I have owned my RX1 for more than a year and I have been enjoying its superb image quality and portable size. However, I still somewhat miss my old days of DSLR while I could the camera near my eye and frame the picture in the view finder. It is not just about the professional feeling (well, it certainly helps me feel better!), it also helps stablize the camera and view the framing in direct sunlight.
Sony has provided RX1 two options for view finder, first is the Zeiss optical view finder and the other is its electronic view finder. Zeiss view finder is nothing but a piece of glass with no other information supplied, and it’s priced at such a high premium (SGD 800+!!!). People with some sanity would choose the latter one. The electronic view finder, called FDAEV1MK, is so much more powerful and cheaper as well.
Well, when I say cheaper, it is not that cheap if you look at the absolute value (that’s probably true to most of Sony accessories..). But let’s admit that’s the only option I have for RX1. In Singapore, it’s priced at SGD 629. You are able to get a good point-n-shoot camera with that much of money. So I ordered this overseas from Amazon Japan and got my friend to bring it back. Thanks to the weaker yen and Japanese domestic pricing, I only spent about 400 SGD on this view finder, which is indeed a good deal.
Ok, let’s first start with the usual unboxing..
The package comes with the viewfinder itself, a smaller eyecup for change, a leather case and a piece of wiping cloth.
A close up of the view finder.
Made in Japan.
The viewfinder with the smaller eyecup on.
The view finder and RX1! Looks really cool.
And of course it can be adjusted to different angles, up till 90 degrees, and suits different shooting situations.
This is what you see through the viewfinder. It displays the same information you could see from the panel screen. You can even switch to settings, playback pictures, etc.
In the camera settings, you can set the viewfinder as auto on/off. So when your eyes are close enough, it automatically switches on the view finder and turns off when eyes are away. That’s very convenient for shooting and viewing.
I’ve tried both eyecups and personally I feel the bigger eyecup suits me better. My nose touches the screen if I’m using the smaller eyecup which caused some discomfort. It’s probably better for people wearing glasses.
So here is my conclusion of this electronic view finder:
1. It’s very well made and the image is bright, sharp and clear, the lag is very minimal.
2. It helps shooting and viewing under direct sunlight and it greatly reduces the shake when pressing the shutter.
3. The only drawback I found: there is no lock for the viewfinder. So I always have the worry that it will come off if I’m walking and it’s hanging around my body. But frankly speaking, the port is pretty tight and I don’t think it will come off that easily.
Thanks for the reading and enjoy your weekend!
