Can you record video through the optical viewfinder on a Nikon D3500 DSLR?

Asked 6/23/2020

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On my Nikon D3500, I can shoot still photos using the optical viewfinder, and I can record video when using the rear LCD in Live View. But I can’t seem to record video while looking through the viewfinder. Is that possible on this DSLR, or on DSLRs in general?

Originally by Photography Stack Exchange contributor. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0

Photography Stack Exchange contributor

6y ago

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This isn't possible with DSLRs using optical viewfinders.

This image (source) shows the cross-section of a DSLR: cross-section of a DSLR

Normally light enters the lens, reflects off the mirror (#2) into the pentaprism (#8) and then to the optical viewfinder (#9). When the mirror is in this position, light does not reach the sensor. When recording a video, the sensor makes 60 photos a second (or 30 or 24 or whatever depending on your framerate). In this case, the mirror folds out of the way, as it is not possible for the shutter to physically open and close 60 times a second.

When the mirror folds out of the way to allow light to reach the sensor, light is no longer reflected up to the viewfinder. To use the viewfinder, you would need to use a continuous photo mode and then stitch your photos together in post production. This would also severely limit your framerate and length of the movie, as the buffer would fill quite quickly.

To shoot video with a viewfinder, you would need a mirrorless camera. These do not use an optical viewfinder, but an electronic viewfinder (EVF). An EVF is basically a tiny screen, which is why it can be used during movie recording.

TL;DR: You can't use the optical viewfinder while recording video on DSLRs.

Originally by user92647. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0

user92647

6y ago

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No. On the Nikon D3500 and other DSLRs with an optical viewfinder, video recording is done in Live View using the rear screen, not through the optical viewfinder.

Why: in normal viewfinder shooting, a mirror reflects light up into the optical viewfinder. For video, the camera’s sensor must receive continuous light to capture a stream of frames, so the mirror flips up out of the way. Once that happens, light no longer goes to the optical viewfinder, so it goes dark and can’t be used for video framing.

So with a DSLR optical viewfinder, you generally cannot record video through the viewfinder. If you want eye-level video shooting, that’s typically found on cameras with electronic viewfinders (such as many mirrorless cameras), where the viewfinder shows a live feed from the sensor.

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6y ago

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