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DSLR Viewfinder Sizes
The size of a camera's viewfinder can greatly affect its usability. The larger the viewfinder, the easier it is to judge focus and to see subject detail. The greater a viewfinder's coverage, the easier it is to precisely compose photographs. With modern DSLR cameras, viewfinder size varies more than image quality. So, once image quality is good enough, why not select a camera based on its viewfinder? The more you use your digital SLR, the more you will notice the viewfinder - and its limitations.
The table below shows the specification of each DSLR camera's viewfinder. Coverage is measured as a percentage of the full image captured. Therefore, a viewfinder with a coverage of 100%, shows the entire image to be captured. Magnification is a relative measure which compares the size of what we see through the viewfinder to what we would be seeing without looking through a viewfnder. For cameras with the same crop-factor (focal-length-multiplier), magnification can be used to compare viewfinder size. Magnification is relative because manufacturers all use the field-of-view obtained by a 50mm lens as their basis. Since a 50mm lens gives a different field-of-view depending on the crop-factor, the measured magnification differs too. For reference, the crop factor and resolution of each camera is also shown. The effective size should be used when comparing viewfinders of cameras with different crop factors.
Click on column headings to sort the table.
| Brand / Model | Coverage | Magnification | Crop Factor | Effective Size | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Medium 100% Coverage Viewfinder: Effective size between 0.5 and 0.6 and 100% coverage. | Canon EOS 1D Mark IV | 100% | 0.76 | 1.3 | 0.58 |
 Large 100% Coverage Viewfinder: Effective size over 0.7 and 100% coverage. | Canon EOS 1D X | 100% | 0.76 | 1 | 0.76 |
| Large 100% Coverage Viewfinder: Effective size over 0.7 and 100% coverage. | Canon EOS 1Ds Mark III | 100% | 0.76 | 1 | 0.76 |
 Medium Viewfinder: Effective size between 0.5 and 0.6 with less than 100% coverage. | Canon EOS 50D | 95% | 0.95 | 1.6 | 0.56 |
 Large Viewfinder: Effective size between 0.6 and 0.7 with less than 100% coverage. | Canon EOS 5D Mark II | 98% | 0.71 | 1 | 0.7 |
| Large 100% Coverage Viewfinder: Effective size over 0.7 and 100% coverage. | Canon EOS 5D Mark III | 100% | 0.71 | 1 | 0.71 |
| Medium Viewfinder: Effective size between 0.5 and 0.6 with less than 100% coverage. | Canon EOS 60D | 96% | 0.95 | 1.6 | 0.57 |
| Medium Viewfinder: Effective size between 0.5 and 0.6 with less than 100% coverage. | Canon EOS 60Da | 96% | 0.95 | 1.6 | 0.57 |
| Large Viewfinder: Effective size between 0.6 and 0.7 with less than 100% coverage. | Canon EOS 6D | 97% | 0.71 | 1 | 0.69 |
 Large 100% Coverage Viewfinder: Effective size between 0.6 and 0.7 and 100% coverage. | Canon EOS 7D | 100% | 1 | 1.6 | 0.63 |
| Medium Viewfinder: Effective size between 0.5 and 0.6 with less than 100% coverage. | Canon EOS Rebel SL1 | 95% | 0.87 | 1.6 | 0.52 |
| Medium Viewfinder: Effective size between 0.5 and 0.6 with less than 100% coverage. | Canon EOS Rebel T1i | 95% | 0.87 | 1.6 | 0.52 |
| Medium Viewfinder: Effective size between 0.5 and 0.6 with less than 100% coverage. | Canon EOS Rebel T2i | 95% | 0.87 | 1.6 | 0.52 |
 Small Viewfinder: Effective size below 0.5 with less than 100% coverage. | Canon EOS Rebel T3 | 95% | 0.8 | 1.6 | 0.48 |
