Viewfinder?

[jryans10]

Hi guys,

Just waiting for my first DSLR to be delivered. I'm just wondering, is what you see in the viewfinder what you get? By this I mean if you adjust the aperture etc, can you see the blurred out background in the viewfinder, or do you need to take the photo to see it?

Thanks.

 

[Stratman]

All the cameras I've experienced leave the lens wide open until the shutter is pressed to take the picture. There is a practical reason for this, namely if the lens was stopped down to the chosen aperture of say f/8 or f/11 it would be too dark to see. They do however have a 'DOF preview' button, which will show you the lens stopped down to the selected aperture through the viewfinder. I used it once to see if it worked. It did and the picture was very dark.

 

[HoppyUK]

Hi guys,

Just waiting for my first DSLR to be delivered. I'm just wondering, is what you see in the viewfinder what you get? By this I mean if you adjust the aperture etc, can you see the blurred out background in the viewfinder, or do you need to take the photo to see it?

Thanks.

Kind of. If you use the depth of field preview button as described above, the viewfinder will go darker but will show the DoF at higher f/numbers, if you can make it out. But the standard viewfinder screen will not show the DoF effect of lenses at lower f/numbers than about f/2.8.

However, use the DoF preview in live view and you will see the exact effect at all times.

Edit: check your actual DoF with this calculator http://www.dofmaster.com/dofjs.html

 

[johnnypanic]

Also remember that, dependant on the camera, the viewfinder may not show 100% of the image, i.e. 97%, etc.

 

[renu]

You do not get what you see exactly in the view finder, as it depends on many factors, such the as lighting outside and what iso you have used and whether you have over exposed or under exposed.If you use live view then you get a reasonable good idea of what you get.Maybe someone will correct me if am wrong.

 

[john5189]

The scene you see through the viewfinder always looks perfect:beautiful colours and great composition.

Then you look at it on the monitor and --What went wrong?

It's learning how to use the numbers at the bottom of the viewfinder that gets that wonderful scene into the camera

 

[andyred]

Hi guys,

Just waiting for my first DSLR to be delivered. I'm just wondering, is what you see in the viewfinder what you get? By this I mean if you adjust the aperture etc, can you see the blurred out background in the viewfinder, or do you need to take the photo to see it?

Thanks.

Hi congrats on your new purchase, bet you can't wait

As has been said, if it has a DOF preview button, this stops the lens down to your aperture, it may appear dark in the viewfinder, this is where the shuter speed comes in ...

What camera are you getting, some viewfinders are 100% coverage, others are 96/97% ...

 

[ernesto]

The scene you see through the viewfinder always looks perfect:beautiful colours and great composition.

Then you look at it on the monitor and --What went wrong?

The main thing that went wrong is expecting a camera to capture images as well as your eyes do.

 

[Photodiva]

You don't get the parallax error you used to get in the old compact camera viewfinder, so in that way its what the lens sees. Like any tool, its down to the craftsman to make it beautiful!