Having switched from a Nikon D90 to a Nikon D610, I was able to see the difference in viewfinders between an APS-C and a Full Frame camera.
In this post I will compare the two viewfinders to be able to provide some help on a possible switch.
There will be more posts considering a ‘move to Full Frame’, you can find them in the category tree under ‘Move to Full Frame‘.
Comparing viewfinders is rather difficult, as the ‘numbers’ (coverage / magnification) don’t really mean much untill you look through the viewfinder.
In the next tab, you will see some footage, taken with my smartphone (that has a small lens / short focus distance) pressed against the viewfinder.
Even then I had to zoom in a bit (digital zoom), but the zoom stayed the same in both shots so the view is comparable.
I compared three combinations:
- D610 + 50mm 1.8 (FX mode)
- D90 + 50mm 1.8 (DX = 75mm)
- D610 + 18-200 (DX mode)
Notice the round black edge that the 18-200 does not cover AND the black frame that indicates the DX area. The D610 will automatically select DX mode when attaching a DX lens 🙂
Also notice the setting below (light meter) that I accidentally switched on my D90 (so the + is on the left)… I will get used to it someday.
And two pictures taken with the 50mm (first on the D610, next on the D90)
For me, the bigger viewfinder was one of the major reasons to switch to Full Frame.
Being able to see what’s happening in front of my camera (and check focus and composition) is a big plus for me.
Of course there is more to switching to Full Frame, but more on that later.