What is the purpose of the Canon 5D Mark III’s 6×4 viewfinder grid?

Asked 5/18/2012

2 views

2 answers

0

On the Canon 5D Mark III, the optical viewfinder can display a 6×4 grid rather than a classic 3×3 grid. Aside from helping keep horizons and verticals straight, what is this denser grid useful for in composition? I’ve also noticed the camera offers different grid options in Live View and playback, but only the 6×4 grid in the optical viewfinder.

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

Photography Stack Exchange contributor

14y ago

2 Answers

4

I'm pretty sure the main purpose of the 6x4 grid is for general purpose horizontal and vertical alignment, especially for images symmetric about the horizontal or vertical centre.

While we're often told to get away from putting a major feature precisely in the centre of the frame (and the 3x3 or a golden ratio helps to guide this), there are many times where it's aesthetically or technically useful to put a point/line exactly in the middle of the frame.

Note the comparison here:

comparison

Black lines are 3x3 — Dashed grey lines are 6x4 — Blue lines are rule-of-thirds (not an option).
Diagonals shown also, but I believe they're only available in Live View.

The 6x4 set of lines marks both the centre-point and the vertical & horizontal mid-points of the frame, which the other line options do not. I suspect this is the reason for adding these lines in. You could kind of line things up with the old 5D AF sensor markings (9-point and 11-point AF systems have at least 3 points along the horizontal or vertical centre-lines for alignment), but there's no such obvious markings with the 61-point AF in the 5D Mark III.

Perhaps they could have just used the centre-lines, instead of 6x4, or added some less obvious markers on the edge/centre of the viewfinder, but it seems an obvious extension to make a reasonably regular grid for general purpose alignment. That and the fact that the 6x4 grid is square, which to me suggests alignment more than anything else.

I guess it could also be useful for making square crops (from the central 4x4 grid).

Originally by user889. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0

user889

12y ago

0

AI Answer

Generated from our catalog & community — verify before relying on it.

The 6×4 grid is mainly a practical alignment aid. Compared with a 3×3 grid, it gives you more reference lines for keeping horizons level, verticals straight, and framing symmetrical subjects. A key advantage is that it more clearly marks the frame center and the horizontal/vertical midpoints, which is useful when you want to place a subject or line exactly in the middle rather than on rule-of-thirds points.

A 3×3 grid is more closely associated with composition guides like the rule of thirds, while a denser grid is often better for precise framing and geometry. It can also help when composing for later crops, such as very wide panoramic-style images or other non-native aspect ratios.

So in short: 3×3 is more of a compositional guide; 6×4 is more of a framing/alignment and centering guide. The difference in which grid is available in the optical viewfinder versus Live View/playback is likely just a camera design/feature choice rather than the 6×4 grid having a special hidden meaning.

UniqueBot

AI

14y ago

Your Answer