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viewfinder

viewfinder

14 4.8
A small window on a camera you look through to frame and focus a picture
  • noun
  • /ˈvjuːˌfaɪndər/
translation icon : visor
  • The photographer adjusted the settings while looking through the viewfinder to frame the perfect shot.
  • camera viewfinder
  • look through the viewfinder
  • see through the viewfinder

For some reason in the viewfinder the foundation looks too dark.

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Examples

  • Looking through the viewfinder, she crosses a gully between a pipeline piling and a rock formation.

    Fiction book (1993)
  • When the bike came over the hill into my viewfinder, I shot the image.

    Academic text (1996)
  • When I look in my viewfinder, that looks really, really good.

  • For some reason in the viewfinder the foundation looks too dark.

  • Look through the camera viewfinder and move around until you see about the same subject matter.

    Academic text (1999)
  • But just what I'm seeing right here through the viewfinder is kind of crazy, like the light behind it.

  • The man looked through the camera's viewfinder at a pile of rotten boards.

    Fiction book (2000)
  • The next thing I saw in the viewfinder was the rider sprawled in the dirt.

    Academic text (1996)
  • Looking through the viewfinder, simply rotate the pots to find a composition.

    Academic text (2010)
  • I ignored her and scanned the interior of the clinic with the viewfinder of my camera.

    Fiction book (1997)

Synonyms

sight
vsviewfinder
  • Specialized
91 6.6

A device on a gun that helps you aim

is used mainly to frame and focus images for photography or measurement
finder
vsviewfinder
  • Specialized
22 5.5

A small part on a camera or telescope that shows you where to point it

focuses on framing and focusing before taking a picture or measurement
eyepiece
vsviewfinder
  • Specialized
9 5.9

A small lens you look through on a microscope or telescope

is a complete device used to frame, focus, and locate subjects before capture

How Precise

rangefinder
  • Specialized
3 6.6
viewfinder
14 4.8
viewscreen
7 7.8

Surface Forms

viewfinder singular
viewfinders plural

Morphology

viewfinder = view + finder (transparent) = view + finder

A straightforward compound of 'view' + 'finder' meaning a device for viewing/framing/locating what is to be photographed.

Etymology

Viewfinder combines view ('what you can see') and finder ('one who finds'). It is like a small 'window' you look through to 'find' and 'frame' the picture before you take it, so that it helps you choose exactly what to photograph.