It’s funny, because the big story about the recently announced Sony HDVF-EL100 is its viewfinder, but just look at the whole thing. First of all, it’s white, which is a rarity for a high end, prosumer camera. Then there’s the barrel, which looks more like a video game gun than a camera. And then there’s the viewfinder itself, which is in an entirely different position than the regular place Sony sticks its viewfinders (the side).
And speaking of the viewfinder, let’s get to that, shall we?
For those of you who have little to no experience shooting in HD, you may not be aware that the still relatively new Hi-Def format is a finicky mistress. As it picks up more information, there are far more chances to really screw up an image, from shakiness, to focus, to the problem this viewfinder addresses, which is the brightness and contrast.
In particular, as you are picking up far more info, you’re also picking up far more nuanced shades of black and white, which means that when you’re shooting, you need a really good monitor. The usual solution is an extra, hi-def monitor that you buys separately, is super bulky, and difficult to use. This particular model addresses that problem in a totally logical way: build a hi-def monitor onto a hi-def camera, and stick it in a location that allows you to see in the same direction the camera is seeing.
The OLED monitor has a pixel resolution of 960 by 540, and it also delivers a wide viewing angle, a wide color gamut and extremely fast response time. So not quite 100% hi-def, but a fair bit closer than current on-board monitors.
No news on pricing, but the camera should be available later on this year.
[Via Sony]
