LiveView question for a350 vs. Rebel XSi

[JohnDubya]

In all the reviews I've read about the Sony a350 and the Canon Rebel XSi, there were two differences with LiveView that I could see. One was that the XSi had a delay and noise when auto-focusing while the a350 did not. And the second was that the XSi showed exactly what the picture was going to look like on the LiveView (since it uses the main sensor) while the a350 uses a secondary sensor and doesn't show exactly what the picture will look like.

I'm someone who wants to see what he's taking a picture of when he's taking it. So I'm wondering:

1. Is the slight delay and slight noise from the mirror moving inside the XSi going to be annoying? Would I really even notice it as a pretty new DSLR user?
2. Is the difference between what the LiveView shows and what is actually taken really different on the a350? Would I be able to tell pretty close what the picture will look like from what the LiveView will show?

Thanks everyone.

[Ultra Magnus]

In my opinion, the canon live view is a joke. The delay will be most annoying the more you use it, and the more shots you miss because of it. What they did was take a perfectly fine DSLR and give it P&S performance...

Technically, when you look through an optical viewfinder, you dont see exactly what the picture will look like either.

BM

[JohnDubya]

Yeah, true...and that's why I wanted to try to get a camera that had LiveView that would show what I was going to take a picture of. But if the Canon LiveView really is that annoying, and the a350's LiveView is a pretty good indication of what the picture will look like, I will probably go with the a350. Thanks for your thoughts!

[Ultra Magnus]

Not to plug someone else's website, but there's a good in depth review and performance timing numbers on dpreview.com of the 40D.

I don't know if they've done an in depth review of the A350 or not.

Canon's pro line of junk may blow the doors off most of the competition, but Sony definately wins on the consumer front. I was trying to decide between the 40d and the A700. The live preview didn't matter to me, and to compare resulution chart performance and noise was like splitting hairs. What turned the tables for me in favor of Sony was the super nice LCD and he super nice user interface... and the in camera image stabilization.

BM

[SpeedingSphere]

In my opinion, the canon live view is a joke. The delay will be most annoying the more you use it, and the more shots you miss because of it. What they did was take a perfectly fine DSLR and give it P&S performance...

Technically, when you look through an optical viewfinder, you dont see exactly what the picture will look like either.

BM

I'm not trying to be a troll in this forum section but I'm going to disagree here and say that live view in general and on any model of camera it is more useful than most see it as. I purchased a 40D as an upgrade from the 350D and I find myself using the live view more than I thought. It is of much better quality than "P&S performance". I use it particularly when the angle of the shot is quite difficult, when focusing for macro shots or astrophotography, and other photos of non action objects. When youre shooting something subject to change, why bother using live view when whats currently happening is seen directly through the viewfinder? If you take a look at any point and shoot, the real part of delay you'll be experiencing is shutter delay. I dont think that a focus delay should be of concern. Its the time between pressing the button and the second it takes the photograph. If you were taking a photograph and you had shutter delay, you'd more likely miss it due to the fact that the camera had to do its thing before it could record the image than if you were already focused and waiting for the action to occur so you could snap exactly at the appropriate time.

I do agree with the fact of Sony's live view being superior in a quicker focus time, and being able to focus in live view while seeing the subject, but when youre buying a DSLR, I dont think live view is something one should stress over. When purchasing a P&S however..