The waist-level finder (WLF), also called waist-level viewfinder (WLVF), is a type of

viewfinder In photography, a viewfinder is what the photographer looks through to compose, and, in many cases, to focus the picture. Most viewfinders are separate, and suffer parallax, while the single-lens reflex camera lets the viewfinder use the main ...

that can be used on twin lens and single lens reflex cameras. While it is typically found on older

medium format Medium format has traditionally referred to a film format in photography and the related cameras and equipment that use film. Nowadays, the term applies to film and digital cameras that record images on media larger than the used in 35&nbs ...

cameras, some newer and/or 35 mm cameras have this type of finder (perhaps as an option). In the reflex camera, the light from the lens is projected onto a

focusing screen A focusing screen is a flat translucent material, either a ground glass or Fresnel lens, found in a system camera that allows the user of the camera to preview the framed image in a viewfinder. Often, focusing screens are available in variants w ...

. The waist-level finder makes this screen viewable from above, where the image is seen upright but reversed left-to-right. This allows the camera user to determine the target area while holding the camera below eye level. The eye-level finder is an evolution of the waist-level finder, using a roof

pentaprism A pentaprism is a five-sided reflecting prism used to deviate a beam of light by a constant 90°, even if the entry beam is not at 90° to the prism. The beam reflects inside the prism ''twice'', allowing the transmission of an image through a r ...

pentamirror A pentamirror is an optical device used in the viewfinder systems of various single-lens reflex cameras instead of the pentaprism. It is used to reverse again the laterally reversed image coming from the reflex mirror. Instead of the solid block o ...

to correct the image while making it viewable through an eyepiece at the rear of the camera. Some digital cameras have an

articulating screen An articulating screen is a built-in small electronic visual display which is not fixed, but rather can be repositioned using a hinge or pivot. The articulating screen is known under different other names such as flip-out screen, flip screen, adjus ...

or a

swivel lens A swivel lens is a lens that freely rotates while attached to a camera body. They are used on some compact digital and video cameras (camcorders). These lenses make it easy for a photographer to aim a camera without moving around too much. Swivel ...

, this allows the screen to be angled to make it viewable at waist-level. With

live preview Live preview is a feature that allows a digital camera's display screen to be used as a viewfinder. This provides a means of previewing framing and other exposure before taking the photograph. In most such cameras, the preview is generated by m ...

the screen can be used as a viewfinder.

Advantages

* The photographer is looking down into the camera, attracting less attention compared to an eye-level finder. This makes it better for

street A street is a public thoroughfare in a built environment. It is a public parcel of land adjoining buildings in an urban context, on which people may freely assemble, interact, and move about. A street can be as simple as a level patch of dirt, ...

candid photography A candid photograph is a photograph captured without creating a posed appearance. The candid nature of a photograph is unrelated to the subject's knowledge about or consent to the fact that photographs are being taken, and are unrelated to the s ...

. * Even when they know they are being photographed, the subject may feel less "targeted" because the photographer is not looking at them. * The camera is often held against the belly or resting on something (e.g. table, the lap, etc.), resulting in less

motion blur Motion blur is the apparent streaking of moving objects in a photograph or a sequence of frames, such as a film or animation. It results when the image being recorded changes during the recording of a single exposure, due to rapid movement or lo ...

Disadvantages

* The image is reversed left-to-right, making it tricky to follow moving subjects.

References

Camera features {{photo-stub

Advantages

Disadvantages

See also

References