Do I have to look into the view finder?

[amolkhedgikar]

some times I think the lcd screen of the 400 D should show me what I am shooting WHILE I am shooting.
Some times It is not possible for me to use the view finder That time I have to aim at the subject just hoping the composition to be good or the subject is in the frame. If the lcd screen shows me what I am shooting then I could compose exactly what I want.
I hope I am making sense.
If the feature is already there in the 400 D, then some body please tell me how to use it. I am new to this.
Thank you

[Canuck935]

Sorry. The physical design, as well as heat and power consumption issues for the larger sensors, prevent live preview functionality in DSLR's.

[SmartWombat]

Yes, you have to use the viewfinder.

The only SLR cameras I know of that have live viewing on the LCD are 4/3 system, one of the Olympus I saw at a show last year, and the new Panasonic.

[gryphonslair99]

some times I think the lcd screen of the 400 D should show me what I am shooting WHILE I am shooting.
Some times It is not possible for me to use the view finder That time I have to aim at the subject just hoping the composition to be good or the subject is in the frame. If the lcd screen shows me what I am shooting then I could compose exactly what I want.
I hope I am making sense.
If the feature is already there in the 400 D, then some body please tell me how to use it. I am new to this.
Thank you

Yes you must use the viewfinder. When you look into the viewfinder you are looking at an image reflected from the lens into the viewfinder by a mirror. That mirror sits infront of the sensor and moves out of the way when you press the shutter release and then returns to it's normal position. That is a basic function of a SLR or single lens reflex system.

The viewfinder provides many advantages that a LCD screen does not. You can properly focus or check the focus. See what your shutter speed and f-stop are set at prior to taking the photograph. All of this is part of good composition. You can also better compose the photo in the viewfinder as it is a far more accurate representation of what the lens is seeing. DOF(depth of field) preview does not work with LCDs. DOF can be very important in composing photographs. Especially if you want to go from taking nice portraits to ones that really pop. IMHO the worst thing ever invented for digital P&S cameras was the LCD. It made people lazy and complacent about the photos that they take.

[Erik Stiegler]

The viewfinder provides many advantages that a LCD screen does not. You can properly focus or check the focus. See what your shutter speed and f-stop are set at prior to taking the photograph. All of this is part of good composition. You can also better compose the photo in the viewfinder as it is a far more accurate representation of what the lens is seeing. DOF(depth of field) preview does not work with LCDs.

Every compact camera I recall using shows shutter & aperture settings on the LCD.

The image on the LCD is coming straight off the CCD, so I'm not sure how a viewfinder would be more accurate. Unless the LCD is not showing 100% of the frame, but very few SLRs do that, either. The LCD is certainly more accurate than the crummy optical viewfinders found on compact cameras.

LCDs are capable of DOF preview. A camera may not be designed to show it, but at least some do (I know the Olympus SP-350 does). It's not as useful as with a DSLR because of the huge DOF inherent to smaller sensors (except maybe for macro work). If you want to take portraits that "really pop" with shallow DOF, you shouldn't be using a small sensor compact camera. The LCD isn't part of the problem there.

It's the optical viewfinders on most compact cameras which suffer from all of the problems you listed. LCDs on compact cameras certainly have their place, and with features like live histograms, they're definitely very useful.

[gryphonslair99]

Every compact camera I recall using shows shutter & aperture settings on the LCD.
The image on the LCD is coming straight off the CCD, so I'm not sure how a viewfinder would be more accurate.

Focus. AF is good but not foolproof, and LCD's are not good to Focus with. Granted the veiwfinder on some P&S cameras may not be much better, but then I have never owned a P&S. I started 30+ years ago with manual focus. I still have a finger on the focus ring to tweak it if I am not satisfied with AF.

Unless the LCD is not showing 100% of the frame, but very few SLRs do that, either. The LCD is certainly more accurate than the crummy optical viewfinders found on compact cameras.

LCDs are capable of DOF preview. A camera may not be designed to show it, but at least some do (I know the Olympus SP-350 does). It's not as useful as with a DSLR because of the huge DOF inherent to smaller sensors (except maybe for macro work).

DOF is not a product of sensor size. It is a product of Apeture, Large apeture, small DOF. Small Apeture, large DOF. An LCD will not give you as good of visuilization of your DOF as a veiwfinder will.

If you want to take portraits that "really pop" with shallow DOF, you shouldn't be using a small sensor compact camera. The LCD isn't part of the problem there.

I have seen some great portriats and other photos taken with P&S cameras. The camera is a tool, it is the skill of the photographer that makes the photo.

It's the optical viewfinders on most compact cameras which suffer from all of the problems you listed. LCDs on compact cameras certainly have their place, and with features like live histograms, they're definitely very useful.

