Met a 350d on a tripod today.

The optical view finder was superior back when LCDs were junk. I would say they are about even now, and LCDs are getting better all the time, while optical isn't. The LCD has the advantage of showing the results of exposure compensation. I've always thought the swinging mirror was a workaround that had run it's course.

As Dbump said, if you have a static landscape scene, you can take a picture and REview it and adjust and try again. To me it seems clunky to have to be hunched over trying to squint through the viewfinder.

Did anyone see the specs on the Displaytech micro LCD?
http://www.dpreview.co​m …020105pma_displ​aytech.asp
320x240 in a .19" diagonal display. If my math is right, that's over 2000ppi. That'd make a pretty nice EVF, I imagine.

Better yet, use the same tech for a 2.5" LCD. You could do WUXGA resolution. Pricey, I'm sure, but that will come down.

Just get a taller tripod to get the eyelevel viewfinder to...

wait for it...

Eye Level!

Oh and for those using the low-angle argument...if you aren't down there with your camera, you aren't involved enough!

Ease of use in awkward angles is a benefit of tilt and swivel, but in the grand scheme of things, a pretty minor one. FWIW, I still prefer an optical finder for viewing and shooting - especially outdoors, in bright light or when shooting action.

Plus, I find the act of looking through a viewfinder helps reduce external distractions and allows me to pay more attention to my composition. That's purely subjective, of course, but a *huge* difference, IMO.

I have an old Minolta angle finder.. the V model. I had this for about 25 years now and used it for copy and low to the ground work with my film SLRs. It fits the 350D very nicely.. like it was made for it. I think you can pick one up on Ebay for about 40-45 bucks and it is very well built.. and the optics are first class. I would recommend it. Regards. R

Another advantage is that you see 100% of the final image in LCD. With 20D, I always end up guessing where the real frame will be and for that reason, I often have to do unnecessary cropping to my images ...
Of course I could always upgrade to 1-series and get viewfinder that shows 100% of the frame, but those are expensive, big and heavy.

I won't buy a DSLR without a preview LCD. I don't care what anyone says. I have shot for 5 years now on point and shoots using the LCD to compose, and I've gotten quite good at it. I'm sure that with manual focus using the LCD solely to compose is unrealistic, but for the most part, I'd like to use the LCD. It gives me an idea as to what my picture is actually going to look like. This has kept me away from the DSLR world. In the real world, the features I need are only found on the P&S cameras.

So you realized how convenient the tilt/swivel LCD is ... good for you

Tripod work was about the only thing I used it for on my G2. For all other kinds of images, the optical viewfinder was the only viable possibility for me (even though sometimes partly blocked by add-on lenses and whatnot) ... using the LCD to compose a shot seems positively weird to me. The only thing that's even worse (to me) is a full EVF ... giving you that tiny-surveillance-cam image quality when you should be composing an image and judging how it will look like ... not for me.

Since then, I have learned to merrily live with the limitation of the missing LCD preview on my DSLR

Best regards,
Andy

Of course, there's the whole argument that the LCD sucks so much power that you're really limiting your shooting capabilities with only one battery. Using the same battery, my S-50 got far less than half the shots my RebelXT does. With the battery grip on the XT, it gets even more before I have to change out.

Of course, the new low-power OLED displays may make the difference smaller...

yes, the tilt swivel screens are nice for macros and or over the head shots but those are so far and few between for me that i would never go back to using a point and shoot digi cam fulll time. I love the speed, versatility and all the different things i can do with my DSLR too much... but, i still love my pro1 of coures!
-zacker-

optical cant get better! light is light... if you're upset with the quality of it then... go back to your planet! hehe

Yes, light is light. too bad the mirror only shows the light coming through the lens and not the representation of the light coming from the sensor. There IS a difference.

What brought that on? I love it when people are rude and then think they can mitigate it with a smiley face or a hehe.

Howz this? I think people with absolute entry level dSLRs who make their L's red have some kind of inferiority complex. hehe.

A few weeks ago, I couldn't even spell mirror-slapper. Now, it looks like I'm gonna BE one. Arrrggggghhhhh!!! I hope the beautiful pictures will offset the crick in my neck. And I hope I don't become as snobbish as a very small percentage of dSLR owners seem to be.

If the only reason that you are still shooting with a P&S is the LCD screen - you are missing out on a whole other world of advantages that the SLR camera brings to the table. The LCD arguement is like in 7th place on my list of importance when there are so many other things going for shooting with a SLR system......