DSLR viewfinders... confused!!

[480sparky43 43]

GRAYSTAR - ah... I really wish I could learn all that stuff... (sigh)... With all the local camera shops closed, and no one I know seemingly willing to teach me, I have to come here and ask questions... lots and lots of questions...

I'll let you in on one of the forums biggest secrets: Click here.

 

[gsgary]

Geesh, it sounds like the only way for a new user not to get ruined shots on a DSLR is to use the LCD screen... which makes you look like a $100 camera user when shooting. It must have been awful expensive back in the film days!

This makes me ask another question, do any DSLRs actually have an electronic viewfinder, or is that totally against the whole concept of "SLR"?

Shooting film or digital with an SLR is very easy you just use the light meter, i shoot film all the time with a handheld meter if im shooting in the street i check the light off my hand

 

[fjrabon]

I usually shoot in the "P" mode. I have certain settings set the way I like, and the only things I usually have to change are brightness and metering, which is easy on the SX40. So in a way, it is in partly automatic mode, but full auto is rather useless, and I don't use it all that often. Anyhoo, I can make certain adjustments without even moving my eye from the viewfinder. Sounds like with a DSLR, I'd have to switch to LCD view, look, make adjustments, switch back to viewfinder, set up shot, and take shot.

I realize I am not a pro, but I've been shooting trains since 2003 and have had some photos published, so I must be doing SOMETHING right! But taking the plunge into the world of DSLR would have to really be worth the money, which I don't have at the moment. I am in research mode...

Do you also shoot in P mode on the DSLR? If so, changing it is just as simple as knowing what a standard exposure looks like and simply turning a dial. It seems like you are comparing apples to oranges. The only thing you can't see through the viewfinder in a DLSR is how bright the picture will come out (which is what the in viewfinder light meter is for) and the depth of field. And many of the mid level and up cameras have a depth of field preview button.

 

[NellsPhoto]

Do you also shoot in P mode on the DSLR? ... It seems like you are comparing apples to oranges. The only thing you can't see through the viewfinder in a DLSR is how bright the picture will come out (which is what the in viewfinder light meter is for) and the depth of field.

I only used the DSLR for a few days, as it isn't mine, and I honestly don't remember if I shot in Auto or P. All I can tell you is that the view through the viewfinder was nothing like the recorded image. I am starting to wonder if Olympus cameras are somehow different from other brands!

 

[Kolia]

How good is your boyfriend with his camera ? Meaning, does he play with all the controls ?

If I just hand my DSLR to someone and forget to put everything back to "auto", he/she will be shooting with whatever white balance, ISO, Speed and Aperture settings I had been using.

I have a feeling the camera has more options than you are used to and these where set to "something".

 

[NellsPhoto]

Kolia - he used to shoot now and then with a film SLR, and got the Olympus when Circuit City went out of business for a good price. BUT, he rarely ever uses it. Hence somehow he had settings messed up. I actually set everything up MY way when I tried it later. But that first use, before I played with settings, I didn't know the green was boosted up, because of the viewfinder. This is one reason I asked the viewfinder question...

Anyhoo, a little update. I looked through the viewfinders of two people's DSLRs this week. One was a Nikon, the other may have been a Canon. I was told to look at one point, and press the shutter half way. All these little red dots lit up, and I was told those were focus points. I was also told to notice how they moved every time I pressed the shutter. Just the tiny movements of breathing seemed to change the focus points! But never were all those lights lit.

 

[NellsPhoto]

I found one of the photos I took the first day I used the Olympus. (I hope I uploaded it correctly, as this is the first photo I have posted here) NOTE that one end of the engine is in focus, the other isn't, but it is pretty much a side shot. It looked just fine in the viewfinder.

PS - yes, confusion reigns in my brain

 

[Tony S]

YOu won't get all the little lights lit, only the ones that "the camera" selects as in focus. You can change settings so that you select which focus point or group of focus points is used. To be really sure of which point is used select a single point, focus on the subject and while holding that focus recompose the image to what you want it to look like. With some practice this will come naturally and won't take but a millisecond for you to do.

Another thing I didn't see anyone mention is a dof preview function. Some cameras have this and it will close down the lens aperture so you can see what will be in or out of the focus plane. When a DSLR focuses, it uses the lenses widest aperture to establish this focus point, but it does not allow you to see what the depth of field of the actual image taken will be. DOF preview will let you see this before taking the picture if it is available on your camera.

 

[NellsPhoto]

I think I know what you mean. It is one of the different LCD/viewfinder preview settings? I think I would have a lot less of an issue if I shot with the LCD screen!!! It just doesn't feel natural...

 

[21limited]

I usually shoot in the "P" mode. I have certain settings set the way I like,

You have to do the same thing with a DSLR. You have to find the settings you like. I generally use aperture priority but if you're shooting moving objects you have the option of using Shutter priority.

And if you have a Pentax K-5, K-7 or K20D you have the option of setting the F-stop and Shutter speed, and have the camera select the ISO to get the correct exposure.

But it's esentially the same as what you've done. Find something that works for you and go with it. You just have to fool around with the various settings to know what works for you. Believe it or not, as cameras get more expensive, they become harder to use, not easier, and you have to be aware of more things not less. Every time you decide to take control of another previously automatic setting, you get into a whole new set of decisions to make. DSLRs give you lots of decisions to make. More than your point and shoot. Picking up a DSLR without reading the manual and experimenting with each function to find out how it fits into the big picture is a recipe for disaster. You can of course just use it like a point and shoot. If you're not going to understand the camera a point and shoot is better. There are fewer settings that will mess you up.

 

[Tony S]

Usually it's a button on the front of the camera right next to where the lens attaches, takes only moving a finger slightly to activiate it for a quick peek.

 

[NellsPhoto]

Hmmm... may be different from what I am thinking about. SLRs do seem to have a LOT more buttons on the outside!

 

[StandingBear1983]

NellsPhoto, Hi, I can see a lot of misunderstandings here...did you look on youtube for help? - videos might be more clear for you to understand stuff. check out he's channel too, mostly he's very clear in explanations.
Photography Tutorial - FIRST Lesson! What is Aperture ? Basic DSLR Photography Lesson for Beginners - YouTube

 

[unpopular]

i agree. OP needs to have a basic understanding of exposure before he/she will understand metering. Once you understand what the meter is doing, previsualization come a lot more easily.

 

[Sw1tchFX]

Hello all

I have been using the Canon “super zoom” point-and-shoots for a long time now. My current one is the SX40. I am used to looking through the viewfinder, which is really a little screen, and seeing (pretty much) what my photo will look like. I usually don't use the large LCD screen.

I have messed around with my boyfriend’s Olympus DSLR a little, and I have a question:

Without a little screen for the viewfinder, how do you know how your photo will come out? The shots I took with the Olympus looked great in the viewfinder, but the actual photos looked nothing like what I expected, apparently because I was looking through the lens, and not a screen with the “processed” image. If this is how all DSLRs are, how in the world do photographers get good photos??

I am confused!! HEEEEEELP!!

Again, as if the human race was completely incapable of creating photographs before the computer was invented..