optical viewfinders

[bronxboy]

Why is it seemingly impoosible to find good quality compact cameras with optical viewfinders? I find that in bright sunlight it is impossible to see by looking at the viewer at the back of the camera what it is that I am trying to shoot. Also hoding the camera almost at arms length means increased camera movement in shooting.
Why have the manufacturers gone in this design direction?

[RichardTaylor]

There are good quality cameras with optical viewfinders, Canon G11 is one. Maybe not great optical viewfinders except for the Leica which is a great camera..

I think there are two reasons.
(1) Keep the camera size down
(2) Keep the cost down.

[scootermcq]

You could always get a loupe for looking at histograms etc on SLR cameras and just use it as your "optical" viewfinder on any LCD point and shoot.