Nikon DSLR viewfinder brightness

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Rajappa Iyer - 29 Jun 2006 20:28 GMT

So is it my imagination or are the viewfinders on D50 and D70 less
bright than old film SLRs? How is the D200 in this regard? FWIW, I
compared D50 & D70 to N8008s & FM2N.

Thanks,
rsi

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chorleydnc@hotmail.com - 29 Jun 2006 20:41 GMT

> So is it my imagination or are the viewfinders on D50 and D70 less
> bright than old film SLRs? How is the D200 in this regard? FWIW, I
[quoted text clipped - 5 lines]
> <rsi@panix.com> a.k.a. Rajappa Iyer.
> Absinthe makes the tart grow fonder.

In bright light the viewfinder is bright, when it's dark, it's not
HTH David

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tomm42 - 29 Jun 2006 21:03 GMT

A film SLRs viewfinder has 4x the area of an APS sensor DSLR. The D50
and D70 both use mirrors instead of a prism for viewing so yes they
are dim. A D200 uses a prism and magnification to brighten the
viewfinder, still not quite as good as a film SLR, but very useable.
All Nikon DSLR finders are very dim when the camera is turned off, they
brighten up considerablely when you turn the camera on.

Tom

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Philip Homburg - 29 Jun 2006 22:19 GMT

>All Nikon DSLR finders are very dim when the camera is turned off, they
>brighten up considerablely when you turn the camera on.

Only more recent Nikon DSLRs have that feature. The D1 series is 'normal'
in that respect.

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Robert Brace - 29 Jun 2006 23:46 GMT

>> So is it my imagination or are the viewfinders on D50 and D70 less
>> bright than old film SLRs? How is the D200 in this regard? FWIW, I
[quoted text clipped - 14 lines]
>
> Tom

That is interesting about the viewfinders "brightening" up. And PH called
it a "feature" in his post.
I have just personally checked both the D1 and D2 series. NO change in
brightness -- NADA!!
I'd be interested in reading more about this "feature". Care to point me to
your source?
Bob

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nospam - 30 Jun 2006 00:20 GMT

> > All Nikon DSLR finders are very dim when the camera is turned off, they
> > brighten up considerablely when you turn the camera on.
[quoted text clipped - 7 lines]
> I'd be interested in reading more about this "feature". Care to point me to
> your source?

he may be thinking what happens when the battery is removed - it gets
*very* dark. however, with the battery inserted, i see no difference
between on and off.

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Pete D - 30 Jun 2006 02:01 GMT

>>> So is it my imagination or are the viewfinders on D50 and D70 less
>>> bright than old film SLRs? How is the D200 in this regard? FWIW, I
[quoted text clipped - 22 lines]
> to your source?
> Bob

I think they are kidding themselves, how does an optical viewfinder change
unless the level of light changes? Both my film and Digital SLR's
viewfinders do not change weather on or off.

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DoN. Nichols - 30 Jun 2006 05:12 GMT

According to Pete D <no@email.com>:

[ ... ]

> > That is interesting about the viewfinders "brightening" up. And PH called
> > it a "feature" in his post.
[quoted text clipped - 7 lines]
> unless the level of light changes? Both my film and Digital SLR's
> viewfinders do not change weather on or off.

    There is a special-purpose LCD between the focusing screen and
your eye. That displays things like the current autofocus zone, and the
grid (if you have it turned on as I do).

    The camera with no battery installed goes *very* dark as the power
to the LCD drains off (about ten seconds in my D70). Put the battery
back in while looking through the viewfinder, and it brightens up in a
couple of seconds. (All with the camera turned OFF, so "off" is not
fully off. :-)

    This is probably the source for the impression of the viewfinder
being too dark in the D50 in the one time when I looked through one in
the camera store. I didn't think to check whether it had a battery
installed or not.

    However, looking through the finder of a D200 in similar
circumstances shows it to be *very* much brighter than my D70 -- and
larger as well. And this camera had a battery, since I was able to take
a couple of photos with it on my CF card to verify that I could convert
the RAW images at home using dcraw.

    Enjoy,
        DoN.

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Robert Brace - 30 Jun 2006 06:31 GMT

> According to Pete D <no@email.com>:
>
[quoted text clipped - 38 lines]
> Enjoy,
> DoN.

I was simply pointing out that contrary to Tomm42's post "ALL" Nikon DSLR
DON'T have a dim finder with no battery, or an exhausted one. By
observation the D1's don't, nor do the D2's.
The D70 does and, in fact the fine Manual points it out on Pg 9.
Bob

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Rajappa Iyer - 30 Jun 2006 00:18 GMT

> A film SLRs viewfinder has 4x the area of an APS sensor DSLR. The D50
> and D70 both use mirrors instead of a prism for viewing so yes they
> are dim. A D200 uses a prism and magnification to brighten the
> viewfinder, still not quite as good as a film SLR, but very useable.
> All Nikon DSLR finders are very dim when the camera is turned off, they
> brighten up considerablely when you turn the camera on.

Thanks, that is helpful. FWIW, I did have the cameras turned on
before making comparisons.

Thanks,
rsi

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<rsi@panix.com> a.k.a. Rajappa Iyer.
Absinthe makes the tart grow fonder.

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Bill - 30 Jun 2006 03:23 GMT

>So is it my imagination or are the viewfinders on D50 and D70 less
>bright than old film SLRs?

It's not your imagination. Most digital cameras have a smaller sensor
than film, so the mirror that reflects light up towards the viewfinder
is smaller, which means less light to reach your eye.

I experienced the same issue when I switched from film to digital, but I
became used to it after a while.

Now if you compare the brightness of a Canon 5D or 1Ds full-frame
digital body with something like a Canon EOS 3 film body, you'll find
they are essentially the same.

> How is the D200 in this regard?

It's better than the D50/70 series due to magnification levels and
product design. The D200 was built to compete against the Canon 5D so
they put more effort into improving the viewfinder and other features.

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Sheldon - 02 Jul 2006 02:20 GMT

> So is it my imagination or are the viewfinders on D50 and D70 less
> bright than old film SLRs? How is the D200 in this regard? FWIW, I
> compared D50 & D70 to N8008s & FM2N.
>
> Thanks,
> rsi

One solution is to get "brighter" lenses.

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