Why is live picture view becoming such a big deal?

[Didache]

I can see why live view could be useful in certain circumstances when it would be difficult to use a viewfinder - so I would never object to it on some misguided principle.

However, my own "philosophy" of photography is that the camera is an extension of the eye and the heart. Somehow the link is more immediate and real when the camera is actually up to the eye, rather than being held at arms length. Seems to me that even a foot between the eye and the camera breaks a kind of mystical link.

So - I would probably use live view (if I had it) with some types of shots - but I suspect that, when I could, I would still use the viewfinder.

Mike

[Loupey]

I'm surprised that no one has brought this up yet, but when I use Live View (admittedly not very often), it is almost always as a replacement to Mirror Lockup.

Think of it as Mirror Lockup with advantages.

• It is completely vibrationless (in silent modes 1 and 2)
• It allows the subject to be monitored right up to the actual point of capture
• It allows critical focus to be checked

Since I shoot my subjects as-is-where-is, wind is ALWAYS a factor. On a tripod macro setup, I can watch my subject at 10x and wait for the wind to become the least intrusive.

I don't use it for anything else tho.