Electronic Viewfinder

I think Kirk Tuck will be laughing at me and say "I told you so, since two years ago" if he ever finds out about this post. Kirk has been a very strong supporter of Electronic Viewfinders (EVF) and he has written lengthily for many times, the benefits EVF brings for practical photography. 

On last Saturday night, I was on the way out to purchase a lens filter for my now still naked lens, but on my way to my favourite local camera accessories shop I stumbled upon a charity concert via Facebook postings. You see, in that charity concert, my favourite artist, Ariff AB was performing, and I thought why not made it there since I was free for that particular evening. Lens filter can surely wait. I made a rough mental calculation and I could make it in time before the concert started, with very minor detour. 

Arriff AB performed on stage and he was AMAZING. I am a huge fan of local music, especially the Indie rock scene. It has been a while since I last seen Ariff AB and after all the hectic Olympus roadshows, touch and try events and the KLPF recently, I thought the live concert was a nice, sweet reward I can give myself. There is something about being drowned in loud music and surrounded by a cheering crowd that is therapeutic as well (besides shutter therapy).  

Please do check out Ariff AB (Youtube Channel)

And you know what, I also shot the very same performance by Ariff AB with my OM-D E-M5, on FULL HD video. The reason I was recording the video was, well, firstly I LOVE THIS SONG! And secondly, to try out how effective the 5-Axis Image Stabilization was on video recording hand-held. I was using the M.Zuiko 45mm F1.8 lens for the video shoot, and even at the longer focal length (medium telephoto), the video appeared to be smooth and steady without much noticeable shake. 5-Axis IS, surely amazing. Glad to have the E-M5 now.

Check out the 5-Axis IS in video recording of OM-D E-M5 (Full HD) 

Please bear in mind I am quite a virgin when it comes to video recording, I know almost nothing. So for whatever technical issues, they were my fault and lack of expertise, not the camera's doing.

Now you see, shooting a live concert performance was really tricky. The stage lights were changing all the time, in different directions, intensity and colors. Exposure balance shifted in every now and then. Shooting with a traditional optical viewfinder, everything appeared perfectly fine and balanced, because our eyes can adjust to the changing lights, hence it provided very little useful feedback for us to properly control the camera in correspondence to the rapidly changing lights. 

The beautiful thing about the E-M5's EVF is the real time live preview of the lighting. Since the preview is basically "what you see is what you get", all I had to do while shooting in Aperture Priority mode, is to dial back the exposure compensation control to get the exposure balance that I wanted to achieve. I found myself having to switch between -1.7EV to -3EV, with rapid change of lights, and the EVF allowed me to react quick enough to different conditions while I was still shooting, without having to pull the camera away from my eye. This saved a lot of trouble! I had a lot of failure shots from my DSLR E-5 when shooting concerts, mainly because I did not compensate for the changes of light quick enough, and this problem has been solved with something as simple as an EVF, where newer technology has surpassed the dinosaur optical viewfinder in terms of real life application. For the first time, I truly admit the importance of having an EVF and I am truly convinced that this is the future, replacing the old optical viewfinder. 

The OM-D E-M5's focusing was so fast and accurate, I did not have to worry about my focusing and just paid close attention to the changing lights, as I compensated for the EV setting. While the light also changes in color with multiple colors at once, I shot everything in RAW so I can worry about white balance later. 

When I came home with the RAW images, I thought I needed to do some minor adjustments for the exposure since they were changing very fast, but as I inspected the files, I did not have to do any further processing! My judgment during shooting was accurate enough done through the EVF. 

And you know what, being at the front row, and the M.Zuiko 45mm F1.8 lens, I found myself wishing I had the M.Zuiko 75mm F1.8 instead! I just did not have sufficient reach. I am a fan of tight framing and I do not include that much negative space in my usual composition. The 45mm was just not good enough to get me close for more impact-ful shots. Oh well... another lens, for another time maybe. I just have to live with what I have. And in all honesty that 45mm F1.8 is one heck of a great lens, superbly sharp and focuses very fast. 

Yes, the Electronic Viewfinder is the future, if you have not tried the EVF in our new OM-D E-M1, please do so if you get a chance. You will see what you have been missing if you are still sticking to the traditional Optical Viewfinder. I am sure from there on, you will not be looking back any more, as what has happened to me.