I've been putting this off.....

[Wasabi Bob]

My two cents

Like many, I have not had any problems with the brightness. I've spoken with several people who claimed they could not "see" it clearly. Those same people never realized that there is a diopter adjustment on most eye pieces.

My 1st SLR was a Mamiya Sekor DTL 500 (1966 vintage), so I'm really dating myself! The mirrors in most SLR cameras (including new digital versions) will darken with age, and I find all of them extremely difficult to use at night. I would not trade the electronic version for anything.

 

[vintageslrs]

Wasabi Bob--The brightness problem will not ocurr everyday....just in some rare extremely bright cases. And the diopter adjustment helps with the eye level VF, just not enough for my eyes and glasses.
That 500 DTL you had was a fine camera in its day. I have several of them and their brother, the 1000 DTL. Nice well made SLR's and good optics.
But shortly after that era...the viewfinders on many SLR's got very, very bright. The Fujica ST 801 is an example of a 1973 vintage SLR with a nice bright viewfinder. And then the next generation SLR's like the Minolta X-370, X-570 and X-700 series were even brighter still. And I much prefer those type viewfinders with their split image center and the microprism band around that and beautifully bright viewfinders in all conditions to these digital/electronic viewfinders. But, hey, it's to each their own. What works for you may not work for me and vice versa.
Wasabi Bob, ever get to 21st Ave and check out that location, we spoke of?

Bob

 

[BobBill]

Bright Light Shooting Confession

I still cling much to my old Nikons, and often use an F2, with plain finder. I use a small waterproof digital (p+s) Oly for outdoor activities and for daily carry. Last December, I finally migrated to a "good" or serious digital camera (Pen ep-2) with EVF.

I do black and white almost exclusively...

Like Vintageslr suggests, the magnetism of the film cameras conflicts with the efficient, "instant" digital approach, but I have adjusted well and really cannot fault the format or the camera.

I have a few years on Vintage and wear Veralux lens glasses too, so I do prefer auto focus, but get along manually.

Give that digital camera some time, I believe you will applaud its merits, but those old film beauties will always be there, beckoning, like a favorite pair of shoes...

 

[vintageslrs]

I have not posted here in a while.
But as promised I did not give up.
I have found a combination that works for me and although it is not how I thought I'd be
using this camera, when I purchased it. It is now a very useable and enjoyable camera for me.
It is still winter here (-15 degrees F last night) and I cannot get to motivated for outdoor photography with the temps and the lack of anything except snow and sanded snowy roads to shoot. But I have had a few needs to put the G1 through its paces and used the way I describe below--it has performed very nicely.
Using the eye piece not the LCD monitor for viewing and composing and using an Olympus M. Zuiko 14-42mm lens instead of my legacy lenses--I have found that the G1 works well for me. And I should say I am pleased with it.
I thought when I purchased it I thought I would be using it with my tons of legacy lenses and of course focusing manually but for me, it has not worked out that way. But using it with the M. Zuiko lens and using the auto-focus--the results are pleasing. And I am enjoying it!

all the best
Bob

 

[Luckypenguin]

Nice to hear from you again, Bob. I hope you can continue to enjoy your G1 and eventually get to use that enormous collection of old lenses with it!

 

[vintageslrs]

2 examples of pix shot with the G1 and the M.Zuiko 14-42mm lens:
by the way the subject is a Japanese Aeriel Machine Gun Camera circa WW2 made by Konishiroku (Konica).

Bob

 

[ZephyrZ33]

2 examples of pix shot with the G1 and the M.Zuiko 14-42mm lens:
by the way the subject is a Japanese Aeriel Machine Gun Camera circa WW2 made by Konishiroku (Konica).

Bob

Wow, thanks for sharing.

I thought I've seen most WW2 weapons. This design looks like it was straight out of Star Wars.

 

[Narnian]

I still find wearing a hat the best solution on bright days when I shoot. Plus my wife likes me in a hat.

 

[Bill Gordon]

Bob, I'm glad you started this thread. I'm sure there are many who've read it and nodded their heads at different points, as well as those who haven't ever experienced any annoyances.

I hope the LCD hood will be of help. I know I've seen some threads about them in the Accessories forum. Try it and please report back, OK?

I wear progressive lenses. I used to have two Olympus PEN cameras and loved their EVF - it was amazing. Not all viewfinders are the same, be they optical or electronic. I never had any issues with light leaks or anything else with that Olympus EVF - and I can't see without my glasses. Depending upon the brightness of the sun and the angle, especially during our snow covered days here in New England, it can be tough to see any LCD. As for wearing polarized sunglasses - which I do - they are the best but make seeing the LCD very difficult most of the time. You should see me switching glasses in the snow with my dog on a leash....trying to catch that decisive moment. Maybe that's why I tend to shoot more decisive moments inside?

Hang in there and promise to let us know what happens next. That LCD "hood" or a nice broad brimmed hat could be the ticket.

Hi BB.....I wear glasses as well and I have the EVF.....I added the eyecup to my list and haven't had a problem since. I take my glasses off and put my eye into the cup and away we go!!

 

[vintageslrs]

Wow, thanks for sharing.

I thought I've seen most WW2 weapons. This design looks like it was straight out of Star Wars.

You are most welcome!
And remember it really wasn't a weapon---it only shot film...no ammo.

Bob

 

[jimr.pdx]

previous settings are important with VF

If the camera settings were such that the image would overexpose, that could cause the LVF to wash out. Since the VF shows the actual exposure, if you're set at iso400 and f/3.5 a snowy scene could look like white on white. Not sure that's what happened but it's a possibility. I learned this the hard way after a few times out shooting.

One of the reasons I've grown to prefer the LVF (against my old-school wishes!) is that is shows me when my WB is off, and what some ±EV will do to the exposure. I've been into SLRs since '74 so I understand how that transition can go (I took 2000-08 off though). I hope you can learn to make this system work for you, but :43: cannot do everything for everybody. I have my Pentax K200d just in case it rains :smile:.

 

[Jimboh]

Washed out finder image

Every once in awhile transitioning from very bright to dark I found the camera settings didn't change accordingly in Program mode. Rolling from Program to any other mode and back "unfroze" it so it properly weighted the scene exposure.
Never been able to nail down circumstances that allowed me to replicate this with the kit below or I would have let Panny know. Firmware was always current at the time.

This might be the same issue as the original poster. I find the EVF to be better than an optical finder during strong daylight.