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Thread: My search failed to find a Nikon COOLPIX S range with a view finder? Any available?

  1. #1

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    My search failed to find a Nikon COOLPIX S range with a view finder? Any available?

    Hi,
    I am on the look out for a compact digital camera with a view finder for my wife.
    My 1st preference is a Nikon range but in the COOLPIX S line I do not find a compact with a built in view finder? If not any other product one can suggests to me.

    How are these latest compact with regard to shutter delay that was an issue in the past.

    Thank you for your suggestion

  2. #2
    Black Pearl's Avatar
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    Re: My search failed to find a Nikon COOLPIX S range with a view finder? Any availabl

    Only compact I know of with an optical viewfinder (keeping the price and size sensible) is the Canon Powershot A1200 which is a fairly basic little camera but if you insist on a camera with one you're kinda stuck.

    Out of interest why do you want an optical viewfinder? If it is because you wife is long sited and doesn't want to keep putting her glasses on to see a screen then I can understand your dilemma, if she just prefers an optical viewfinder then I'd suggest she just bite the bullet and try to get used to shooting with the back screen - its not that bad - honest.

    One final thing - yes you can see modern screen is bright light.

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    Re: My search failed to find a Nikon COOLPIX S range with a view finder? Any availabl

    You will probably have to step up to the P series. Try the P5100.

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    Re: My search failed to find a Nikon COOLPIX S range with a view finder? Any availabl

    Hi Robin,
    Her feeling is [having tried our dauchter's camara with the back screen] that the camera shake is less and composition is better when she frame and take a picture looking through eyepiece viewfinder than back LCD screen.
    Like John suggested I will visit Nikon to take look at the P5100 series.

    Thank you both for the answer.
    Regards

  5. #5
    Black Pearl's Avatar
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    Re: My search failed to find a Nikon COOLPIX S range with a view finder? Any availabl

    The P5100 is four years old so you're unlikely to get a new one and I assumed you were wanting to buy new.

    The current version is the P7100 and at £500 it is not cheap nor is it small nor is it in any way similar to the S Series Coolpix range you were looking at - I think I mentioned keeping the size and price sensible.

    Persevere with using a rear LCD - honestly - the latest ones are fantastic, the shake reduction systems are astounding and you quickly get used to framing with them.
    Note also that viewfinders on compacts are usually only about 80-90% of the final image so are far from accurate and can even be offset.

  6. #6

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    Re: My search failed to find a Nikon COOLPIX S range with a view finder? Any availabl

    Hi Robin,
    You are correct P7100 is far too expensive and big.
    I will go for the COOLPIX S series [Planning as a Christmas Present... Yes planning ahead...]
    I will tell her that the research has suggested that
    1. She is better off without the view finder
    2. Camera shake is better managed in the latest compacts
    3. We do not want to go bankrupt after X'Mas HA HA
    I wonder if there is any talk about new releases just before December 2011 in the Nikon COOLPIX S series?

    Regards

  7. #7
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    Re: My search failed to find a Nikon COOLPIX S range with a view finder? Any availabl

    Quote Originally Posted by black pearl View Post
    Out of interest why do you want an optical viewfinder? If it is because you wife is long sited and doesn't want to keep putting her glasses on to see a screen then I can understand your dilemma, if she just prefers an optical viewfinder then I'd suggest she just bite the bullet and try to get used to shooting with the back screen - its not that bad - honest.
    IMO I could rephrase the question, "Out of interest why do you want an optical viewfinder?" to "Out of interest, why would anyone want a camera that doesn't have an optical viewfinder?"

    When I view my image through the eye-level viewfinder, I am completely immersed in the image to the exception of everything else around me. I can see my image in real size (The 7D has a 100% viewfinder) rather than on a miniscule LCD. Even the largest of the LCD Viewers are relatively tiny in comparison to real-life size of the subject. I just cannot understand how anyone could accurately view everything concerning the image by viewing with the LCD. When I am "forced" to use an LCD viewer, I add a Hoodman Hoodloupe which, in effect, changes this to an eye level viewfinder.