I didn't say they are not useful. I check my histograms on my DSLR. The person that started this thread wanted to know if they had to use the viewfinder with their 400D or is there a way to use the LCD. It is a simple answer with a DSLR you have to use the veiwfinder. When shooting with a DSLR the viewfinder is the better method for composing and taking photographs for all the information that it provides you.

[amolkhedgikar]

I think it was a wrong title I used.
I knew I had to use the view finder but was also hoping to know how to , if I could, use the lcd like in many d p&s. because there are so many amazing functions in the camera, it was then incomprehensible that the function was not there even though the screen can later show the images we take .
I was also hoping to get to know some finer points on the view finder use and some personal experiences which I did. keep them coming in,

thanks

amol

[Erik Stiegler]

An LCD on a compact camera does work very differently than the viewfinder on an SLR. Hence the OP's question. Anyone who has used a good compact camera knows how useful the LCD can be. Especially an articulated LCD. On an SLR, they wouldn't be a substitute for the viewfinder, but a useful additional tool.

DOF is not a product of sensor size. It is a product of Apeture, Large apeture, small DOF. Small Apeture, large DOF.

Aperture, distance and focal length. The smaller the sensor (or frame of film) the shorter the focal length lens you have to use to get the same field of view as a larger sensor. Hence greater DOF with small sensor cameras.

[cyberlord]

Aperture, distance and focal length. The smaller the sensor (or frame of film) the shorter the focal length lens you have to use to get the same field of view as a larger sensor. Hence greater DOF with small sensor cameras.

I'm not sure sensor size affects the DOF. The sensor size just ignores the outer edges of the image that goes through the lens and only records the center of the image. The DOF does not change when you crop an image in post processing. That is all a smaller sensor is doing, cropping the image. It does not change the focal length of the lens where DOF is affected.

Again, I'm not sure. If I'm wrong, someone explain to me if all the sensor is doing is cropping the image, how it can affect the DOF.

Tim

[Erik Stiegler]

The sensor size doesn't directly affect DOF. However, they require shorter focal lengths to get the same field of view.

To get the same field of view as a 35mm lens on a 35mm camera, a camera like the Canon G7 needs a 7mm lens. You get a whole lot more DOF with a 7mm lens than a 35mm lens at the same aperture and focusing distance.

[trog100]

"MHO the worst thing ever invented for digital P&S cameras was the LCD"

very usefull things to be honest.. especially the nice swiveling ones u get on a decent compact..

i wish my P/S dslr had one.. i know why it dosnt have one but that dosnt stop me wishing it did.. he he

trog

[gryphonslair99]

"MHO the worst thing ever invented for digital P&S cameras was the LCD"

very usefull things to be honest.. especially the nice swiveling ones u get on a decent compact..

i wish my P/S dslr had one.. i know why it dosnt have one but that dosnt stop me wishing it did.. he he

trog

I am curious, what "Digital P/S DSLR" are you using?

[trog100]

"I am curious, what "Digital P/S DSLR" are you using"

i think u are kinda wondering how i can refer to my dslr as a point and shoot.. ??

well the definitions of the term seems to have changed over the last few years.. we have just about reached the point where entry level dslrs are being refered to as point and shoots..

read some tongue in cheek humour into my description of my pentax k100d..

phil askey recently in his review of the new nikon d40 refered to it as the perfect point and shoot dslr.. most dslr users seem to refer to anything that does not have an interchangeable lens as a point and shoot..

it seems entry dslrs and complex pro-sumer/bridge cameras have about met in the middle.. all in danger of being called point and shoots by somebody.. he he

to be honest i think its a term that has lost its meaning and all cameras with full automatics can be called point and shoots if the owner wishes to use them in that mode.. either that or people should stop useing the term so loosely..

it used to mean a camera that didnt have manual controls.. now it seems to mean anything below a certain but continually rising level in the camera food chain..

but in the past i have found the lcd screen to be usefull for arms length.. overhead or ground level shooting.. thow i take your point as regards the negative side of them..

i am a bit anti post processing as regards the negative side of what i call real photograhy.. used to excess as i think it is being used i think thats one of the worse things to happen to digital photography..

hoping to have satisfied your curiosity..

trog

[amolkhedgikar]

" in the past i have found the lcd screen to be usefull for arms length.. overhead or ground level shooting."

That is exactly what I have to do some times. And thats why this thread.

