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Does viewfinder cover really make a difference? I've heard opinions from people that they are essential for scenarios such as shooting long exposure pictures. I'm just wondering if it is only a slight difference or a major one.

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Some cameras have built-in viewfinder shutters. My Nikon F3 from 30 years ago had one and so does the D3S. Take a look at your camera and maybe you'll find the little lever next to the viewfinder you never paid attention to before. – Olin Lathrop Aug 5 '12 at 0:29

3 Answers

up vote 5 down vote accepted

Yes they do but so does your hand placed over the viewfinder.

To take this shot last week I had the sun behind me. Without covering the viewfinder I got a strong veil and very low contrast image. Unfortunately, my viewfinder cover was attached to strap I forgot to bring. Luckily my hands were free during the exposure, so I retook the shot and got a crisp constrasty image. The image you see was cropped to a 2:1 aspect ratio and resized for display but no other changes were made to it.

The different it makes is proportional to the amount of light and the exposure length. In this case it is a worst case scenario because it was bright light behind the camera and a 15s exposure (thanks to an ND400 filter).

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up vote 3 down vote

Depends on the camera. Can be significant.
Also depends on the exposure time and ambient light level.
Best test is to try it and see with your camera.
Set up an exposure of say 30 seconds and shine a small torch into the viewfinder eyepiece. That gives you worst case result. Then go from there. I occasionally place a coat or cloth or similar over the eyepiece in exceptional circumstances but for most purposes it doesn't matter. If ambient level is "about dark", which is often the case when you are using long exposures, then you may well be OK. With new cameras Minolta used to provide a rubber fitting which mounted on the camera strap and slid over the eye piece when required.

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Do you know how cameras like the Canon 5D Mark III, and the Nikon D800 are effected? – SuperFurryToad Aug 4 '12 at 20:56
1  
Not 1st hand. D800 is said to be affected by it's own in-viewfinder LCD light on long exposures. Not brilliant. (Or, too brilliant). – Russell McMahon Aug 4 '12 at 21:14
interesting.. ill have to try that on the d800... – Darkcat Studios Aug 5 '12 at 9:41
up vote 1 down vote

Ever recurring debate...

Personally I would say it does not matter on a new/modern camera, on the other hand, given that the cover is attached to your camera strap, why not use it to be on the safe side?

The only way to really find out is to test it. Shoot with the cover off at night and shine a torch at the viewfinder and then shoot with the cover and point a torch at the viewfinder.

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Can you get around the problem if you switch to live view mode – SuperFurryToad Aug 15 '12 at 23:29
In live view mode the mirror is blocking the viewfinder, but it leaves with the same question as to how "lightproof" it is. You would still need to decide whether you want to use the viewfinder cap or not. The only difference with LiveView is, that you can leave the cap on permanently if you want to be sure and would not need to remove it to evaluate your composition. – DetlevCM Aug 16 '12 at 9:55

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