# EOS R viewfinder issue



## killswitch (Nov 3, 2019)

This is about the EOS R. I am using the latest firmware. I am trying to reduce the time or disable the image preview in the viewfinder after taking the shot. I remember there was some settings that sort of reduces the time it freezes my viewfinder. Or may be I am dreaming. Any one know how to fix this annoying issue?


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## Mt Spokane Photography (Nov 3, 2019)

Turn off image review. That allows you to take the next shot immediately.

Its on the first tab, first page next to the bottom.


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## killswitch (Nov 3, 2019)

Mt Spokane Photography said:


> Turn off image review. That allows you to take the next shot immediately.
> 
> Its on the first tab, first page next to the bottom.



Thanks, I already have had that turned off. Okay, I suppose that slight delay/ frame freeze is unavoidable. Trying to take a photo of a toddler running around is tricky with the frame freeze. Can High Speed Display help in any way? Right now I am using EF lenses so I cannot enable that function, but curious if that is tied to the shutter speed and has nothing to do with viewfinder image preview lag?


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## Viggo (Nov 3, 2019)

killswitch said:


> Thanks, I already have had that turned off. Okay, I suppose that slight delay/ frame freeze is unavoidable. Trying to take a photo of a toddler running around is tricky with the frame freeze. Can High Speed Display help in any way? Right now I am using EF lenses so I cannot enable that function, but curious if that is tied to the shutter speed and has nothing to do with viewfinder image preview lag?


High Speed Display is to further shorten the lag yes. It’s not a miracle function, but it does help.


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## Mt Spokane Photography (Nov 3, 2019)

killswitch said:


> Thanks, I already have had that turned off. Okay, I suppose that slight delay/ frame freeze is unavoidable. Trying to take a photo of a toddler running around is tricky with the frame freeze. Can High Speed Display help in any way? Right now I am using EF lenses so I cannot enable that function, but curious if that is tied to the shutter speed and has nothing to do with viewfinder image preview lag?


That frame freeze is indeed a annoyance when trying to keep the viewfinder on erratically moving subjects that you can't predict. I like everything about my R except that. My 5D MK IV is much better for cases like that.

I have display performance set to Smooth, but it is little help. What usually gets me is unexpected leaps, its much easier for a subject to be lost at the top of the screen. Zooming out helps, but is not the entire answer.


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## Nelu (Nov 3, 2019)

I'm sorry but I think there's nothing else you can do. The EOS R is a wonderful camera...except for the EVF in situations like you just described.
My work-around is to keep an eye on the subject and the other one on the EVF; I'm sure this will have some biological consequences in time...


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## killswitch (Nov 3, 2019)

I like my EOS R, and cannot wait to see what refinements they bring in the future mirrorless offerings. Is this viewfinder issue fixable by firmware/software update or it is not possible by design? I have to try a RF lens on it to see if I like screen refresh better with High Speed Display on.


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## YuengLinger (Nov 3, 2019)

killswitch said:


> I like my EOS R, and cannot wait to see what refinements they bring in the future mirrorless offerings. Is this viewfinder issue fixable by firmware/software update or it is not possible by design? I have to try a RF lens on it to see if I like screen refresh better with High Speed Display on.


I think you will get used to the effect over time, and, hopefully the EVF's limitations won't interfere with your photography too much.

What is your favorite type of photography? Or what type of photos do you take most often?


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## killswitch (Nov 3, 2019)

YuengLinger said:


> I think you will get used to the effect over time, and, hopefully the EVF's limitations won't interfere with your photography too much.
> 
> What is your favorite type of photography? Or what type of photos do you take most often?



Before my two year old son came along, I mostly did landscape, family events, and bit a of street. Now most of my shutter count is based around the toddler and his antics with landscape or surroundings as part of the compositions. I tried taking photos on Halloween, and it was hard to track him while I had image freeze after every shot. Granted I got some good shots, but in the end I resorted to live view to track and take shots while keeping an "eye" on him as he jumped around, hid behind barn doors, pumpkin patches, etc.


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## Mt Spokane Photography (Nov 4, 2019)

Nelu said:


> I'm sorry but I think there's nothing else you can do. The EOS R is a wonderful camera...except for the EVF in situations like you just described.
> My work-around is to keep an eye on the subject and the other one on the EVF; I'm sure this will have some biological consequences in time...


