre-set parameters. Its may look fine and is close, but not exact, thats why I prefer the optical viewfinder.

tainkc Loc: Kansas City

Sony has it down to a science. Don't worry about it. No lag. The EVF is better than an optical viewfinder in that what you see is what you get. This is a great advantage in such things as preventing blow out. The EVF is better in low light situations also. It can see things better where as your eye can not when shooting in very dark situations. Both types of viewfinders have their advantages but once you get used to the EVF, you won't want to go back. As for the reviews, I love it when people pooh-pooh things that they know nothing about.

lacsar Loc: Columbia SC and Newland NC

I have the A65 and was skeptical at first. I find that I like it and there is no lag time at all on mine. If I had the money I would certainly go for the A99. What ever you decide, best to use your own judgement. Good luck on your quest. Sony SLT user.

Patw28 Loc: PORT JERVIS, NY

MT Shooter wrote:

I have looked through a few EVF's and so far am unimpressed. Its like looking at an in-camera JPG, you do not see the actual colors the lens sees, rather you see a processed rendition based on the cameras pre-set parameters. Its may look fine and is close, but not exact, thats why I prefer the optical viewfinder.

With respect . . . . I'm not looking for tonal veracity in either the EVF nor the LCD. They're both jpg images. I'm looking for the 100% view for composition (Lumix FX200).

I also prefer the EVF when I try not to annoy others with my LCD (any time I'm in any kind of an audience) .

jeryh Loc: Oxfordshire UK

I use the Fuji X PRO-1, which has the hybrid Optical/ EVF finder; I also had the Leica Digilux2 which had the original EVF which was diabolical.
The Fuji EVF is unbelievable- it has through the lens viewing and ttl metering. It really is something.

Brucej67 Loc: Cary, NC

I have the A77 and do not have any lag in time for viewing, however t is interesting what MT Shooter stated I never thought about that.

Photogdog Loc: New Kensington, PA

robd wrote:

I was wondering if anyone has had issues with a time lag on evf's , I am looking to get another camera, and it would be the sony alpha a99. Then reading a few articles , they mention about a time lag with the evf. otherwise I would get a hold of a used a900 (which seem to becoming harder to find). I currently have a a850.. and have no complaints with it.
thanx for the help

In the past, I was largely unimpressed with EVFs. However, I have a Sony NEX-5N with the optional EVF and an NEX-7 with the built-in EVF viewfinder (which is virtually the same as the one on the 5N). They're actually quite good. I don't notice any lag time with them. If anything, very, very dark areas in the view show some noise, but that's about it.

Radioman Loc: Ontario Canada

tainkc wrote:

Sony has it down to a science. Don't worry about ... (show quote)

******************
It seem to me that you are pooh-pooh'ing something you are not taking into consideration - that some peoples preferences are different from yours. You write that both types of viewfinders have their advantages - and it is not unreasonable to assume that for some, the advantages of direct are more important than those of EVF.

I have no doubt that EVF will improve and one day will eliminate the present disadvantages.

jimmya Loc: Phoenix

robd wrote:

I was wondering if anyone has had issues with a time lag on evf's , I am looking to get another camera, and it would be the sony alpha a99. Then reading a few articles , they mention about a time lag with the evf. otherwise I would get a hold of a used a900 (which seem to becoming harder to find). I currently have a a850.. and have no complaints with it.
thanx for the help

I have a Fuji 9000 with evf and have had no problems with it. I prefer the real thing as in my Canon dslr cameras but evf, at least in the case of my
Fuji has caused me no problems.

tainkc Loc: Kansas City

Radioman wrote:

quote=tainkc Sony has it down to a science. Don'... (show quote)

Oh, no. That is not what I am saying at all. It is just that I find it very interesting that it so easy to pick out the people who do reviews know nothing of what they are talking about because they not willing to accept something different, therefore they knock it. I do not have an EVF viewfinder on my camera and I am perfectly happy with it. I also will not knock one brand of camera over another because I think when compared side by side, They are all the same quality wise. It is just a matter of where one prefers to have their power window locks located or if they prefer crank up windows. But a person with crank up windows should not knock powered windows just because they have not tried them.

GeneS Loc: Glendale,AZ

The Sony A900 has the best optical view finder of even the new canon and nikon cameras, but is short on features and the A99 IQ is better.Check out the comparison of the two on snapsort.com. there s one place I would choose the A900 over the A99 that is if you are going to use it in a studio full time.
Forget the lag time you will not notice it unless you look for it and nothing else. The new EVF in the A99 isn't like the last generation EVF's the colors aren't bad at all, and you will be able to see exactly what the picture will look like in manual mode. no more quessing what the picture will look like then checking for another shot.
Go to a photo store and look thru the A99 EVF before you buy either,then see how it handles for you.
I'm thinking of selling all my sony and lens and cameras and going for for a new Nikon D600,but the switch my cost me more than I want. will have to see first what I can get for everything

dar_clicks Loc: Utah

-- I'd used optical viewfinders in "film days," got totally spoiled by that great old Nikon F viewfinder, but even so I enjoyed switching to and using using a couple of different point-and-shoot digital cameras. Liking the digital camera and putting up with the markedly inferior EVF was two different issues however; I really missed a good optical viewfinder and became unwilling to settle for anything less than how the D700's looked to me, so it was a joy to go optical again.
-- The new Sony's (from reading) appear to have a much better EVF than I have used and if its EVF looks okay to you perhaps the decision to go with a Sony would be better made on the appeal of its interesting features. ... might need to have more spare batteries on hand than a camera with an optical viewfinder would require.