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Will Leica update to the VF-4 EVF?


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I'm sure it will be compatible, not even in the Leica bubble would the engineers be that short sighted.

 

I hope you are right. There is an interesting size comparison on DP Review. The .74X screen on the VF-4 is physically considerably larger than the .58X VF-2 and to one's eye will look larger than the optical .68X viewfinder in the M. The downside of that is that the ugly wart on the top of our M240's, is going to be even more hideous.

 

Wilson

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This is from B&H's site.

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The Olympus PEN E-PL5, E-PL3, E-PL2, E-PL1, E-PL1s, E-PM2, E-PM1, E-P3, E-P2, E-M5 and XZ-2 cameras can be made compatible with the VF-4 with a free firmware update, however the eye sensor is not supported on these cameras and with the E-PL2, E-PL1, E-PL1s, E-P2, XZ-2 cameras, slight image degradation on the viewfinder is noted.

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How this applies to potential compatibility with the M is anyone's guess.

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This is from B&H's site.

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The Olympus PEN E-PL5, E-PL3, E-PL2, E-PL1, E-PL1s, E-PM2, E-PM1, E-P3, E-P2, E-M5 and XZ-2 cameras can be made compatible with the VF-4 with a free firmware update, however the eye sensor is not supported on these cameras and with the E-PL2, E-PL1, E-PL1s, E-P2, XZ-2 cameras, slight image degradation on the viewfinder is noted.

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How this applies to potential compatibility with the M is anyone's guess.

 

EYE SENSOR!!!

 

We can only hope Leica can implement this. It would be a huge feature to have on the M.

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EYE SENSOR!!!

 

We can only hope Leica can implement this. It would be a huge feature to have on the M.

 

Well anything would be better than the hideous ergonomic mess they made of the EFV/LV/View button presses. I still get it wrong nearly every time, it is so anti-instinctive.

 

Wilson

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I still get it wrong nearly every time, it is so anti-instinctive.

Yeah, same here in the beginning ... but now I think I've figured out the logic behind it.

 

With the accessory EVF attached, you have two live view buttons—one labeled LV on the camera's back; one labeled |O| on the EVF.

 

When live is off then pressing one of the live view buttons will engage live view where the button was pressed—i. e. on the camera's display for the LV button; in the EVF for the |O| button. Pressing the same button again will stop live view mode. Pressing the other button will switch live view over to the respective display.

 

So to end live view, press the live view button where live view currently is—if it's on the camera's display, press LV; if it's in the EVF, press |O|.

 

Once you wrapped your head around this, it's very easy and intuitive.

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Well anything would be better than the hideous ergonomic mess they made of the EFV/LV/View button presses. I still get it wrong nearly every time, it is so anti-instinctive.

 

Wilson

 

The whole process is rather complex although it's not unlike other cameras today that require time to master the new beneficial features. I've turned off review because it shows in the evf as I wait for the image on the screen, the focus and composition are pretty much locked in with the evf whereas I always struggled with the optical viewfinder when exactness was required. Leica did many things extremely well with all the new features and a few things less than well, I don't mind being a beta tester the camera is that good.

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Yeah, same here in the beginning ... but now I think I've figured out the logic behind it.

 

With the accessory EVF attached, you have two live view buttons—one labeled LV on the camera's back; one labeled |O| on the EVF.

 

When live is off then pressing one of the live view buttons will engage live view where the button was pressed—i. e. on the camera's display for the LV button; in the EVF for the |O| button. Pressing the same button again will stop live view mode. Pressing the other button will switch live view over to the respective display.

 

So to end live view, press the live view button where live view currently is—if it's on the camera's display, press LV; if it's in the EVF, press |O|.

 

Once you wrapped your head around this, it's very easy and intuitive.

 

Olaf,

 

The problem is that the button presses are the "wrong" way round compared with the other cameras I use, where each press of the button on the EVF switches the view backwards and forwards from the EVF to the rear screen. I would much rather have the LV button switching LV on and off and the EVF button as the select which device displays the LV. I would also prefer to have the preview always on the rear LCD. On most modern cameras you can program this in the menu. Chatting with the beta testers, there is some hope that both of these may be added as options in the menu.

 

The other thing I notice is that in order to get the review to display on the rear screen, it sometimes takes two or three presses on the LV button to return the display to the rear screen before you can successfully press view to chimp.

 

Wilson

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I would much rather have the LV button switching live view on and off and the EVF button as the select which device displays the live view.

Yes, that's the way I intuively expected it to be, too, and felt quite irritated in the beginning. Once I understood and accepted how it actually is, it promptly became very easy.

 

That said, I also wish live view and image review could be set up independently from each other.

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Pretty pathetic that there is already an newer version of technology before Leica can ineptly produce a camera to go with it. Perhaps this is their strategy...the M was somewhat on the leading edge. Perhaps this made them uncomfortable so they screwed up production and delayed deliveries until others could easily surpass them.

 

Photokina is coming up in 4 months. Perhaps Leica can introduce the accessories for the cameras they haven't yet delivered. The excitement is building.

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They could have just waited for the new viewfinders to be released before producing the bulk of them. Probably just the "annoy" the impatent people that bought the old olympus version. ;)

 

Ledfut

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Eye sensors that switch between the EVF and LCD were in some bridge cameras quite a few years ago. (My Konica/Minolta A2 has it and this dates from 2004.) Why Olympus is only adopting it now is kind of a mystery to me. Maybe it was a licensing issue. The other unanswered question is if the M can make use of the resolution in this new viewfinder or if it falls into the "slight image degradation on the viewfinder is noted" category.

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Eye sensors that switch between the EVF and LCD were in some bridge cameras quite a few years ago. (My Konica/Minolta A2 has it and this dates from 2004.) Why Olympus is only adopting it now is kind of a mystery to me. Maybe it was a licensing issue. The other unanswered question is if the M can make use of the resolution in this new viewfinder or if it falls into the "slight image degradation on the viewfinder is noted" category.

 

Its been in the Fuji cameras since the X100. Its a wonderful feature that should be considered standard for an EVF. It also reduces battery consumption.

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I'm an "optical" all the way guy.....or was .....

 

Using the Fuji system extensively I find it odd, almost retro, going back to RF or pro DSLR TTL viewing.

 

For this photographer EVF is frikkin' super exciting.

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