LCD Display or Viewfinder?

What is the best visual aid on a camera to take photos - LCD display or viewfinder?

Most DSLR cameras now have the option of both, although compact cameras often only provide the option to use the LCD display.

The below looks at the pros and cons of using each.

LCD

LCD (Liquid-crystal display) is a display screen fitted at the back of the camera and can produce a view of what the camera is currently pointing at. It is used for composing photos as a live viewfinder. reviewing photos and displaying menu options. The pros and cons consider the use of the live viewfinder.

Pros

• Flexible - Allows you to hold camera near floor and take a shot without having to lie down to see through viewfinder. Similarly raise the camera over your head and still compose your shot.


• Versatile - Some LCD displays can be moved out of the camera and swiveled (articulating LCD screen) - very helpful for those hard to reach shots; perhaps a cathedral ceiling or around a corner. Some allow you to flip the screen around to face the subject and therefore take self-portraits.


• Screen brightness - It can be hard to see low light shots through the viewfinder, you can brighten up the LCD display to see the elements in a low light shot - this is to assist with composition only.


• Exact image composition - Unlike the optical viewfinder, the LCD displays the exact image that the camera will capture, whereas a viewfinder may be up to 5% out.

Cons

• Bright sunlight - Difficult to compose a shot in sunlight because it reflects the bright light which makes it hard to see the screen.


• Battery drain - Using the LCD display is a huge drain on the camera battery, unless you have spare batteries or access to a power point then this could be a problem.


• Inaccurate exposure - An LCD display is unlikely to show you an accurate image of the photo you've just taken, most over-expose the image displayed on the screen.

Optical Viewfinder

The viewfinder sits at the top of the camera and allows the user to compose and focus a shot, it is their view of the world through your camera. Typically a viewfinder will have marks to indicate the image area, this allows the user to see just outside the frame as well - help to see what's included or what's missing.

Pros

• Steadier shot - You can get a steadier shot even if you aren't using a tripod by using your elbows for support rather than holding the camera at arm's length looking at the LCD screen.


• No difficultly with lighting - Easy to see and compose your image even on a sunny day.


• Sharper image - The human eye is better than an LCD screen when focusing manually, so you'll end up with a sharper image using the viewfinder.

Cons

• Slightly different view - You get a very slightly different view in viewfinder due to the positioning of the viewfinder verses the camera sensor. However this is not often issue except with macro photography where the framing needs to be highly accurate.

Conclusion

It's got to be down to personal preference. I prefer to line up my shot in the viewfinder, save on my battery power and only use the LCD to check a shot if I need to.