SLR Live View usefulness?

[DarkAngel]

Hi,

Im just about to buy a new camera and am tossing up between the Olympus E510 and the Pentax K10D. The deciding factors are that the Pentax is much better weather sealed (will mainly be used while hiking/camping etc) while the Olympus has Live View (and seems to be the cheapest and best-featured of the SLR's that do, at the moment). Coming from the P&S cameras, the live view is fairly appealing to me as it's what Im used to. However, I'm interested to know how useful it actually is at this level, as I have heard a couple of Olympus users say they only use it rarely. Is it useful enough to have the edge over the Pentax? In what situations do you use it that it really makes a difference?

Thanks
Joel

[ncredneck]

Hi, Kevin. Here's my 2 cents worth...

I have many years experience with 35mm SLRs, so I'm accustomed to using the viewfinder. My first digital camera was a Canon P&S. I found I did use the live view function a lot, but that was because the Canon viewfinder wasn't very useful.

My DSLR is a Pentax K100D and I find myself very comfortable again peering through the viewfinder. All of the camera mode and exposure info I want is shown in the viewfinder. With my background, it just feels natural to me.

The Pentax also has the ability to preview the shot in the LCD without actually taking it. This semi-approximates a live view function. I find this useful when I want to tightly frame a shot since the viewfinder shows only about 85% of the total image area.

The LCD can be hard to see in some lighting conditions, too, while the viewfinder is always there for you.

All-in-all, I don't miss the live view in my Pentax.

Bob

[Punwit]

As a dedicated lens user (read digicam as opposed to dslr) I've found that what I I find most useful is the wysiwyg nature of live view. That and the fact that I can view a real time histrogram. To me, if the live view function on a dslr doesn't supply a real time histogram then it seems more like a gimmick. Even though I have a bright 3 inch lcd screen I almost always use the optical viewfinder.

The implementation of live view for the E510 renders performance slowdowns as the mirrors have to move out of the way. Here is a link to a review on the 510, http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/olympuse510/page31.asp. Sony has just unveiled their take on live view and while I've not seen a full review as yet here is the preview, http://www.dpreview.com/news/0801/08...yalpha1st.asp. My understanding is that the new Sony's will provide live histogram info but last I heard there was still some uncertainty on that issue.

I'm not sure I've answered your question but perhaps some of the linked info will be helpful to you. I would say that I found that once I started using the viewfinder I grew to prefer that method and mainly use the lcd for review purposes. I'd suggest more than anything that you find a brick and mortar store and spend some time trying each of the models on for size if possible.

Darren

[KHedquist]

Joel,

I am a proponent of using the viewfinder. What I have read is the live view kills the batteries very quickly. I take the picture then view if I want. I think the key to digital is taking many shots and deleting them on the computer after the fact. The view finder feature seems like a gimmick. I would just turn it off and use the view finder like it was a film camera. Go with the Pentax. Of course, I am bias, I have three Pentax film bodies, two P & S and the ist Ds. haven't been disappointed yet.

Kevin

[shootem]

The live view function is very useful for photojournalists holding their camera above people/or? to get a shot. Some cameras (Nikon D3) have the ability to accurately check focus by zooming into areas of an image, and for checking framing/focusing on macro shots as well.

Otherwise, I find using the viewfinder for general framing purposes more useful. Most cameras do not have *correct* framing from live view. Your fov will be generally larger than the actual image.

Unless you are buying a camera specifically for PJ work or macro work, I would not let a live view function influence my decision. And if you do, take a picture with it using live view, then another using the view finder, and check the difference on a computer screen, not the camera. Decide if you can live with that.

Carolyn