Olympus VF-4 Electronic Viewfinder

Olympus has announced the VF-4 electronic viewfinder along with the new Pen E-P5 camera.

Probably the most significant difference I noticed from the specifications of the VF-4 is the very large viewing area compared to the older VF-2 or the viewfinder of the Olympus OMD E-M5.  In fact it's comparable in size to the optical viewfinder found on the full frame Canon EOS 1D X and offers 100% coverage of the field of view.  This is a great achievement when you consider how small an Olympus Pen camera is compared to the full frame Canon.

The VF-4 has a 1.48x viewfinder magnification (0.74x equivalent) and offers almost 1 million dots increase in resolution.

VF-2 – 1.44 million dots resolution

VF-4 – 2.36 million dots resolution

New to the VF-4 is an eye sensor for automatic switching between the viewfinder and the live view screen, giving the user a more fluid shooting experience.  It can also be tilted 90 degrees upwards for low angle shooting, has a dioptre adjustment and includes a locking switch to prevent it from being knocked off the camera . The VF-4 will work with all older Pen cameras; however, a firmware update is required and the eye sensor will not function.

I've made the diagram below to illustrate the size differences between the viewing area of each viewfinder.  

Viewfinder Comparison (not to scale)

The larger viewing area and increased resolution of the VF-4 will make composing your shots a pleasurable experience as well as allowing for accurate manual focusing. 

The VF-4 represents a significant upgrade from the VF-2 and will be an essential addition to your kit if critical composition is a priority.

It will be available in June at a price of £250.00 or sold as part of a kit with the E-P5.