Nikon D700 viewfinder is more like a square???

[chuck_t]

I understand that the D700 viewfinder is 95%, but it looks more like a square instead of a rectangle. If any of you

compare it against the old FM2, FM and F100, which are also less than 100% view, you will know what I'm saying

here. I found out that holding the D3, FM2 and D700 side by side, the D700 viewfinder does not give the feel of using

35mm camera. Thus, this may affect how we, photographers, compose an image.

 

Does anyone has the same feeling or am I alone here?

[ronald_moravec1]

Alone. Sorry

[bms]

To me it looks like a rectangle with a 3:2 ratio. I think to have read that its "crop" is 95% off each side, so really the area is ~90%

[ShunCheung]

Sorry Chunk, I have absolutely no idea what you are talking about. The 95% (or more like 90%) viewfinder on the D700 can be a bit annoying as sometimes I am incluidng stuffs I don't want in the frame, but it does maintain a 3:2 ratio.

[Ian Rance]

Well, there is some strange optical illusion in Nikon finders (and maybe other manufacturers too). I have passed the cameras to others and they observe the same as me. Look through the D700 veiwfinder in horizontal orientation and then turn the camera into the vertical position. See how the image suddenly stretches 'taller'?

 

Why the finders do this is unknown, but the actual are covered does not change - just the shape. I think it is the lensing in the finder optics playing tricks.

 

Ian

[alan_huett]

I don't think that this "stretching" can actually be true - how does the light/lenses "know" when it is rotated - the same effect should apply when the camera is horizontal. The image should look "stretched" sideways horizontal and then "taller" when rotated - unless the lens elements move, how can this happen in one orientation and not the other?

 

It is possible that this is an illusion caused by different eye placement in each orientation, alternatively perhaps eyeglasses (which do not rotate when the camera is turned) or astigmatism of your eyes is causing the effect?

 

Alternatively perhaps this is a perceptual illusion related to how we perceive vertical vs horizontal aspect ratio pictures? It would be interesting to mask the finder to change the aspect ratio and see if the same effect occurs - perhaps the D3s aspect ratio crop might help here?

 

Alan

[lex_jenkins]

Viewfinders, even the best, are designed for average or normal vision. Even the diopter adjustment won't correct for all human vision problems. For example, I don't need the diopter adjustment on my D2H or Olympus digicam to make the viewfinder appear in sharp focus. But I have fairly severe astigmatism so even perfectly aligned verticals, horizontals and right angles sometimes appear askew to me until I deliberately make an effort to compare the lines against other lines.

[walterh]

It is unusual but possible to have a camera eyepiece fitted with a front lens matched to your eye. This is helpful in cases of astigmatism for example. The cost should be lower than for regular eye-glasses because of the small size but probably will cost more nevertheless.

[ShunCheung]

Please take a look at my D700 viewfinder test in this thread:

http://www.photo.net/nikon-camera-forum/00RU2L

 

In terms of area, you get approximately 89.2% of the actual image in the viewfinder and it is not quite centered, at least on my camera. I would say that is roughly 90% coverage. However, that image still has a 2:3 aspect ratio. If you see anything remotely similar to a square, you should get your vision checked.