Live view.

Danny_Two

Danny_Two

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Do you need it, or can you live without it? While looking at entry level dslr's I've noticed that the Nikon D60 doesn't have it, whilst all the other cameras I'm looking at do.
I quite like the idea of it, but is it really needed? Im assuming you can still preview pictures on the lcd even if you don't have live view.
 
I thought I would need it but to be honest I never use it, its to much of a deal with, mainly because you cant auto focus. I wouldnt pay more money to have it now I know anyway.
 
i love it for when doing my landscape shots (turn on grid) also getting shutter right through filters etc

also for low shots that you couldn't get on the floor for and fine tune manual focusing, like shots of the moon for instance
 
I like live view. It is good for awkward angles where you can't get your eye to the viewfinder properly. It's also great for really fine manual focussing. Blow up a tiny area to fill the screen and you can get the focus absolutely spot on. I like it for these things but I guess it's not essential for them, but where it really comes in to its own is when I use really strong neutral density filters. You can see nothing through the viewfinder but with live view in most light you can see the scene perfectly. For that it's a godsend


Andy said:
I thought I would need it but to be honest I never use it, its to much of a deal with, mainly because you cant auto focus. I wouldnt pay more money to have it now I know anyway.
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Buried somewhere in the menus of the 40d I'm pretty sure you can turn on a feature that allows you to focus with live view. Have a browse of the manual.
 
I like it for landscapes. In live view mode you can move the focus point around almost anywhere on the screen so you can frame the image you want then move your focus point to anywhere that suits, rather than having to use one of your handful of focus points and possibly recomposing. I could live without it though.
 
Never used it at first, but it's growing on me.

Like the grid and it's an easy way to get the mirror locked up.
 
I use it occassionally, mainly macro stuff, or stuff when i have the camera really low to the ground. But i could probably live with out it.

I see it as a nice to have but not a necessity
 
i like having it, its good for things low on the ground where theres no chance of getting your eyes to it. It is not ESSENTIAL however. The tilt on the a300 is very handy!
 
I've never used it hand-held but use it all the time for tripod mounted landscape shots. It's ideal for zooming in on whatever you want to focus on and for getting a better look at your shot. I use a mini tripod low to the ground and would find some shots impossible to focus properly without it. So for me it's essential.
 
I thought it was a nice addition to the D300 when I realised it had it, since then its been non existant :lol: never use it so could live without
 
The Matt said:
Buried somewhere in the menus of the 40d I'm pretty sure you can turn on a feature that allows you to focus with live view. Have a browse of the manual.
Click to expand...

Yeah its the AF-ON button, you press and hold and wait for a beep. But its alot quicker to just press the shutter button half way then full. Dont get me wrong live view is great for getting the focus spot on as you can zoom right in but for certain things its just to slow.
 
I can live with out but it making video's on the D90 at macro levels so much more easier. And also for those 'camera above head shots'.

And when other people take pictures of me with my camera it's easier for them to use it.
 
live view on the a300 is class
 
great for taking pics at floor level or above head shots into crowds
 
Trev Rich said:
always had it... never used it :)
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^^This.
I didn't even know it was a function on my 450D until a friend showed me a couple of weekends ago.
 
Well, I bought a G1 in the end, but I have to say that I don't actually use the live view much. Handy for macro and taking pics while wearing a motorcycle helmet, but I generally use the view finder.
 
I use it quite regularly, the 10x magnification feature makes focusing using a telescopes manual controls very much easier. For everything else, excepting odd levels where I can't get my eye to the camera, I use the viewfinder.
 
When I got my D300 I turned it on to see what it did - and turned it off a few seconds later thinking - "I'll never use that" - and I haven't

To me Live View is a wonderful tool for awkward places (either high or low) but ONLY when I can also tilt the rear screen to use the view, i.e. so I can hold it just above a stream and tilt the screen up to frame etc. without kneeling in the stream!

As none of the DSLRs do that as yet, it's pointless for me :(

DD
 
Have got it on my d300 but have not used it yet, I am sure it will be useful occasionally.
 
I have it on the Sony Alpha A350 and I use it nearly all the time (I will grow out of this phase)
 
May have its uses for certain photographic applications, landscapes, studio work, but its a feature added to DSLR's because so many P&S users were buying DLSR's and weren't use to looking through a view finder (my opinion). Personally, a feature I would never use as it's completely impractical for aviation and motorsport.
 
I have it on my 50D. Only really started to use it recently. Its very usefull with manual focus as you can zoom into any spot on the screen and make it pin sharp. As well as this, it helps remove any shake that is caused when the picuter is taken as the mirror is locked up. Combine this with a two second timer, and vertually all camera shake is removed :)
 
aberal said:
I've never used it hand-held but use it all the time for tripod mounted landscape shots. It's ideal for zooming in on whatever you want to focus on and for getting a better look at your shot. I use a mini tripod low to the ground and would find some shots impossible to focus properly without it. So for me it's essential.
Click to expand...

+1 :D
 
got it on my d300 and ive never used it, ive never had it on any other camera so its not something i ever think about. naturally had a play when i first got the camera. its just a bit too slow and awkward. i can see the advantages of zooming in on landscapes for critical focus, and i suppose for macro, but for anything else it just seems far more hassle than its worth.
 
I have used it very rarely on my D300..But have found it to be a handy tool...I could nevertheless live without it.
 
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