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Parallax Error
Definition
The variance in perspective between a point-and-shoot or rangefinder camera’s viewfinder and its lens.
Comments / Tips / Experiences
Parallax error is a function of the distance between the viewfinder and the lens and is inversely related to the distance from the camera to the subject. The greater the distance between the viewfinder and the lens and the shorter the distance between the camera and the subject, the greater the variance in perspective. What is recorded in the image will be different than what was seen in the viewfinder.
Parallax error can be especially apparent in macro photography with a point-and-shoot camera.
Example: If a point-and-shoot camera has a viewfinder above the lens, and the subject is close to the lens (1 meter, for instance) from the front of the lens, then the viewfinder will have a higher perspective of the subject than that of the lens. Similarly, a viewfinder located to one side of the lens will have a perspective off to that side of the lens.
Exaggerated example: If a point-and-shoot camera has a viewfinder 3 centimeters above the lens, and the subject is only 1 centimeter from the front of the lens, then the subject may not be visible in the viewfinder at all but will still be captured by the lens.
By design, an SLR cannot have parallax error. The viewfinder shows the subject through the lens.
