20d viewfinder information

Hi, using my 20d today, the viewfinder info appeared to be very dim, and it seemed to adjust the brightness of it according to what I looked at - is this a feature, and if so can I turn it off? At some points it was very hard to make it out.

Thanks

Francis

I believe it's just they way your eyes are adjusting to what you look at. If you look at something dim, your pupils will dialate, making everything, including that green info, appear brighter. Look at something bright, and it'll look dim. It's also relative...look at the bright object, and the info seems dark..comparatively.

I completely understand what you are saying, but this isn't the case. When your eyes dilate, it is a fairly 'gradual' process. What I'm seeing is a harsh sudden change. Plus, when I look at bright things, the display gets brighter on mine, and darker when I look at darker things.

Thanks for the reply.

I checked today and it was doing exactly the same thing: The brightness was noticeably changing for no apparant reason, and it was extremely difficult to read at some points. I even shielded it with my hands, so no light was coming in the back making it difficult to read: plus as I said before, it is goes darker when you're in a darker area!?

Any more ideas - it's quite annoying.

Francis

You aren't inadvertently hitting the depth-of-field preview button by chance?

Maybe it really is adapting to the subject's lighting. I'd like that, actually. Never noticed a change on either of my 20D's, or even my dad's 20D. Brighter when it's brighter, so your eyes can look at it easier. Nice. Keeping the same light value as what's in your viewfinder.

Thanks for the replies. No, I'm definitely not hitting DoF preview. Ronald, although it does sound like a nice idea, I honestly couldn't makeout the screen at all, at some times. However, it does sound feasable. How bout I sell it to you as limited edition?

Thanks again.

Nah, I've got a 1DMkII on the way. I can't afford even a 20D for a while.

Are you talking about the viewfinder or the LED screen?

The viewfinder information - the green text below the viewfinder.

Mine is steady and very readable.

1-800-828-4040

Call the Canon Service Center and see if they can help. They're open right now. A good chance they can tell you if it's related to something you can fix or not.

Thanks for the reply glangston. I'm in the UK, so would prefer not to call abroad. Although I've good things about the Canon Service Centre in the US, I know absolutely nothing about the one over here. I'd better find out I suppose.

I found this and some others that discuss bright light = dim viewfinder. This suggests that the camera is actively doing this by design (however faulty).

Viewfinder data-brightness can at times nearly vanish in bright light - 20D, 30D and 5D. Ironically the original 10D is better. It's a defect without an answer. To wit: Canon's tech support isn't particularly supportive, nor does it appear optimistic. Two weeks previous the response was "it can't be adjusted." Here's their response to my missive last week: "Thank you for writing to us. We value you as a Canon customer and appreciate the opportunity to assist you. We're sorry to hear of any difficulty you've encountered with the 20D, 30D, or 5D's viewfinder in bright sunlight. "Canon USA has not announced any plans at this time to create a firmware update for this issue. I will, however, forward your suggestion to the appropriate department for consideration."
The "read between the lines": unless Canon gets flooded with customer complaints on the viewfinder visibility glitch (V-data can at times be nearly invisible in bright light)- they're not likely to issue a relatively simple firmware update to address the problem. Ironically, the original 10D's viewfinder is better in this aspect than the newer 20D, 30D or 5D models. The problem is obvious in bright locations and the lens is aimed at a darker subject, V-data can fade dramatically. The sole hope of getting it fixed is if enough 20-30-5D users will direct the viewfinder data-visibility complaint to Canon. If anyone has access to a specific person within Canon's corporate structure, go for it - your effort may well help 1000s of users.
http://www.photo.net …ch-msg?msg_id=00GQdL&tag=

AFAIK it's designed that way, so you won't get 'blinded' by the VF info when shooting in dark circumstances. If you aim the camera at a dark subject, the VF info will dim.
Never had an issue with it on my 10D or 1D2. Might be nice to have it 'customisable' though...

Wow, thanks glangston, that is my exact problem! It's annoying to hear other people having it aswell, and Canon's repsonse hardly seems fair. I suppose I should contact Canon myself and see if anything has changed. Personally, I would just like new firmware.