4491 - On the Train


In a way the square is a much more abstract aspect ratio than the camera’s native 4:3 or 3:2. Maybe this is due to the fact that square images have no “natural” direction. With a rectangle I always feel the tendency to align that “natural” direction with features in the image. The square eliminates all this.

You read lots of opinions about why electronic viewfinders are better or worse than their optical counterparts, but for me the probably most important feature is the option to compose in different aspect ratios, and that’s where Olympus cameras excel: you compose in square, but you get a full 4:3 image. In Lightroom I see the RAW image in a square preview, just as I’ve envisioned it, but I can always change my mind later.

This is helpful with two problems: The first is, that I’m sometimes slightly off. No problem, select “Crop” and you get the full image, with the crop overlay showing the original square. Sometimes just moving the overlay a few pixels is enough to fix it.

The other problem is, that I sometimes change my mind. I often look at the full image, and it happens that I see an interesting different crop.

That’s it: the best of both worlds. The EVF allows me to see what the image in the intended format will look like, and I still have all options left. For me that’s priceless.