The essential Flip-Out, articulating screen...Discussion.

Dave in Wales

Dave in Wales

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The Flip-Out, articulating screen is IMVHO the best thing 'ever' to be included on a DSLR.

Every DSLR up to the pro models should have one.

My dream is a D7000 with one, the ultimate camera.

When fitted to a tripod the D7000 eyepiece/screen is inevitably at the wrong height to see what's going on, and when on a bean-bag on the ground....I can forget it.

Now with my little D5100 with it's flip-out screen I can see what's occuring with the camera at any height and in any position.

It's seems an absolute no-brainer to me why they are not fitted as standard to all cameras, they are such an asset.

Again all the above is IMVHO.

Just out of interest D5100/D7000....
http://www.engadget.com/2011/04/27/nikon-d5100-impressions-head-to-head-with-d7000/

D in W, kneeling on the ground peering at a flip-out screen :D
 
Having never used a camera with one I have no idea how useful it might be, but they always look so vunerable to me, and I just feel I would damage it first time I used one though I guess they must be better built than I imagine..
 
At no time since having one on my Nikon 8700 years ago have I ever thought "I wish my camera had an articulated screen", just something else to break......
 
I actually used mine for the first time on my new 60D last night and found it incredibly handy, so much easier when the camera's down low.
 
I can see its benefits - it wouldn't be included in so many current cameras if it wasn't entirely useful - but it takes up valuable space that could give you extra screen size, and although the joints are very strong they still are more likely to break off than a fixed screen.
 
The Olympus system has had them for some time (certainly since 2008 or before), I use it on the E3 and find it very good espically when doing over head or low down shots.
 
Flash In The Pan said:
At no time since having one on my Nikon 8700 years ago have I ever thought "I wish my camera had an articulated screen", just something else to break......
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The one on the 8700 is horrible, I could never get used to the screen not being on the back of the camera and always fund myself pointing the camera off to the side of where it should be.

Much better on the GH1 since it's fully articulating and can flip back onto the camera where it belongs.

I don't use it very often, I prefer to use the EVF in daylight.
 
Very helpful for manual focus and also helpful for those of us who don't kneel down to easy these days :lol:
 
freecom2 said:
I can see its benefits - it wouldn't be included in so many current cameras if it wasn't entirely useful - but it takes up valuable space that could give you extra screen size, and although the joints are very strong they still are more likely to break off than a fixed screen.
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The screen size on the D5100 flip-out, and D7000 non flip-out, are identical at 3"

D in W
 
stevewestern said:
Having never used a camera with one I have no idea how useful it might be, but they always look so vunerable to me, and I just feel I would damage it first time I used one though I guess they must be better built than I imagine..
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This was what I thought, and then I got a 60D.... now I find the screen very useful and I'll really miss it if my next camera doesn't have one. It's great for high and low shots, macro and video. I use it a lot more than I thought I would.
 
futureal33 said:
I think its one of those things that you dont need or use for 99% of the time, but that 1 time you do need/use it, it is brilliant.
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:plusone:

Rarely use it but for night shots with the camera mounted awkwardly and I want to manually focus - out it flips and focus @ 10x zoom :thumbs:
 
After using the G1 screen, it would really annoy me not having it.

Even on a tiny camera like the G1 it doesn't feel like it's adding any bulk. It can remain flat on the back exactly like a fixed screen. With the added bonuses of being able to flip it round to protect the screen, and have it articulated for all sorts of awkward viewpoint related benefits.

No brainer for me, agree with OP. I'm sure any G1 owners will agree that it does feel at all like it might be a weak point or 'another thing to break'. Really solid mechanism.
 
They would be useful if LiveView was any good.

I've had a D5000 and I don't miss the articulated screen on my D7000 at all.
 
In discussions like this people often put forward the argument that a flip screen is just something else to go wrong or even that it could easily break but I wonder how true either of these things actually are?

Has anyone actually had a flip screen break off because of a reason other that serious carelessness?

As for just something else to go wrong, has anyone had a flip screen fail? I've certainly read of fixed screens failing and we could use the same argument against any new feature that gets added like auto focus, flash, focus assist, image stabilisation, sensor cleaning or even the digital as a whole.
 
woof woof said:
Has anyone actually had a flip screen break off because of a reason other that serious carelessness?
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But this is the thing - serious carelessness and accidents sometimes do occur, and in those instances I doubt anyone can argue that a screen that is physically attached to a camera body by only the articulating joint as opposed to attached onto the back of a camera won't suffer more damage.

Dave in Wales - fair enough, but I think the amount of direct control access buttons on the D7k as opposed to the constant menu hunting on the 5100 speaks for that :shrug:

I think the "I think its one of those things that you dont need or use for 99% of the time, but that 1 time you do need/use it, it is brilliant." is bang on the money.
 
freecom2 said:
But this is the thing - serious carelessness and accidents sometimes do occur, and in those instances I doubt anyone can argue that a screen that is physically attached to a camera body by only the articulating joint as opposed to attached onto the back of a camera won't suffer more damage.
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I'll argue that an articulating screen is less likely to suffer damage. The articulated screen on my 60D spends the vast majority of its time flipped over and folded up - so that the screen itself is hidden. As such, any impact in that area is unlikely to damage the screen. On all my other dSLRs however, the rear LCD is totally unprotected and vulnerable to being dented, scratched or smashed bu any impact in that area. (Yes, I know that there's a protective screen fitted in front of the LCD).

