Viewing The Camera’s LCD — Accuracy and Presbyopia

2010-01-29 updated 2011-12-10 • SEND FEEDBACK •
Related: eyesight, gear, presbyopia

Viewing your camera’s LCD screen has never been easier with some great devices out there.

What’s the problem? Nothing if you have 20/20 vision and the eyes of a 20 year old. But seeing what’s on the LCD screen can be a challenge in many scenarios:

• Bright light can make it very difficult to see what’s on the screen;
• Evaluating color, contrast and brightness can be very difficult with extraneous light;
• Anyone 40+ years old will appreciate that presbyopia is a steadily-worsening issue. Arm’s length might not be far enough, and as the screen moves away details are harder to discern;
• Less than 20/20 vision can make it hard to see fine details on the LCD screen;
• Achieving perfect focus in Live View mode means help is needed to see the nuances;
• Holding the camera at arm’s length or so is simply not viable for video.
• Shooting via the LCD can sometimes be a powerful tool for composition.

Read more

Below are several options, with slightly different uses. Click each to read more.

Hoodman HoodLoupe Professional

Zacuto Z-Finder

LCDVF