Is the LVF1 worth it?

It works. It's not great but not bad at all. It will depend on your expectations.
For longer lenses and MF it's really ok.
I use it but rarely as it changes the form of the camera.
That being said, I would never want to be without it.

I actually like it better on my LX5.

 

Good deal. It will do what you need it to do.
I love it with my 50mm J8.
With the small AF target, it's ok.

 

The image is too small, the colors are muted, the contrast is poor, and the resolution is disappointing... but I have no regrets about buying it. You probably won't use it in situations where the LCD works fine, but it's good enough that you'll be very glad to have it in other situations.

 

That's a nice way of saying what I was trying to say....
It's certainly a love/hate relationship.

 

Agreed. It could be better, but it isn't worse. It is handy in bright light and I turn to it a lot at low t speeds when I want the additional bracing effect of the camera against my cheek.

I said this on another thread: the relatively low res output has the advantage of making me focus more on composition and not on sharpness. You have to trust that the image capture will be sharp, and with the 20mm pancake it usually is.

 

I agree with everyone else, it's not the greatest, but it's helpful enough that I find myself using it more often than not. I held off buying mine until the price dropped to $124 at Amazon and it has not come off the camera since the day I got it. I use manual focus lenses probably three quarters of the time and it makes focusing so much easier. I also think it's a must have for shooting in bright sunlight. Trying to use the camera in bright sun with the LCD blacking out got old in a hurry.

 

The LVf-1 was why I switched to the G2. I found myself using it a lot and was not happy with it compared to the live viewfinder in the G/GH series cameras. So as long as you are ok with its limitations already mentioned here (lower resolution and contrast), it allows you to work with a smaller camera body than the G/GH series bodies.

 

I agree with many of the comments here. It could have been a much better device in terms of resolution. But it does work, and when it's useful to me I am very glad to have it. It makes an already outstanding camera even more flexible.

 

I owned on for a few days and its value will depend on your shooting style. If you shot exclusively in bright light I suspect it will have been of some value.

The use of the EVF in bright light was a plus. But, and there were many buts. When I panned quickly the grid overlay and information numbers broke up into multicolour banding I suspect this is due to the refresh rate. As well as this the EVF had a colour shift, increased contrast, had a refresh lag, and seemed too dark in low light. I got a refund and I don't miss not having the EVF.

 

Grant,
I keep my screens on B&W. So color shift is no issue.
The finder is ok with the B&W. The increase in contrast is actually welcomed.
I just prefer to see the world around my frame and not thru a little window.
It is what it is.....

 

Shooter

We must be brothers as I keep my screen on B&W for about 90% of all my images, because I feel it helps me to concentrate on composition.

That being said if I spend $230 (tax included) for an EVF I expect it to behave. I feel it should be neutral so I know where I am starting. If someone mainly shoots in full sun light it may be a good thing for them but I rarely shoot at noon so it wasn't for me.

 

It should be noted for anyone deciding now that the LVF1 is less than $145, tax and shipping included. At $230, it was overpriced, but at $145, not so much.

 

In Canada the price is still as I quoted. Let me make it clearer, and this is only based on how I shoot and no one else, if I were given one of these EVF it would sit in the bottom of my gadget drawer and gather dust.

 

Grant, we are brothers for sure. I'm surprised it took you so long to figure that out......
Don

 

Very much worth it. An essential part of a GF1 camera bag IMO. It certainly will assist in manual focus requirements and in bright light conditions it is basically a requirement. It does change the form of the camera but is easily removed. It's resolution and contrast limitations seem a non-issue to me.....not sure who would really use their viewfinder for critical viewing anyway.

 

It would be great to hear from you once you have used the VF for a while.

By the way - nice collection of Canon glass.