| Medium Viewfinder: Effective size between 0.5 and 0.6 with less than 100% coverage. | Canon EOS Rebel T3i | 95% | 0.85 | 1.6 | 0.5 |
| Medium Viewfinder: Effective size between 0.5 and 0.6 with less than 100% coverage. | Canon EOS Rebel T4i | 95% | 0.85 | 1.6 | 0.5 |
| Medium Viewfinder: Effective size between 0.5 and 0.6 with less than 100% coverage. | Canon EOS Rebel T5i | 95% | 0.85 | 1.6 | 0.5 |
| Small Viewfinder: Effective size below 0.5 with less than 100% coverage. | Canon EOS Rebel XS | 95% | 0.81 | 1.6 | 0.48 |
| Medium Viewfinder: Effective size between 0.5 and 0.6 with less than 100% coverage. | Canon EOS Rebel XSi | 95% | 0.87 | 1.6 | 0.52 |
| Large 100% Coverage Viewfinder: Effective size over 0.7 and 100% coverage. | Nikon D3 | 100% | 0.7 | 1 | 0.7 |
| Large 100% Coverage Viewfinder: Effective size between 0.6 and 0.7 and 100% coverage. | Nikon D300 | 100% | 0.95 | 1.5 | 0.63 |
| Medium Viewfinder: Effective size between 0.5 and 0.6 with less than 100% coverage. | Nikon D3000 | 95% | 0.8 | 1.5 | 0.51 |
| Large 100% Coverage Viewfinder: Effective size between 0.6 and 0.7 and 100% coverage. | Nikon D300S | 100% | 0.94 | 1.5 | 0.63 |
| Medium Viewfinder: Effective size between 0.5 and 0.6 with less than 100% coverage. | Nikon D3100 | 95% | 0.8 | 1.5 | 0.51 |
| Small Viewfinder: Effective size below 0.5 with less than 100% coverage. | Nikon D3200 | 95% | 0.78 | 1.5 | 0.49 |
| Large 100% Coverage Viewfinder: Effective size over 0.7 and 100% coverage. | Nikon D3S | 100% | 0.7 | 1 | 0.7 |
| Large 100% Coverage Viewfinder: Effective size over 0.7 and 100% coverage. | Nikon D3X | 100% | 0.7 | 1 | 0.7 |
| Large 100% Coverage Viewfinder: Effective size over 0.7 and 100% coverage. | Nikon D4 | 100% | 0.7 | 1 | 0.7 |
| Small Viewfinder: Effective size below 0.5 with less than 100% coverage. | Nikon D5000 | 95% | 0.78 | 1.5 | 0.49 |
| Small Viewfinder: Effective size below 0.5 with less than 100% coverage. | Nikon D5100 | 95% | 0.78 | 1.5 | 0.49 |
| Small Viewfinder: Effective size below 0.5 with less than 100% coverage. | Nikon D5200 | 95% | 0.78 | 1.5 | 0.49 |
| Medium Viewfinder: Effective size between 0.5 and 0.6 with less than 100% coverage. | Nikon D60 | 95% | 0.8 | 1.5 | 0.51 |
| Large 100% Coverage Viewfinder: Effective size over 0.7 and 100% coverage. | Nikon D600 | 100% | 0.7 | 1 | 0.7 |
| Large Viewfinder: Effective size between 0.6 and 0.7 with less than 100% coverage. | Nikon D700 | 95% | 0.72 | 1 | 0.68 |
| Large 100% Coverage Viewfinder: Effective size between 0.6 and 0.7 and 100% coverage. | Nikon D7000 | 100% | 0.95 | 1.5 | 0.63 |
| Large 100% Coverage Viewfinder: Effective size between 0.6 and 0.7 and 100% coverage. | Nikon D7100 | 100% | 0.94 | 1.5 | 0.63 |
| Large 100% Coverage Viewfinder: Effective size over 0.7 and 100% coverage. | Nikon D800 | 100% | 0.7 | 1 | 0.7 |
| Large 100% Coverage Viewfinder: Effective size over 0.7 and 100% coverage. | Nikon D800E | 100% | 0.7 | 1 | 0.7 |
| Large Viewfinder: Effective size between 0.6 and 0.7 with less than 100% coverage. | Nikon D90 | 96% | 0.94 | 1.5 | 0.6 |
| Medium 100% Coverage Viewfinder: Effective size between 0.5 and 0.6 and 100% coverage. | Olympus E-3 | 100% | 1.15 | 2 | 0.58 |
| Medium 100% Coverage Viewfinder: Effective size between 0.5 and 0.6 and 100% coverage. | Olympus E-5 | 100% | 1.15 | 2 | 0.58 |
| Small Viewfinder: Effective size below 0.5 with less than 100% coverage. | Olympus Evolt E-30 | 98% | 1.02 | 2 | 0.5 |
