The Nikon D850 might just be the world’s first hybrid OVF/EVF DSLR
Jul 27, 2017
John Aldred
John Aldred is a photographer with over 25 years of experience in the portrait and commercial worlds. He is based in Scotland and has been an early adopter – and occasional beta tester – of almost every digital imaging technology in that time. As well as his creative visual work, John uses 3D printing, electronics and programming to create his own photography and filmmaking tools and consults for a number of brands across the industry.
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This would be absolutely amazing if it turns out to be true. Nikon have filed a couple of patents for hybrid viewfinders in the past, but eagle eyed Flickr user, Anankhepi believes it may be on the way. Two dark circles above the viewfinder in the leaked Nikon D850 photos are the clue.
On first glance, one might simply believe them to be screw holes, but they don’t exist in any other camera in Nikon’s lineup. And never have. He believes these holes contain sensors to detect when the camera is being held up to your eye. This video from Angry Photographer goes into more detail about how this may work.
If it’s true, this will be fantastic, and it will show that Nikon truly are still innovating. Given the underwhelming non-announcement about the D850, they’d better be coming up with something impressive, that’s for sure. And this would put some serious pressure onto Sony and Fuji who are leading the “EVF is better than OVF” charge. With this, Nikon users could get the best of both worlds (in theory).
This has got me rather excited for the future of Nikon. I’m still not completely sold on the virtues of the EVF for myself, but it could be a great thing for Nikon. It may mean they actually have a chance to turn things around and become a major force again.
Of course, the idea of the hybrid viewfinder is still just an educated guess at this point and not a confirmed fact. Such a big leap would explain the tease, though, vs the “Here we are! Look at us!” shouty announcements that came with the D5, D500 and D7500.
I know quite a few people who switched from Nikon to Sony purely for the benefits of EVF, while still preferring the ergonomics of Nikon. I wonder if this might convince a few to come back to the dark side.
[via Sony Alpha Rumors]
John Aldred
John Aldred is a photographer with over 25 years of experience in the portrait and commercial worlds. He is based in Scotland and has been an early adopter – and occasional beta tester – of almost every digital imaging technology in that time. As well as his creative visual work, John uses 3D printing, electronics and programming to create his own photography and filmmaking tools and consults for a number of brands across the industry.
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7 responses to “The Nikon D850 might just be the world’s first hybrid OVF/EVF DSLR”
So in something else, they are just now catching up to what Sony did 10 years ago?
It’s hard to contain my laughter reading this paragraph…. Truly innovating, best of both worlds in a dslr…. Like you said that has already been going on for 10 years with Sony SLT bodies which Sony still continues to build and update lol
Not the same technology.
It’s not a translucide mirror.
No return. Sony is too aggressive
So just a fuji X-pro evf/ovf combo ?
So easy to irritate all camera fanatics around. Good for visits. Haha
If Nikon comes out with a full frame hybrid with super low EVF lag, bridging mirrorless with DSLR, and compatible with the Nikon lenses… it will be a force to reckon with.