Summer is the time for sunglasses, which also happens to be the time of the year that I loathe viewfinder-free cameras even more than I normally do. That’s why a recent Sony rumor caught my attention. If the latest rumor circling the Sony community has any truth to it, then color me jealous.
According to reports from Sony Rumors, the hotly anticipated Sony FX5 mirrorless cinema camera will have an optional tilting electronic viewfinder, along with a new, larger LCD screen.
If the rumors are indeed true, a tilting EVF wouldn’t exactly be surprising, as Sony’s more entry-level FX series camera, the FX2, has a tilting viewfinder built in. But the rumors are calling for the FX5’s tilting viewfinder to be an optional add-on attached to the camera’s hot shoe.
Summer always reminds me of why I hate cameras that don’t have a viewfinder. Harsh glare from the sun renders the LCD screen hard to see. Add in sunglasses – a personal must if I want to avoid a squint-induced headache – and sometimes the LCD screen is almost completely useless.
There are plenty of mirrorless cameras that still have a viewfinder, the design of which shields the problematic sun glare. But a viewfinder that tilts is rare.
As much as I prefer the viewfinder, I’ll use a tilting LCD screen to get unusually low or high angles. A tilting viewfinder may not be quite as versatile – you can’t, for example, see it from a distance like an LCD screen or use it for selfies – but I would love a bit more flexibility to get low-angle shots without giving up my viewfinder.
Rumors also point to the cinema camera getting a larger 3.5-inch tilting LCD screen compared to earlier options, expanding on earlier reports of a 16MP full stacked sensor with Open Gate.
Sony has yet to release any sort of teaser or verify any of the speculation, leaving plenty of room for doubt over those speculated features.
As a photographer and not a videographer, I’d like to see a tilting EVF come to still cameras. Then again, such a design may increase the size of the camera in an era when the latest trends seem to suggest photographers want smaller, lighter gear – so a tilting viewfinder isn’t something I would expect to see anytime soon.
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