Should you turn off the rear LCD when shooting through a DSLR optical viewfinder?

Asked 4/5/2013

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When using the optical viewfinder on a Nikon D5100 or similar DSLR, do you need to turn off the rear LCD or close the articulated screen? Is there any benefit or drawback to leaving it on while shooting through the viewfinder?

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

Photography Stack Exchange contributor

13y ago

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There's no reason you have to turn it off, but it can be less distracting and will save batteries. The discontinued D60 model used to turn off the rear panel when you held the camera to your eye, but the newer models don't have that.

Higher end models, like the D7100, have a separate small LCD panel on the top of the camera, which is useful for adjusting settings without needing the large back panel. Entry-level models usually forgo this to save space, cost, and complexity, and in exchange, the rear LCD is usually more important for finding out the status of the camera's various settings, or even for setting them. (The D5100 doesn't have a dedicated button for ISO, for example, or a switch for focus modes.)

A lot of information is available around the edges of the optical viewfinder too, but since the space is constrained the data there tends to be very terse.

Originally by user1943. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0

user1943

13y ago

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No—there’s no requirement to turn off or close the rear LCD when using the optical viewfinder on a DSLR like the Nikon D5100.

Leaving it on won’t normally cause a problem, but turning it off can have a couple of practical benefits: it may be less distracting and can save some battery power. On entry-level DSLRs, the rear LCD is often used to show settings because they may lack a top status LCD or dedicated controls for some functions.

With a standard DSLR mirror system, you generally can’t use live view on the rear screen and the optical viewfinder at the same time: the camera either sends the image to the sensor/LCD in live view, or the mirror directs it to the optical viewfinder. However, the rear LCD can still be useful for menus, settings, or image review.

So the best answer is: use whichever setup suits your shooting style. Turn the LCD off or close it if you want less distraction or better battery life; leave it available if you rely on it for settings or review.

Should you turn off the rear LCD when shooting through a DSLR optical viewfinder?

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