The advent of the digital camera brought with it many changes in camera design, not all of them improvements and many driven by market forces who are not photographers!

The appearance of a screen on the camera's back plate to view images may appear to be a significant improvement, but when it comes to taking pictures, it has many disadvantages.

Photographers who wear spectacles or whose vision is impaired will find using a screen easier than a viewfinder, that is until you are photographing in bright sunlight! There are other advantages in using a screen in preference to a viewfinder, most noticeably macro (close-up) when what you see in a viewfinder is certainly not what you get!

At first a screen was offered as an alternative to the viewfinder, but now it is very difficult to purchase a compact camera with both. As discussed elsewhere, holding a camera at arms length to take a picture, even with both hands, increases the risk of camera shake and following a moving subject is much more difficult.

Bridge cameras and Digital Single Lens Reflex Cameras usually have both giving the photographer a choice, but to see which is best, observe how a professional photographer takes a picture, their skill and expertise nurtured over many years presenting a technique that demands the use of a viewfinder almost every time.