Which m4/3 camera has the best viewfinder?

[t._masp]

<p>I realize this is a rather subjective question, but it seems that the G2, PEN P2 and PL1 all have 1,440,000 dot viewfinders. The G2 has a -4 to +4 diopter adjustment, but I'm not clear about the P2 and PL1. I assume they both use the same VF-2, so viewfinder performance should be the same. I'm not clear about the diopter adjustment on the VF-2 though.</p>

<p>Also, I heard a rumor about an improved viewfinder for the GF1. Does anyone have details about this?</p>

[SCL]

<p>On March 17 from http://43rumors.com comes the following:<br>

Yesterday we noticed a price drop on the <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002IKLJUU?ie=UTF8&tag=alpharumors-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B002IKLJUU" target="_blank">Panasonic DMW-LVF1 External Live Viewfinder for the Panasonic GF1</a><img src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=alpharumors-20&l=as2&o=1&a=B002IKLJUU" border="0" alt="" width="1" height="1" />. This made us suspicious. We asked around a little bit and that is what we got:<br>

According to infos we received from Japan the <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002IKLJUU?ie=UTF8&tag=alpharumors-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B002IKLJUU" target="_blank">Panasonic DMW-LVF1</a><img src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=alpharumors-20&l=as2&o=1&a=B002IKLJUU" border="0" alt="" width="1" height="1" /> is going to be replaced!<br>

ANother japanese source sent us following t0xte:<br /> “<em>Sales clerks at several major retailers around Tokyo (Bic Camera, Yodobashi Camera) have confirmed that the LVF1 is no longer being manufactured by Panasonic, and most places are either out of stock or “on order” with no estimated arrivals.</em>”</p>

[yoshio]

<p>A key point in this is that the GH1 / G1 / G1 view finders have a dot which alternates between being red green and blue 180 times per second, thus seeming as RGB, the other view finders use a red dot and a green dot and a blue dot and are thus using the same strategy as your laptop screen. The other view finders are essentially 800x600 and the GH1/G1/G2 finders are something like 1600 x 900 in size.</p>

<p>You will note in the specfications that the viewfinder "magnification" is x 1.4 while the others are lesser magnifications such as 1.15 ... significantly smaller to your eye. Were the viewfinder of the E-P to be magnified as much it would then look coarse.</p>

[Greg M]

<p>Subjective, of course, and my own opinion is, given the two discussed here, I'll always take the integrated/built-in finder over an accessory that clips on and is exposed. The finder in the new G2 *looks* like it will better anything before it in response time.</p>

[t._masp]

<p>Does lower magnification indicate a better viewfinder or is it the other way around?</p>

<p>Yoshi: So is the number of effective pixels or "dots" on the Olympus viewfinders cut in 1/3 because they require three times as many dots do achieve the same resolution?</p>

<p>Greg: You've tried the G2 already? Lucky you then. What was it like? I did try the GH1 yesterday and the viewfinder did look a somewhat coarser than the Olympus EVFs, but I will have to go back and look at it some more.</p>

[Greg M]

<p>I've played with the G1 and GH1 like you. I'm seeing comments over at DPReview and Panasonic is making some big claims about the G2 finder. It does look to be improved, but I'll need to see it before I believe (and I'm doubting we'll see it) what they are saying abou it.</p>

<p><a href="http://forums.dpreview.com/forums/read.asp?forum=1041&message=34858560">http://forums.dpreview.com/forums/read.asp?forum=1041&message=34858560</a></p>

<p> </p>

[steven_f1]

<blockquote >

<p>A key point in this is that the GH1 / G1 / G1 view finders have a dot which alternates between being red green and blue 180 times per second, thus seeming as RGB, the other view finders use a red dot and a green dot and a blue dot and are thus using the same strategy as your laptop screen.</p>

</blockquote>

<p>Currently there is no LED or LCD that allows one dot or pixel to be red green and blue at the same time. Most LCD's or LED displays get around this by having seperate red, green, and blue pixels or you can make a LCD whith a back light that changes color very fast. If done right the user would not be able to tell the difference. Most displays on cameras, Laptops, and TVs Have seperate red, green, and blue pixels.</p>

<blockquote >

<p>You will note in the specfications that the viewfinder "magnification" is x 1.4 while the others are lesser magnifications such as 1.15 ... significantly smaller to your eye. Were the viewfinder of the E-P to be magnified as much it would then look coarse. The Olympus viewfinder works on the E-P2 and E-PL1 cameras. The E-P1 doesn't have a connector for any clip on viewfinder. The G1 and GH1 have built in viewfinders while the GF1 (like the Olypmpus cameras) uses a clip on viewfinder.</p>

</blockquote>

<p>According to the B&H web site the specs for the 2 clip on displays (B&H doesn't list viewfinder information for G1 and GH1) are:</p>

<p >Panasonic DMW-LVF-1: Approx 1.4x (0.52x in 35mm equivalent), 202,000dot LCD, 100% field of view.</p>

<p >Olympus VF-2: magnification: approx. 1.15x (0.575x in 35mm equivalent), 100% field of view, 1,440,000dot LCD, Diopter -3 to +1</p>

<p > </p>

<p >The Olympus has 7 times the resolution than the Panasonic. Even if you multiplied the Panasonic resolution by 3 (because it has one pixel while the other has 3) you still wind up well short of the Olympus resolution. The Olympus can also be tipped from 0 degrees to 90 degrees which can be handy in some situations.</p>

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[david_ngo]

<p>The Panasonic G1/G2/GH1 viewfinder is specified at 1.44 million dots, just like the Olympus VF-2 external viewfinder, but the actual number of RGB pixels is 480,000, just like the Olympus VF-2 external viewfinder.</p>

[fp_anderson]

<p>From the posts above I see that the Pen access. EVF offers higher res. than the one for the GF1.<br>

I have looked through the Pen and it is very impressive. Too bad they can not interchange. Lumix (GF1/LX5) users will have to await the new model - if in fact the new model fits current cameras.</p>

<p>F.P.</p>