Nikon DP-20 brightness question (Nikon F4)

[Tomro]

Hi,

the other day I got an F4 with the standard DP-20 viewfinder, which has an upper line of information (only the left side of the screen, on the right side are the symbols for focusing) and a lower line of information. Especially the lower line is extremely dark and hard to read, and in low light situation practically unusable to me. These lines are not backlit in my DP-20.
I have an F80 and an F5 to compare it to, and there everything is bright and easy to read.
So my question to those who own an F4: is this normal for the DP-20?
If not, I’d like to return the F4 to the seller.

Thanks

 

[dmtnkl]

There is a switch on the F4 that activates the backlight for the viewfinder lcds. If i remember correctly, it lies on the base of the shutter dial.

 

[Alan9940]

I've never had any issue with seeing the info in my F4 viewfinder, but I don't tend to photograph in low light.

 

[dmtnkl]

There are two openings; one on the viewfinder and one on the camera body. Each opening has its own diffuser. Light passes through them and uniformly illuminates the lcds. Therefore, in normal light the lcds should be easily visible.

For low light situations, the F4 also has switchable green backlights for each lcd. I usually leave them switched on all the time, but you can also turn them off to save power.

 

[Tomro]

Thank you all for your suggestions!! Yes, I thought there should be a button to switch the backlights on, but I can’t find it…

 

[dmtnkl]

The switch is located at the base of the shutter dial, and just above the F4 logo.

 

[Tomro]

The switch is located at the base of the shutter dial, and just above the F4 logo.

View attachment 318582

thank you so much!!! It works!

 

[neilt3]

If you want to get the best out of your camera , why not read the manual ?
If you haven't got one , download it from here ;

https://www.nikonclassics-michalke.de/Prospekte/F4-F4S_k.pdf

 

[Huss]

thank you so much!!! It works!

And it works amazingly well, unlike the button on the Nikon F3. I guess Nikon paid attention to that debacle!

 

[Tomro]

If you want to get the best out of your camera , why not read the manual ?
If you haven't got one , download it from here ;

https://www.nikonclassics-michalke.de/Prospekte/F4-F4S_k.pdf

Oh, thanks, I didn’t know about this site