Rainer Leuschke wrote in message ...

>What currently bothers me most using my camera is the hard to use view
>finder. I usually wear glasses and viewing the whole frame is pretty
>tricky. What are the manual bodies with the best viewfinders out there? It
>seems to me that "high eypoint" might be very nice to have. How important
>do you think are 100% coverage and magnification of the viewfinder?
>
>I currently have a Nikon FG but I would like to know what other major
>manufacturers have to offer for viewfinders. ...and Nikon specific: are
>the FE, FA series viewfinders better than the FG vf or is the F3HP the
>only way to go to improve.


The FE/FM/FA series have about the same eye relief as the FG - not
much... The F3 HP and non-HP are much easier for glasses wearers
to use, as are the finders of the F4, F5, 8008, N90, and N70. I prefer
near 100% finder coverage of the film area, and the cameras above
are nearer that than the FG. BTW, there are other issues: finder edge
sharpness with short lenses, and finder linear distortion. The F, F2,
F3, F4, and F5 all have near 100% viewing area, reasonably sharp
finder edges, and little linear distortion of the viewing image. The
FG/FE/FM/FA/8008/N90/N70/6006/etc. (and most finders on cameras
made by other mfgrs....) all have linear distortion, soft edges with short
focal-length lenses on the camera, and somewhat less than 100%
coverage - and Nikon finders are among the best... My favorite
camera viewfinders (as a wearer of glasses) are on the F3 (both
standard versions, and the sports finder), the 8008, and the F5.
Hope This Helps
David Ruether - http://www.fcinet.com/ruether