A620. A great choice; but a question

[TMR Design]

Hi all,

I have been away and shooting tons of pictures with my A620. I absolutely love it and some of the pictures I have been taking are really amazing. I really love the camera and recently had a chance to play with an A530 and although it is an excellent camera I am so glad I got the A620. Aside from the obvious and the difference in megapixels thre were more apparent differences when actually holding and using the camera. One thing that I did not like was that the compartment for the SD card and the batteries were one and the same. I found that to be annoying and the spring loaded door seems more likely to have problems (as my old 0lympus did). Since the door is on the bottom it also makes it impossible to leave the camera on a tripod and have access to the card.

There also seems to be a considerable delay in pressing the shutter button and snapping the pic whereas the 620 seems more responsive and is 'ready' to shoot very quickly.

Ok, enough of the reviews. Both are excellent but I am vey happy I spent the extra $$ and got the 620.

QUESTION: I do quite a bit of closeups and work with the macro setting. As everyone is aware, the viewfinder does not show what the lens sees and you can only view that by using the LCD. The biggest problem with this and all cameras that work this way is that framing or composing a picture can be difficult using only the viewfinder. I do not usually use it by choice but I shoot a lot in bright sunlight and the LCD becomes virtually useless, not only for composing the picture but for making adjustments to the cameras settings.

So in the grand scheme of things is this just a 'deal with it' situation? or are there tricks or features for using the viewfinder. I remember even on my crappy Olympus when you went into Macro mode there were a set of crop marks that would appear in the viewfinder to show you what you would actually capture. I don't see anything like that with the 620 and from what I can tell there is no way to see any info or data in the display.

What are others doing to deal with and work with this? So far this is the only thing about 'point and shoot' cameras that make me think I would like a DSLR, but I am not ready to make that move just yet.

Any input would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

[Storm2]

Good question Robert :) I also have A620 & an A70 before that. Digital cameras are fun , I too would love to know how the experts deal with this problem.
Storm2

[TMR Design]

Hey Storm,

So far the input I have gotten is prety much what I expected. It would seem that there is little you can do about the LCD being washed out by the sun and I suppose in time you develop a knack for knowing what is in frame with macro turned on. For me, I compensate for not knowing by having more in frame than I might ordinarily have and since I am shooting at the highest resolution I can crop as I need to (99% of the time).

I am still cursious to see if anyone has so neat tricks or tips for this. I have the converter for filters, etc and as much as I want to use them I am very discouraged and disappointed in the fact that I got them for shooting daylight and in bright sun but can't even compose a shot because of the top of the lens barrel that appears as you look through the viewfinder. Don't get me wrong, I am thrilled to be able to add filters and a lens cap but had I known that this was the way it is I would not have bought the converter of filters.

[dyle]

To give you a different view, DSLR owners would also love to have the flexibility of a tilt LCD to get really unique angles on macros. The tilt LCD gives you a lot of options on when you are shooting in bright sunlight. Try taking advantage of that function but also making the screen easier to read. If all else fails, use a home made shade like what you see in the sticky note above this page about a70 super macro :)

[Moppie]

Iv been useing an A series compact for over 5 years now, and I have, ever, had a problem with sun glare on the LCD.
And here in NZ we have some of the harshed brightest sun in the world (try a 7 minute burn time in the middle of summer).
You just have to prepared to move around a bit to either shade it, or if you a flip and twist then use it.

I see the details in the shot useing my naked eye, pick some refernce points I want near the edge of the frame, then use the LCD to compose, making sure those reference points are where they should be, everything else just falls into place.
The viewfinder still gets used in lowlight, and for moving subjects though.

[TMR Design]

I respect your answer but can't understand how you can be under bright sunlight and have no problems with the LCD. I know my camera and LCD are working fine but there is no denying the fact that when in bright light the screen can barely be seen and its usefulness is zero. I would think that is also why there are manufacturers that are producing sun and screen shades for just about every digital camera made.

If you are having no problems then that is amazing and I wish that was me but I was out this morning and it was not even a blazing sub, just a bright day and no matter how much I tilted and swiveled I could not use the LCD.

I am sure DSLR users wish they had a tilt/swivel LCD but they can always compose pictures accurately using the viewfinder whereas with an A620 you can't do that in Macro or when using the digital zoom.

I would love to get more input from others that shoot in bright sun light.

[Moppie]

but they can always compose pictures accurately using the viewfinder



It depends what your shooting, sometimes you just have to get the camera into a position that would mean either getting very wet, very dirty, or use an agle finder, or have a flip and tilt LCD.

This for exmaple was shot with the camera held over some rocks, only 1 inch above the water. No way I could have got that angle with an SLR http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v31/Moppie/greatdaytogofishing1.jpg




Im going to have to pull my camera out and have a play, see how Im getting around the glare problem.

[spur]

Nice shot Moppie. Did you know you got the fish in the picture or was it a nice surprise when you opened the photo in the computer?

[Moppie]

Found it while chimping, checking the histogram and thought I had got a water splash on the lens so I zoomed in :)

[Moppie]

Alright, I worked what I do.

I just cup my left hand around the left edge of the camera, and around the LCD, then look into it like is a viewfinder, but thats only when its really, really severe.

The rest of the time I just use my big head to shade the LCD.

[Storm2]

I bought that little A620 in July ,had an A70 .I like that nice thick Battery area on rt hand side ,it gives you a good hold on your Camera. The Tilt lcd is a godsend to me,saves me having to get down on my poor old Athritic knees . lol Eyesight very poor so those 7.1 megapixels gives me lots of crop area. Admit bright sun light is a problem .I cup my hand around the screen., wear a big straw hat or a good golfers cap .
Enjoy you camera & have lots of fun with it.
Storm2