Can prosumer digicam make DSLR obsolete?

[jasonpgc]

Originally posted by Red Dawn
Hi

well to be fair to hentaitic, he did not say that prosumer digicams will replace DSLRs. he was just saying that he thinks LCD and EVF are great technologies which is the main draw of prosumer digicams......

jasonpgc is right - the LCD or EVF is never going to give u a crystal clear view of the scene and wat u're exactly focusing on...

Thats exactly the same reason why many choose the SLR over the Quiet, Small, Compact, Range Finder Camera :bsmilie:

 

[Red Dawn]

Originally posted by matthew

I have no real desire for a DSLR - but I would like something like my D7i with interchangeable lenses.

that's a noble wish

Who says an interchangeable lens cameras HAS to have a optical prism view finder ?

but that's the whole crux of the issue isn't it? wat's wrong with an optical prism viewfinder? If there's nothing wrong with it, why are we rushing to replace a direct line of sight device with something that, by your own admission too, slow, grainy and impossible to manual focus?

unless there's something that the EVF provides that the optical viewfinder doesn't. which there isn't any.

Yes the current generation of EVF are slow and grainy but I love the concept.

but there's nothing revolutionary about that concept, unless u don't trust wat u see with your bare eyes and you want to look at a video representation of reality instead....

The current crop of 5MP prosumers all seem to have the same 'defects'. -

Grainy and slow EVF
Slow and unpredictable auto focus
An EVF that makes manual focus difficult.
And all to a certain degree get so noisy at higher ISO settings that you tend to avoid using it.

The DSLRs tend not to have these defects, but then the BODY costs twice to three times that of the 5MP intergrated Lens prosumers. You get what you pay for.

but, u don't have to pay for these features u know.....

I remember my first digital camera, the Canon G1, has a optical viewfinder + LCD. I can either use the LCD (which is highly convenient for viewing at weird angles) or the optical viewfinder. Simple and direct.

See, my point is it's not the price you pay for the camera. It's the fact that EVF isn't even necessary in the first place!

It is quite possible the current 5mp prosumers all suffer from a conflict between the needs of a live readout to run the EVF and the readout data required to do autofocus - the end result that neither are done well

be careful wat u wish for, for u may get it.

do u realise wat u're wishing for? for your ideal camera, in order to even look through the viewfinder, u have to turn on the thing. That means an additional continuous battery drain, for instances when u aren't even shooting but just looking. For digital cameras with only LCD, u can turn off instant preview mode or use the optical viewfinder to frame to save on battery power. Not so for your ideal camera!

 

[Red Dawn]

Originally posted by jasonpgc
Thats exactly the same reason why many choose the SLR over the Quiet, Small, Compact, Range Finder Camera :bsmilie:

hehe not quite! THAT Quiet, Small, Compact, Range Finder Camera does tell you wat is IN focus in no uncertain terms - in other words back in the 1950s there already is manual focus confirmation, a feature that is lacking in many of today's modern battery powered SLRs

Wat it doesn't tell you is wat's not in focus ie the DOF effects of a selected aperture.....that's when using The Force comes in.......:devil:

unless u're using Contax, of course. I've been told (but not verified) by ex Contax G users they cannot see visually wat's in focus through their viewfinder, getting instead a readout of the distance to target in the viewfinder, which is not very useful since they cannot be exactly sure wat the AF of the Contax is locking onto....

 

[Mr Fish]

Hmmm... if i'm not wrong the EVF is there to cut cost. Can anyone verify that? I think i read somewhere that for the long zoom digicams, it will cost alot more to provide an optical viewfinder, and thus, utilizes the cheaper EVF instead.