Light thru the viewfinder

[supraman]

I have a Nikon D60 and I was wondering how much affect light entering the viewfinder has on pictures. I wear glasses and so when I put the camera up to take a picture light can "leak" in the viewfinder around my glasses. I can take my glasses off and then the eyecup seals out the light but then I can't tell if I am focusing properly. The reason I ask is because sometime when the light is at my back it seems like the pictures are a little washed out or overexposed.

[conrailmike]

It doesn't affect it all. When you press the shutter button, the mirror flips up out of the way, so the light coming in from the viewfinder doesn't hit the sensor. Just like a regular SLR.

[supraman]

If that is the case I wonder why they give you a viewfinder cover for use when using the self timer? The manual says that light coming in through the viewfinder will affect the image. The mirror keeps the light from the lens from hitting the sensor and redirects it to the viewfinder until the moment the picture is taken, but I guess you're saying that when the mirror moves out of the way of the sensor it actually blocks off light bleeding in from the viewfinder? I just thought that it would make a difference but wasn't sure if it was significant.

[~Z~]

From what I've heard, light through the viewfinder before the photo will sometimes make the metering be off. So that light can cause you to expose the photo incorrectly, especially if it's on an auto setting. Mike is correct though that as soon as the shutter is hit, no light through the viewfinder should affect the photo.

[supraman]

Thank you both for your replies!