Image in viewfinder smaller than actual picture

[monkeymagic]

Hi, I recently bought a Xsi, and had a quick question.

I know that the Xsi's viewfinder is 94% or so smaller(?) than the actual picture that gets taken. However, it seems like the picture is at least 15-20% larger than what I see in the viewfinder when I take it. Is this normal, and what accounts for this discrepancy?

Thanks.

[440roadrunner]

I'm not sure I understand your question, but many viewfinders have less than "full coverage" of the shot. That means that what you see in the viewfinder is a sort of "crop" of the actual shot

Somewhere.....there's a big chart

One thread:

http://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthread.php?t=465469&highlight=viewfinder+comparison&page=9

http://www.neocamera.com/feature_viewfinder_sizes.php

http://www.luminous-landscape.com/tutorials/understanding-series/viewfinders.shtml