Olympus Stylus 410 Digital Stylus 410 Digital Reference Manual (English) - Page 62

Taking still pictures When to use the monitor and viewfinder Understanding the characteristics of the monitor and viewfinder will help you to decide which to use in certain situations. Viewfinder Monitor Camera shake does not occur You can check the picture Advantages easily and subjects can be seen area that the camera actually clearly even in dark places. records more accurately. Little battery power is used. When close to a subject, the Camera shake can occur easily 3 image in the viewfinder is a and subjects may be difficult to Disadvantages little different from the picture see in bright/dark places. The that the camera actually monitor uses more battery records. power than the viewfinder. Use the viewfinder for general Use when taking macro Best use snapshots (landscape pictures or close-ups of a pictures, casual shots, etc.). person or flower. Precautions of taking pictures using the viewfinder Even if the subject seems well positioned in the center when viewed through the viewfinder, the composition of the resulting picture may differ from the intended composition. This phenomenon is what is known as "parallax". Parallax is caused by the difference in the position of the subject seen through the viewfinder and the position of the subject captured by the lens. Here is an example of how parallax works. Subject seen through the viewfinder Taking still pictures Shooting Subject captured by the lens The closer the subject, the greater the parallax. For macro shooting, therefore, we recommend using the monitor. The camera records a wider area than seen in the viewfinder. When shooting, you can turn off the monitor. g "Turning off the monitor (MONITOR OFF)" (P.51) 62