[gryphonslair99]

"I am curious, what "Digital P/S DSLR" are you using"

i think u are kinda wondering how i can refer to my dslr as a point and shoot.. ??

well the definitions of the term seems to have changed over the last few years.. we have just about reached the point where entry level dslrs are being refered to as point and shoots..

read some tongue in cheek humour into my description of my pentax k100d..

phil askey recently in his review of the new nikon d40 refered to it as the perfect point and shoot dslr.. most dslr users seem to refer to anything that does not have an interchangeable lens as a point and shoot..

it seems entry dslrs and complex pro-sumer/bridge cameras have about met in the middle.. all in danger of being called point and shoots by somebody.. he he

to be honest i think its a term that has lost its meaning and all cameras with full automatics can be called point and shoots if the owner wishes to use them in that mode.. either that or people should stop useing the term so loosely..

it used to mean a camera that didnt have manual controls.. now it seems to mean anything below a certain but continually rising level in the camera food chain..

but in the past i have found the lcd screen to be usefull for arms length.. overhead or ground level shooting.. thow i take your point as regards the negative side of them..

i am a bit anti post processing as regards the negative side of what i call real photograhy.. used to excess as i think it is being used i think thats one of the worse things to happen to digital photography..

hoping to have satisfied your curiosity..

trog

That helps a bit. To me it was kind of like stating you were driving a Harley Davidson Pickup Truck. They are both vehicles, but I have yet to see one in the same. (Just watch, there will be a biker photographer that reads this thread and will build one for Sturgis next year.)

Post processing is pretty much a must in with a DSLR, especially if you are shooting in RAW. Having spent years in a darkroom processing film, those prints people got were post processed as well. To give the best color, contrast, hue, etc.

I can understand what you mean though about over processing with digital. I too have seen stuff that I just don't like. The saturation that some people like couldn't be sustaine by the Energizer Bunny. If there is a warm glow in the room after the lights are off, then that is just too much processing. But then I have seen stuff that was done to negative prints that was overblown. I chalk it up to some people having different tastes from my own. At least I don't have to look at it or print it. :biggrin5:

Since I have never been a P&Ser I guess I am at a loss as to using the LCD screen and my DSLR was only set to one of the (god I can't believe I am going to use this term) Point and Shoot modes, when it came out of the box. I immediatly switched it to Manuel before I even loaded the battery. I have just begun to get into Macro photography and understand about tough viewing angles, but I am looking into one of the right angle viewfinder attachments from either Canon or Hoodman. Unless someone else knows of a good one from another manufacturer.

Thanks for the explenation. At least I will not have nightmares tonight of Canon coming out with a 1Ds Mark III with a flip out lcd screen and a video recording mode.:biggrin5: :biggrin5:

[danag42]

The whole purpose of a reflex camera is that you're looking directly through a lens. In a twin-lens reflex, there are two identical lenses, one over the other. The upper one is for focusing and composing and the lower one for taking the photo.

The whole idea of a single lens reflex (SLR) camera is that you compose and shoot through the same lens. Therefore, composing on the LCD defeats the whole purpose of having a DSLR (Digital Single Lens Reflex).

[trog100]

true.. but anyone moving from a half decent "compact" digital camera like say the fz50 is sure gonna miss the swiveling lcd screen on the back..

the function is like look thru the lens but it enables arms length shooting.. the swivel factor which came later made the whole thing even more usefull..

i can well understand why the question was ask..

trog

[trog100]

i dont actually one one of these things.. but i have thought about their usefullness.. a wee bit pricey just to buy one and see thow..

zigview..

http://www.zigview.co.uk/


trog

[amolkhedgikar]

You got me right there Trog. I come from the digital camera on a camcorder. with a swivelling screen. I miss the useful ness of that and was hoping to find one on this dslr, I am obviously new to the dslrs. and thats why the question.

[trog100]

dslrs have their advantages but they have their disadvantages as well..

i would seriously consider something like a panasonic fz50 to be honest..

trog

[amolkhedgikar]

I could'nt be happier with my new dslr. compromises make this world work .this one is just a dslr.
Thank you for your inputs and thoughts. I just hope your prediction of dslrs with swiveling screens come true soon.

[Jaedon]

The only one I know of for sure is the Olympus Evolt 330... but it has heat and battery life issues and not worth the extra $$ jsut for live view.

[JSPhoto]

Another reason for using the viewfinder on a DSLR that wasn't mentioned is that if you have something such as the LCD to view from you must close off the viewfinder or spurious light can enter through the viewfinder causing some very odd results. Thats why many pro cameras and cameras with the BULB function have a flip switch that blocks the viewfinder.

JS

[masdog]

Well...you don't have to use the viewfinder...but you may not like your results.

[trog100]

the problem with the average viewfinder on cheaper cropped dslrs is they are not good enough.. the manual focus on mine is hit and miss.. as a general rule the camera does a better job than i can..

i have a few old manual lenses with which i take several shots to make sure i get the focus correct..

my son has an old olympus E20.. in one sense the best of both worlds.. a very good thru the lens viewfinder and the swiveling lcd..

for low level macro work they make life a million times easier.. which is why we have both thought about the zigview tool..

if anybody has gotten used to useing a swiveling lcd.. its definitely something u miss..

trog