| Small Viewfinder: Effective size below 0.5 with less than 100% coverage. | Olympus Evolt E-420 | 95% | 0.92 | 2 | 0.44 |
| Small Viewfinder: Effective size below 0.5 with less than 100% coverage. | Olympus Evolt E-520 | 95% | 0.92 | 2 | 0.44 |
| Small Viewfinder: Effective size below 0.5 with less than 100% coverage. | Olympus Evolt E-620 | 95% | 0.96 | 2 | 0.46 |
| Large 100% Coverage Viewfinder: Effective size between 0.6 and 0.7 and 100% coverage. | Pentax K-30 | 100% | 0.92 | 1.5 | 0.61 |
| Large 100% Coverage Viewfinder: Effective size between 0.6 and 0.7 and 100% coverage. | Pentax K-5 | 100% | 0.92 | 1.5 | 0.61 |
| Large 100% Coverage Viewfinder: Effective size between 0.6 and 0.7 and 100% coverage. | Pentax K-5 II | 100% | 0.92 | 1.5 | 0.61 |
| Large 100% Coverage Viewfinder: Effective size between 0.6 and 0.7 and 100% coverage. | Pentax K-5 IIs | 100% | 0.92 | 1.5 | 0.61 |
| Large 100% Coverage Viewfinder: Effective size between 0.6 and 0.7 and 100% coverage. | Pentax K-7 | 100% | 0.92 | 1.5 | 0.61 |
| Medium Viewfinder: Effective size between 0.5 and 0.6 with less than 100% coverage. | Pentax K-r | 96% | 0.85 | 1.5 | 0.54 |
| Medium Viewfinder: Effective size between 0.5 and 0.6 with less than 100% coverage. | Pentax K-x | 96% | 0.85 | 1.5 | 0.54 |
| Large Viewfinder: Effective size between 0.6 and 0.7 with less than 100% coverage. | Pentax K10D | 95% | 0.95 | 1.5 | 0.6 |
| Large Viewfinder: Effective size between 0.6 and 0.7 with less than 100% coverage. | Pentax K20D | 95% | 0.95 | 1.5 | 0.6 |
| Large Viewfinder: Effective size between 0.6 and 0.7 with less than 100% coverage. | Sigma SD1 Merrill | 98% | 0.95 | 1.5 | 0.62 |
| Medium Viewfinder: Effective size between 0.5 and 0.6 with less than 100% coverage. | Sigma SD15 | 98% | 0.9 | 1.7 | 0.52 |
| Medium Viewfinder: Effective size between 0.5 and 0.6 with less than 100% coverage. | Sony Alpha A100 | 95% | 0.83 | 1.5 | 0.53 |
| Medium Viewfinder: Effective size between 0.5 and 0.6 with less than 100% coverage. | Sony Alpha A200 | 95% | 0.83 | 1.5 | 0.53 |
| Medium Viewfinder: Effective size between 0.5 and 0.6 with less than 100% coverage. | Sony Alpha A290 | 95% | 0.83 | 1.5 | 0.53 |
| Small Viewfinder: Effective size below 0.5 with less than 100% coverage. | Sony Alpha A390 | 95% | 0.74 | 1.5 | 0.47 |
| Medium Viewfinder: Effective size between 0.5 and 0.6 with less than 100% coverage. | Sony Alpha A450 | 95% | 0.8 | 1.5 | 0.51 |
| Medium Viewfinder: Effective size between 0.5 and 0.6 with less than 100% coverage. | Sony Alpha A500 | 95% | 0.8 | 1.5 | 0.51 |
| Medium Viewfinder: Effective size between 0.5 and 0.6 with less than 100% coverage. | Sony Alpha A550 | 95% | 0.8 | 1.5 | 0.51 |
| Medium Viewfinder: Effective size between 0.5 and 0.6 with less than 100% coverage. | Sony Alpha A560 | 95% | 0.8 | 1.5 | 0.51 |
| Medium Viewfinder: Effective size between 0.5 and 0.6 with less than 100% coverage. | Sony Alpha A580 | 95% | 0.8 | 1.5 | 0.51 |
| Medium Viewfinder: Effective size between 0.5 and 0.6 with less than 100% coverage. | Sony Alpha A700 | 95% | 0.9 | 1.5 | 0.57 |
 Large Viewfinder: Effective size over 0.7 with less than 100% coverage. | Sony Alpha A850 | 98% | 0.74 | 1 | 0.73 |
| Large 100% Coverage Viewfinder: Effective size over 0.7 and 100% coverage. | Sony Alpha A900 | 100% | 0.74 | 1 | 0.74 |
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