Some people can do that. I've had fixed focus lenses inserted into both of my eyes. I wear glasses that have a variable diopter such that you move your head or eyes slightly to change the focus to the necessary object. I don't think one eye could focus close and the other far, but some can certainly do it. Its probably good for your vision to exercise your eyes to do difficult things like that. For me to do it, I tilt my head but it just does not work well.


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## Kit Lens Jockey (Nov 4, 2019)

I've mostly gotten used to the EVF freezing up during burst shooting after owning the R for about a year. Your brain tends to get used to it after several months of using the camera. I feel like I can kind of "see through" the jerky EVF at this point and track subjects better than when I first got the camera. It's still not ideal, and hopefully the next RF camera improves on this, but it doesn't bother me anywhere near as much as it did when I first started using the R.


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## SecureGSM (Nov 6, 2019)

> can kind of "see through" the jerky EVF at this point and track subjects better than when I first got the camera


Wow. It Doesn’t sound extremely reassuring.


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## Nelu (Nov 7, 2019)

Kit Lens Jockey said:


> I've mostly gotten used to the EVF freezing up during burst shooting after owning the R for about a year. Your brain tends to get used to it after several months of using the camera. I feel like I can kind of "see through" the jerky EVF at this point and track subjects better than when I first got the camera. It's still not ideal, and hopefully the next RF camera improves on this, but it doesn't bother me anywhere near as much as it did when I first started using the R.


I totally agree but I have a question: do you know about any other mirrorless camera (except for the Sony A9) that doesn't do the same?
I don't think there's one at this point in time but I might be wrong.
Nelu


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## Kit Lens Jockey (Nov 7, 2019)

Nelu said:


> I totally agree but I have a question: do you know about any other mirrorless camera (except for the Sony A9) that doesn't do the same?
> I don't think there's one at this point in time but I might be wrong.
> Nelu


Yes, many of Sony's cameras can do this, not just the A9. Here's a video of the A7 III, which is even cheaper than the EOS R, doing it. (I mean, maybe there's some _slight_ jerkiness in there, but it's hard to tell. Definitely not as bad as the R.) So, Canon really has no defense for this aside from the fact that their mirrorless tech just isn't as mature, but hopefully it will get there. In the end, I'm still sticking with the EOS R for a variety of reasons, even after I briefly owned the A7 III.


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## Frodo (Nov 8, 2019)

Kit Lens Jockey said:


> Yes, many of Sony's cameras can do this, not just the A9. Here's a video of the A7 III, which is even cheaper than the EOS R, doing it. (I mean, maybe there's some _slight_ jerkiness in there, but it's hard to tell. Definitely not as bad as the R.) So, Canon really has no defense for this aside from the fact that their mirrorless tech just isn't as mature, but hopefully it will get there. In the end, I'm still sticking with the EOS R for a variety of reasons, even after I briefly owned the A7 III.



Not saying that Sny hasn't got this sorted, but that YouTube clip is not definitive as the camera had no memory card. This may well affect how the camera processes (or not) the images and thereby affect lagging.
But I agree, this is the biggest downside of my EOS R - I can live with the single card, but viewfinder lag is a problem.


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## Nelu (Nov 8, 2019)

Frodo said:


> Not saying that Sny hasn't got this sorted, but that YouTube clip is not definitive as the camera had no memory card. This may well affect how the camera processes (or not) the images and thereby affect lagging.
> But I agree, this is the biggest downside of my EOS R - I can live with the single card, but viewfinder lag is a problem.


This!
You hit the nail on the head!
Can we please compare apples to apples? Shooting without a card is not what happens in the real life unless your IQ is lower than the camera's FPS number...


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## Nelu (Nov 8, 2019)

Kit Lens Jockey said:


> Yes, many of Sony's cameras can do this, not just the A9. Here's a video of the A7 III, which is even cheaper than the EOS R, doing it. (I mean, maybe there's some _slight_ jerkiness in there, but it's hard to tell. Definitely not as bad as the R.) So, Canon really has no defense for this aside from the fact that their mirrorless tech just isn't as mature, but hopefully it will get there. In the end, I'm still sticking with the EOS R for a variety of reasons, even after I briefly owned the A7 III.


You mean like this?
https://www.fredmiranda.com/forum/topic/1565980/2
"Oddly enough, the first time I tried to shoot a moving subject with the A7III was kids sliding down a slip and slide. For one shot and done, the AF would find the eye and allow me to get shots that a DSLR (for me 5D3) probably wouldn't have. Then I tried to pan and shoot from the side of the slide and was like....WTF! Take picture...blackout...stutter...kid way further down the slide than I anticipated...WTF again.

