Cameras with Flip Out Screens - Canon & Nikon Digital Cameras

I take pictures of insects, mushrooms, flowers and other things really close to the ground. The variable angle screen allows me to take pictures at awkward angles. I don't get quite as dirty (still a little dirty) and I don't have to lay out on the ground to take a picture looking UP at a flower, like this one!

I use my camera all of the time to take pictures of things for Ebay, and often I put the camera way up high to look down on the item. I don't have to stand on a chair and squint! I just turn the flip-out screen to face me!

You can also take close-up self portraits, although for regular self-portraits, a tripod and auto timer work better.

It's also great for getting for taking candid photographs of people. Sometimes people will act differently if they know a camera is aimed at them, but for some reason if you're looking down at the LCD flip-out screen, they don't realize that you are about to take their picture! It's a trick I've used at parties.

Screens are hard to see in bright sunlight, so it is also a good idea to buy a camera with a viewfinder that you can look through. Here's a picture that I used the viewfinder for!

If you do mostly landscapes, and regular family pictures, where you are pointing the camera directly in front of you, then you don't need a fold-out screen. But if you are short and taking a picture of a tall person, or if you want the picture to come out from a higher viewpoint, then a fold-out screen allows you to hold the camera high above your head!