    When I worked with the ancestor of live view, the ground glass of my view camera, I was working with static subjects, the ground glass was far-far larger and I used a dark cloth over my head. That is not practical when using the LCD and all my subjects are not static.

    I can also hold a camera with more stability when resting it against my eye instead of at arm's length.

    I can understand that some photographers have a difficult time converting three dimensional subject matter to a two dimensional image and that live view makes this conversion for them. However, I don't think that I would enjoy photography as much as I do if I were forced to work viewing my images on the LCD screen. In fact, I don't think that I would shoot at all...

    However, there are some P&S cameras which have eye level viewfinders AND LCD viewers which should satisfy both camps. The choice would depend on the size camera you were looking for. Does your spouse desire a camera that she can slip in her purse or a more substantial model. It also depends on the amenities you want and the price you are willing or able to pay.

    However many P&S cameras which have optical viewfinders use a separate window for the viewing which is not parallax corrected so your framing, especially with close-up shots is often off. Additionally, many P&S cameras with 3" LCD viewfinders simply have no room for an eye level finder.

    Selecting a camera is often a series of compromises and decisions. This is especially true since there is such a disparity in the quality and the features of P&S type cameras. Pick any DSLR from any manufacturer in any price range and you will get a very efficient camera which produces very-good to excellent imagery and is exceptionally versatile. This doesn't seem to be the case with P&S cameras, especially the more compact models.
    Last edited by rpcrowe; 25th September 2011 at 06:02 PM.

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    Re: My search failed to find a Nikon COOLPIX S range with a view finder? Any availabl

    Quote Originally Posted by snowshine View Post
    I wonder if there is any talk about new releases just before December 2011 in the Nikon COOLPIX S series?
    Hi Arun,

    This dpreview joint review might be useful, joint winners were Nikon S9100 and Canon SX230, of those, the Nikon is quite a bit cheaper, but may still be over budget. It came out this summer, so not sure if another will be released before December.

    Happy Christmas

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    Black Pearl's Avatar
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    Re: My search failed to find a Nikon COOLPIX S range with a view finder? Any availabl

    "Out of interest, why would anyone want a camera that doesn't have an optical viewfinder?"
    Because its dead technology.

    Harsh I know but they are on their way out and like it or not we will have to get used to it.

    Cameras will either have electronic viewfinders (Sony SLT/Panasonic G/Samsung NX/Olympus PEN/Nikon 1/Fuji X100/the about to be announced Canon ?/all bridge cameras) which are getting better every generation and are at the point now where they are serious rivals or no viewfinder at all.....pretty much every other compact camera made for the last few years. People who have been brought up on a diet of SLR's will likely fight this as they are usually set in their ways and don't like change. The traditional manufacturers know this and drip feed new tech into the latest DSLR range with extreme caution. The electronic brands couldn't give a stuff about the dwindling bunch of old-timers and make huge leaps in innovation every refresh and they are the ones who are taking the photography world by storm, bringing new blood into it, increasing their market share and scaring the hell out of the others.

  10. #10
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    Re: My search failed to find a Nikon COOLPIX S range with a view finder? Any availabl

    One aspect of many current compact cameras, which is not just a marketing ploy but a also a very useful feature, is the focal range of the lens - from an impressive wide angle to a powerful telephoto. This involves zooming up to e.g. 18 times, as achieved by the sub-£200 Nikon Coolpix S9100. Is it physically possible to produce an optical viewfinder covering such a range to fit into a compact camera body?

    Philip

  11. #11
    Black Pearl's Avatar
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    Re: My search failed to find a Nikon COOLPIX S range with a view finder? Any availabl

    Good point - no it isn't.

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    Re: My search failed to find a Nikon COOLPIX S range with a view finder? Any availabl

    I mis-interpreted Optical viewfinder to read eye-level viewfinder. Sorry for my confusion. However, comparing an eye level viewfinder (either electronic or mirror such as on a DSLR) with a LCD viewfinder, I would select the eye-level viewfinder any day over using the LCD for viewing my image...

    However, I would still opt for any eye-level viewfinder over an LCD for following fast action...

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