DOF in viewfinder greater than in image?

So I have noticed a few times that the DOF shown in the view finder seems greater than that of the final image, especially noticeable on my nifty 50 at f/1.8.

Is this my imagination or real?

Mods: this might be better posted in the lens section?

It probably seems that way because the view finder is so small. I usually switch to liveview if I want to see how the DOF looks.

its the focusing screen, the standard ones dont give a good looking bokeh, if you have a precision matt screen, it might look a little more the real DOF.
and also +1 on the small viewfinder, it doesn't help sometimes.

I think even if the lens has an 1.8 aperture or larger the view finder will only show up to 2.5 or 2.8. I read this but have no idea if it's true or a different screen would help. I think I read it in a review of the 85 mm 1.2 where they were saying that the dept of field would be much greater than what you could see thru the view finder. It may also be hard to focus with such a large aperture (1.2) on a standard screen. Just repeating what I read?? No expert here.