Aiming Faster With Tilt Or Swivle Lcd ?

[THAIPHUKET]

I like the flexibility of a swivel LCD, had one in my Canon G6. But I've been wondering if added perspective of a swivel screen is not (over) compensated through slowness in taking aim at a subject. The shooting line is not parallel to the aiming line. Hope I make myself understood.

Anyone with a tilting screen, what is your experience, which way would you go now for a new camera, tilt or swivel??

[MRToMRT]

I was using a 5100 for the tilt and swivel screen because I thought it would help me with my macro pictures (easier to get a lower POV), but in the end I found there were as many downsides (using liveview, slowness, not being able to see exact focus) than ups, so went back to the viewfinder

[fabianfred]

I love the tilt screen on both my Fuji S100fs and Fuji HS-20.

I often (80%) use them with the screen horizontal and braced against the chest for extra stability...with the advantage that some people are unaware you are taking candid shots. Since both cameras have long zooms this is very useful. Also I often take shots with the screen tilted down and hold the camera high with arms outstretched to get a high viewpoint...over crowds or to get a better perspective.

[BangkokImages]

An articulating LCD isn't about speed, either way once you get used to it the speed will be about the same.

An articulating LCD is about the ease in which you can achieve different shooting angles and in this sense they excel.

If your camera has an articulating LCD it's a win/win.. use it when you prefer for the different shooting angle, or leave it in the standard position if you wish.

Personally, I think anything that makes you hold your camera out away from your body to compose a scene is a compromise, but this is what we're left with in this genre of cameras.

[THAIPHUKET]

The Fuji HS-20 caught my eye too, my concern in this brightness of Thailand, glare could be a big problem, a swivel can always be set to a non-glare catching position. What is your verdict on that?

[THAIPHUKET]

Personally, I think anything that makes you hold your camera out away from your body to compose a scene is a compromise, but this is what we're left with in this genre of cameras.

You are so right, particularly shooting with stretched arms slows down composition accuracy plus jerky zooms are the pits. Why can they not give us manual zooms back, endlessly faster and precise.

[BangkokImages]

The Fuji HS-20 caught my eye too, my concern in this brightness of Thailand, glare could be a big problem, a swivel can always be set to a non-glare catching position. What is your verdict on that?

Sunlight induced glare is a factor with all LCD's.. even the top LCD's like you'll find on a Canon 5d Mark II can become an issue in bright sunlight. So for sure, being able to move the screen to reduce glare is a big advantage when needed.

[BangkokImages]

Personally, I think anything that makes you hold your camera out away from your body to compose a scene is a compromise, but this is what we're left with in this genre of cameras.

You are so right, particularly shooting with stretched arms slows down composition accuracy plus jerky zooms are the pits. Why can they not give us manual zooms back, endlessly faster and precise.

I've enjoyed even the cheap optical viewfinders like you find on the Canon G9/10/11's.. finding them far preferable for general use than LCD's or even EVF's.

At the present I'm excited about getting my hands on aFuji x100 for a myriad of reasons, but the big clear optical viewfinder, high-end EVF you can turn on when you need, or the choice of a live view LCD gives us all possibilities. I wrote more about it here. For a small camera, the x100 has a lot going for it. Of course the price is a bit steep, but imo well worth it as a photographic tool.

[THAIPHUKET]

Fuji x100 is a dream albeit without my beloved swivel, wish one could order Extras like for a car. Can't have everything.

I am leaning towards a tilting LCD simply because of the shooting line.

[HerbalEd]

I was using a 5100 for the tilt and swivel screen because I thought it would help me with my macro pictures (easier to get a lower POV), but in the end I found there were as many downsides (using liveview, slowness, not being able to see exact focus) than ups, so went back to the viewfinder

I love the articulating screen and my last three cameras had them. And they are as fast ... even faster in some situations ... than a viewfinder. However, I always buy camera with both articulating screen and a viewfinder. In bright sunlight ... depending upon direction camera faces ... the screen view can be compromised and that's when you need the viewfinder. You will notice that more and more cameras are coming with articulating screen.