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Photography Accessories

Which One: Olympus VF-3 or VF-2?

Chris Gampat
1 Comment
07/27/2011
3 Mins read
olympus_vf2

With today’s announcement of the Olympus VF-3, photographers already invested into the Micro Four Thirds camera system may be wondering why they may need another viewfinder when they have the very good VF-2. So what exactly is the difference between the two?


Ergonomics

During my time with the VF-2, I found that it made my camera larger than it really needed to be but not to an unmanageable point. However, I was a bit bummed that it couldn’t fit in my Olympus Pen Premium Case while attached to the camera. While the resolution was absolutely stunning, the viewfinder had its quirks. For example, the top flipped up too easily without locking into place. Speaking of lock, I was a bit shocked that the VF-2 didn’t have a way to lock into the hot shoe of the camera. I often felt that it could fall off easily and then an expensive unit could have been damaged easily.

Once again though, this was all trumped by just how good the viewfinder was. Think the Fuji X100’s was nice? Take a look at this one.

With the VF-3, it looks like Olympus has listened to the complaints but integrating an unlocking mechanism into the design. Plus as you can see in the photo above, there is exposure adjustment. (Correction, it is diopter adjustment. This confused me at 11:30PM at night because the VF-2 has diopter adjustment around the eyecup)

The new VF-3 also has much smoother lines than its predecessor and a color balance adjustment setting as well.

The photo above is of the older VF-2.

Price

VF-3: $179.99 (street)

VF-2: $249.94 (black at B&H) and $249.99 (black at Amazon) Note that prices may change.

Features

VF2: This viewfinder’s electronic screen boasts around 1MP of resolution and is known as possibly the best electronic viewfinder currently on the market. It is big and when attached to a camera like the EP3 (or EP-3 and E-P3 for those of you that like things totally correct), it looks like the viewfinder of an old school SLR camera.

VF3: The newly announced Olympus VF3 has new controls accessible from the viewfinder. Users can calibrate the brightness and color temperature to their own tastes. The stats above have also apparently come from Olympus America’s website. The VF-3 has a lower resolution and less magnification than the VF-2.

Want more on Micro Four Thirds? Take a look at our Olympus EP3 review, high ISO test, street photography test, test with Panasonic lenses, focusing speed test, and video test.

Oh yeah, and the EPL-3’s (EPL3, E-PL3) price has been announced today to be $699.99 (no matter what lens you choose). But is it for you? Take a look here.

In the end: lots of Micro Four Thirds fans will still want an integrated viewfinder.

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e-p3 ep-3 ep3 micro four thirds olympus VF-2 vf-3 vf2 vf3 viewfinder
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Chris Gampat is the Editor in Chief, Founder, and Publisher of the Phoblographer. He provides oversight to all of the daily tasks, including editorial, administrative, and advertising work. Chris's editorial work includes not only editing and scheduling articles but also writing them himself. He's the author of various product guides, educational pieces, product reviews, and interviews with photographers. He's fascinated by how photographers create, considering the fact that he's legally blind./ HIGHLIGHTS: Chris used to work in Men's lifestyle and tech. He's a veteran technology writer, editor, and reviewer with more than 15 years experience. He's also a Photographer that has had his share of bylines and viral projects like "Secret Order of the Slice."/ PAST BYLINES: Gear Patrol, PC Mag, Geek.com, Digital Photo Pro, Resource Magazine, Yahoo! News, Yahoo! Finance, IGN, PDN, and others. / EXPERIENCE: Chris Gampat began working in tech and art journalism both in 2008. He started at PCMag, Magnum Photos, and Geek.com. He founded the Phoblographer in 2009 after working at places like PDN and Photography Bay. He left his day job as the Social Media Content Developer at B&H Photo in the early 2010s. Since then, he's evolved as a publisher using AI ethically, coming up with ethical ways to bring in affiliate income, and preaching the word of diversity in the photo industry. His background and work has spread to non-profits like American Photographic Arts where he's done work to get photographers various benefits. His skills are in SEO, app development, content planning, ethics management, photography, Wordpress, and other things./ EDUCATION: Chris graduated Magna Cum Laude from Adelphi University with a degree in Communications in Journalism in 2009. Since then, he's learned and adapted to various things in the fields of social media, SEO, app development, e-commerce development, HTML, etc. / FAVORITE SUBJECT TO PHOTOGRAPH: Chris enjoys creating conceptual work that makes people stare at his photos. But he doesn't get to do much of this because of the high demand of photography content. / BEST PHOTOGRAPHY TIP: Don't do it in post-production when you can do it in-camera.
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