Tried turning down resolution on the EVF to standard, started using UHS-II cards, nothing really helped. I also think the blackout on the ML is more pronounced than the mirror flip on a DSLR.

So I think I'm going to keep the DSLR for the fast gotta have focus times and maybe sell the A7III and get the A7R3..it's a little better and will be put on portrait duty  This sucks because the Sony sensors are miles ahead of Canon. Another reason it's a bummer :-("


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## SecureGSM (Nov 8, 2019)

> because the Sony sensors are miles ahead of Canon


In what department though? 
DR?
Readout speed?
What are the key metrics of performance indicators that prompt you to suggest this. 

Thank you.


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## Nelu (Nov 8, 2019)

SecureGSM said:


> In what department though?
> DR?
> Readout speed?
> What are the key metrics of performance indicators that prompt you to suggest this.
> ...


Oh, I’m not suggesting this, it was the user’s opinion, as it was his opinion about the A7 3’s EVF.
I was quoting him regarding that camera’s EVF usability for fast action, not necessary about the Sony’s sensor performance.
I’m sorry if I wasn’t clear enough


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## SecureGSM (Nov 8, 2019)

Phew, my sanity was reinstated.


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## YuengLinger (Nov 8, 2019)

Title of this thread: "EOS R Viewfinder Issue"
*
THE VIEWFINDER IS THE ISSUE!*


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## Nelu (Nov 8, 2019)

YuengLinger said:


> Title of this thread: "EOS R Viewfinder Issue"
> 
> *THE VIEWFINDER IS THE ISSUE!*


I wonder how much is this a hardware limitation and how much it could be improved through a firmware upgrade...


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## YuengLinger (Nov 8, 2019)

Nelu said:


> I wonder how much is this a hardware limitation and how much it could be improved through a firmware upgrade...


I can't imagine any scenario where Canon would not want this to perform as well as possible, so, my guess, this is hardware, and the latest FW update is about as good as it can possibly get.


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## killswitch (Nov 15, 2019)

Great discussion folks. I just came back from my Yosemite trip, which included shooting landscapes to portraits of my family with landscape background, then back to landscapes. I really like my EOS R as much as if not more than my 5D3. During the portrait sessions, I had to keep half tapping the shutter button to keep tracking the subject while the preview took its time to disappear and ready for the next shot. I am on the same page as others mentioned here, I rather have a snappy viewfinder than 2 card slot. For last 10 years I had only 1 instance where my card failed that too on the Mammoth Mountain Summit due to extreme temp. 2 card slot is a must for folks who do wedding, sports and journalism, etc. For a hobbyist, one works just fine.

I did notice one thing however. Battery life. I have the camera set to "switch to viewfinder when eye is near the cup" and liveview when not. I had 2 batteries on me, on Day 2 of my trip I did some (may 35-55 shots) including some long exposures using a fully charged LPE6N battery. Day 3, the battery completely drained out after lets say 1.5- 2 .5 hours of use. I was expecting it to last a bit longer. Do any of you feel EOS R eats through the batteries way faster than lets say 5D3 or 5D4 does?


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## Jethro (Nov 16, 2019)

killswitch said:


> Do any of you feel EOS R eats through the batteries way faster than lets say 5D3 or 5D4 does?


No doubt it does (depending on the liveview use etc), probably 20% faster at a rough guess from my experience. Was it particularly cold on your Yosemite trip? I notice that tends to drain batteries generally.


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## Ozarker (Nov 20, 2019)

Frodo said:


> Not saying that Sny hasn't got this sorted, but that YouTube clip is not definitive as the camera had no memory card. This may well affect how the camera processes (or not) the images and thereby affect lagging.
> But I agree, this is the biggest downside of my EOS R - I can live with the single card, but viewfinder lag is a problem.


Not to mention the burst speed on that Sony is 10fps. The Sony A9 is capable of 60 fps in live feed. Obviously there would be no jerkyness at that frame rate.


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## Ozarker (Nov 20, 2019)

killswitch said:


> During the portrait sessions, I had to keep half tapping the shutter button to keep tracking the subject while the preview took its time to disappear and ready for the next shot.


You can turn image preview off.


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## Act444 (Nov 21, 2019)

Indeed you can - however, be aware that there will remain a split-second lag in the viewfinder after the shutter trips, even with IP disabled. (This is one of the primary reasons I passed on the R)


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