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Part I: Fast Track to Super Snaps
Awesome add-on: The VF-2 electronic viewfinder
Micro Four Thirds cameras lack viewfinders —
it's one main reason why the camera can be
so small. If you miss having a viewfinder, you
can purchase the Olympus VF-2, an electronic
viewfinder that attaches to the camera via the
accessory port just beneath the camera's hot
shoe. You can rotate the viewfinder upward as
much as 90 degrees to suit the viewing angle
you need, as shown here.
In addition to its flexible neck, the VF-2 has
other powers you don't get from a traditional,
optical viewfinder. Simply put, the VF-2 can dis-
play anything that you can view in the monitor,
including menus and camera settings. You also
can use the viewfinder for picture playback —
and the clarity of the playback display is really
stunning.
There are a couple downsides: You can't use
an external flash, which also requires the
camera's hot shoe, at the same time as the
viewfinder. (You can still use the built-in flash.)
The other issue is cost. At a suggested retail
price of $280, the viewfinder isn't a casual
investment. But I suspect that if you visit your
local camera store to try it out, you'll have a
hard time leaving without it.
As much as I love the viewfinder, it's an optional
accessory, so the rest of this book assumes that
you're working with the monitor only. But know
that if you're using the viewfinder, everything
works just the same way — you just see the
menus, screens, and so forth in your viewfinder
instead of on the monitor. For help attach-
ing, removing, and adjusting the viewfinder
display, see the camera manual and the instruc-
tion sheet that ships with the viewfinder. Also
be aware that shortly after the E-PL1 came
to market, Olympus released an update to
the camera firmware (internal software) that
enables some viewfinder features that aren't
described in the manual; for details, visit the
Olympus Web site (www.olympus.com).
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