The viewfinder is about the same size and brightness as the original Maxxum 7000 which was very good.
I've read the viewfinder is the biggest and brightest of any current DSLR except maybe the biggest Cannon. Hard to compare with the manual focus cameras such as the X700 because the screen characteristics are different being optimized for MF. I have no trouble at all manually focusing with my 58mm f/1.2 Rokkor. It is twice the size of 7D viewfinder of course because it's an APS camera.
As for size and handling, it compares very favorably with the 7D which I consider a bench mark in ergonomics. It's only 1/8 inch wider, just a little deeper and of course that honkin pentaprism is about a half inch higher. Not too much heavier either, though they are both heavy cameras.
The front of the grip has quite a "hook" to it which I'm getting used to.
Sony did an amazing job packing all this stuff into such a nice sized body.
A lot of the controls came over from the 7D such as the nicely placed MF/AF button by your right thumb.
![[linked image]](http://www.pbase.com/image/110376188.jpg)