Yeah totally! There's some kind of funny connection in your brain you have to break, but once you have then raising the camera to one eye with both of them open is suddenly so useful!!

I was wondering about these - I suspect it's something I'd have to really use before I understood what it can do...

Wow, the photo of the cattails in front of the dock is so striking. I love the they way it creates a visual comparison of the two.

Another observation that may be related: If I get out my old film SLR and its 300mm lens, and side-by-side I use the OMD EM5ii at the equivalent framing of 150 mm, camera shake on the SLR presents a problem for the actual photograph, but not for viewing: the camera shake just moves the framing of the camera around the subject and my eye can stay focused on a steady subject in the center. However, camera shake on the OMD EM5ii makes the subject, the scene, and the framing all shake around in front of my eye (though of course turning on image stabilization helps).

I wonder if the real problem here is just the video lag on the EVF? Is all of this really not a problem on the mirrorless cameras of the past few years with faster EVFs?

To clarify my question, I've don't have a problem raising a camera to my eye and centering it on the subject with an SLR or binoculars or whatever. This is a new problem for me with a mirrorless camera (that is admittedly old technology now, bought very used).

Thanks, yeah the startup delay is definitely annoying. To deal with this I've kept the LCD turned around and closed/off, and when I'm raising the camera I have a hand motion I do in front of the EVF's sensor so that it's on when it reaches my eye.

If you're looking with your eyes at a small bird in a wide field of leaves and branches and you have a telephoto lens with a very narrow angle of view, it is not possible to have perfect enough accuracy to lift up the camera and nail the subject, unless you keep your eye locked on the subject while lifting the camera/scope/binos/whatever to your eye. I'm saying that I've found that this doesn't work with my Em5-ii.

One difference between optics and an Evf: When you turn an EvF camera at slight angles the image pans accordingly. When you turn an optical scope or SLR slightly, if you keep your eye and head still, your eye can stay locked on the subject in the center of your eye's field of view even though the camera's framing has shifted. There are real physical differences in how one interacts with physical optics vs an EVF and in my limited experience I feel like this has been one of them.

(juvenile red wing blackbird looking ratty as ever!)

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And for fun, a few of my rare amateur successes at photographing admittedly common birds...

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Hello! I have a question about that trick you do when using binoculars or an SLR with a telephoto lens, where you lock your eyes on your subject and then you raise your binos or camera to your eye. All you have to do is make sure your eyes stay focused on the subject and once the binos or camera are in place the subject will magically be right in the center of the frame. When I try this, however, with my Olympus Em5-ii and its electronic viewfinder, it never ever works; I always end up in some other random spot and have to pan and hunt around and search for it, which is often impossible. This is very frustrating because I like to just have a camera with me while walking or paddling and when I see something quickly raise it to my eye and shoot (which seems like it would be a common usage). Yes I know that if you have a zoom telephoto you can start zoomed out and then zoom in on your subject - I'd prefer to not have to do that. So, here are my questions to ponder, discuss, answer, or declare invalid:

1. Is there a name for this trick that would be useful in searching for more discussions on the internet? I have not yet found any.
2. Is this a problem just for the particular EVF on my Olympus, or is this problem common to all electronic viewfinders? I.e., does the raise-to-your-eye trick only work with physical optics like in an SLR?
3. Why have I not been able to find one single example of anyone complaining about this when discussing electronic viewfinders? Am I missing something?

I got this Em5-ii and telephoto lens used for dirt cheap, and I love the tiny form factor, but someday I hope to get a nicer camera. If this is a limitation to all electronic viewfinders, I might be inclined to avoid a mirrorless/EVF system (in that hypothetical future camera that I have yet to save up for).

Amazing filling the frame so perfectly with those little wrens!

Oh yeah, they restored that plane, flew it, and then made it the centerpiece of the new Tompkins Center for History and Culture building, in the History Center's museum. It's pretty cool ... there's still relatively fresh oil dripping from the engine!

Wow, small world - our house is a few blocks from Finger Lakes Electric!

Great stories and amazing photos!

Hey "penguin 123" I think I know who you are!

Yay, Syracuse!