On Fri, 23 May 2003 13:04:50 -0500, Mike Marty <mikem@cs.NOSPAMwisc.edu> wrote:

>Given an electronic viewfinder that gives a high quality, real-time

>preview image, it seems to me that camera designers can remove the mirror

>yet still have the WYSIWIG (what you see is what you get) from an

>interchangeable lens system.

[...]

I just bought a used Sony 707 SLR with LCD eyepiece finder,

and I LIKE IT! It permits a good evaluation of exposure and

color balance. I've looked through conventional-finder SLR

digital cameras and wondered why they bothered with this

method of framing, since it offers little advantage (I found

them difficult to focus, and they provide little real

information about exposure and color balance, things that

cannot be evaluated easily using the hard-to-see unprotected

rear LCD screens). If the final image is not saved on an

"unknown-characteristic" film, but on the camera's own

electronics, why not use that image for display/evaluation?

BTW, this camera has unexpectedly gotten me back into still

photography with a vengeance - I average 50-100 "fun"

pictures a day with it now, with VERY few failures (the

ability to see well a preview image is VERY useful...!).

Also BTW, this camera takes advantage of the electronic

imaging to double the magnification during manual-focusing

(the image doubling happens only when the focus ring is

moved). This has permitted precise focus in macro work,

the nemesis of AF (the AF otherwise is excellent on this

camera). Also, this camera is very easy to hand-hold at slow

shutter speeds, unlike some others I've tried, increasing

the "keeper" percentage to close to 100%... No

interchangeable lenses (38-190mm f2-2.4 though), and WA

converters are not great with it but for two of many I have

tried: a round fisheye and a BIG/HEAVY/expensive full-frame

fisheye (which can be zoomed) - but there is no reason an

interchangeable-lens SLR with electronic imaging cannot

be made (video cameras have operated this way for

years...;-).