P&S cameras and video cameras, in particular, have had articulated screens for years. If it were at all a problem I'm sure there would be more complaints.

I specifically bought a 60D because of the LCD. My back and knees don't bend like they used to and I found a lot of the time it was impossible to use the viewfinder or the rear LCD. And a right-angle viewfinder really doesn't help. When the 7D MkII comes out I'll be buying one immediately if it has a swivelly LCD.
 
I've never used a DSLR with an articulating screen, and I was a bit sceptical when I bought my A640 compact, but it's quite useful.

Anyone remember the criticism when video first appeared on DSLRs? A gimmick, it'll never catch on.............now some reviews are rating the cameras on their video capability. Things change. I have a feeling we may see the end of the mirror, pentaprism and optical viewfinder one of these days too.
 
Still got my Nikon 8800 and that screen is very useful.

I would certainly have liked it on my two Canon DSLRs.
 
freecom2 said:
I can see its benefits - it wouldn't be included in so many current cameras if it wasn't entirely useful
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It's what's known in marketing parlance as 'adding value', something that's there simply to give the item a differentiating factor from the competition.

If it was a genuinely benificial feature then it would have been introduced on the professional bodies first. The fact that it made it's debut at pretty much the bottom of the range would suggest it's purely a gimmick.
 
Flash In The Pan said:
The fact that it made it's debut at pretty much the bottom of the range would suggest it's purely a gimmick.
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I It never felt like a gimmick when it was saving me lying in the mud to photograph fungi on my fuji S9600
 
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hollis_f said:
I'll argue that an articulating screen is less likely to suffer damage. The articulated screen on my 60D spends the vast majority of its time flipped over and folded up - so that the screen itself is hidden. As such, any impact in that area is unlikely to damage the screen. On all my other dSLRs however, the rear LCD is totally unprotected and vulnerable to being dented, scratched or smashed bu any impact in that area. (Yes, I know that there's a protective screen fitted in front of the LCD).
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Fair counterargument really, can't really say much more than acknowledge it. The point about professional bodies is interesting - most DSLR advancements do tend to go from top to bottom, so maybe this is just the exception?
 
Flash In The Pan said:
If it was a genuinely benificial feature then it would have been introduced on the professional bodies first. The fact that it made it's debut at pretty much the bottom of the range would suggest it's purely a gimmick.
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So video is purely a gimmick, eh?
 
I was a little unsure about the articulating screen on a DSLR but tried the Canon 60D to test it for myself. I have to say that it is quite usefull IMHO and the quality of the hinge and screen itself is very good.
 
hollis_f said:
So video is purely a gimmick, eh?
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freecom2 said:
Several short movies shot with 5dmkII rigs will probably prove this wrong :suspect:
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The test of whether it's a "feature" or a "gimmick" is to ask yourself, "if this wasn't present would it have stopped me buying the camera?"

I suspect that the answer in relation to both flip-out screens and video would be a resounding "no", ergo they're both gimmicks.
 
What would be really good, would be a removable screen, either wireless or wired.
 
It might be on the lower models due to people who upgrade to dslr nowadays have had top end compacts such as the g11 like myself, the screen was one of the main reasons I went for the 60d.

It might be one of them you don't know what your missing until you've had it? It certainly can be useful, using with a tripod and low angle shots.

I like the way on the 60d you can turn the screen around so it's protected, or angle it when outside so you don't get a reflection.

Certainly can't see it breaking under general use :-)
 
Flash In The Pan said:
The test of whether it's a "feature" or a "gimmick" is to ask yourself, "if this wasn't present would it have stopped me buying the camera?"

I suspect that the answer in relation to both flip-out screens and video would be a resounding "no", ergo they're both gimmicks.
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OK. I'll doubt if I'll ever buy another DSLR but, if I wanted one, and the same model was available with the articulated screen and video, and without, I'd be prepared to pay some premium for them.
 
MartynK said:
OK. I'll doubt if I'll ever buy another DSLR but, if I wanted one, and the same model was available with the articulated screen and video, and without, I'd be prepared to pay some premium for them.
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Fair enough, I wouldn't, but that wasn't my point. My point was that if these features weren't included, (the D700 is a perfect example) it wouldn't stop people buying the camera. If they were "essential" then Nikon wouldn't sell any D700s...
 
Flash In The Pan said:
Fair enough, I wouldn't, but that wasn't my point. My point was that if these features weren't included, (the D700 is a perfect example) it wouldn't stop people buying the camera. If they were "essential" then Nikon wouldn't sell any D700s...
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Graham, are you still using a box brownie? :lol:
 
I love the pull OU LCD on my d5000....dead useful.
 
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