Live View, What Does it Do?

[BiggDogg]

I need a simple explanation of exactly what does "Live" view do. I have experimented with it and really do not see any difference between what I see in the view finder or the display. When is it used? What are the advantages and disadvantages? Is there a practical use for it in wildlife photography? I have read articles on the subject but they are normally either very short or written in language meant for professionals. Any help will be appreciated.

 

[Strodav]

You didn't mention your camera, which can make a difference. For my Nikon dslrs LV uses a different AF method, contrast detection. When you use the viewfinder the camera uses phase detection for AF. LV will usually give you the sharpest focus your lens and camera are capable of, but contrast detection AF is slower than phase detection AF. Some cameras have different focus modes in LV, like face detection for example. LV is also great when you don't want to use the viewfinder, like when you want to hold your camera high over the crowd or put it on the ground for a different perspective. Tilting backpanels are very helpful here. Again, different cameras have different features, but I can pull up a live histogram, a rule of thirds grid, or level, ... , while composing my shots in LV. For me, it's easier to see the DOF when pushing the Pv button in LV than through the viewfinder. Hope this helps.

 

[RickW]

My most important use of live view is the ability to zoom in to check focus when shooting macro.

 

[Deleted member 115]

In astrophotography I close viewfinder and use the LV screen. You can zoom in and manually focus if you need to. I also like to use it on landscapes with tripod sometimes or anytime I want to see how the white balance looks such as a milky way, sunset or a photo of the moon.

 

[Deleted member 115]

The other day I decided to set up my popup blind in the back yard as discussed on the forum. I set up a frame on some dry sagebrush. I then used the touch screen function in Live view to Normal-area AF on a couple different birds. Not sure if this an approved method but it seemed to work pretty pretty pretty good.

 

[DRwyoming]

Any help will be appreciated.

Live View on a DSLR shows you pretty much what the sensor will record when you release the shutter. That includes things like actual Depth of Field and exposure. That's different than what you'll see through a DSLRs optical viewfinder that shows you wide open aperture unless you intentionally use a DoF preview function. Live view shows you much more readily if exposure is way off as it is actually showing you what the sensor is recording, not the light reflected off of mirrors and up into the optical viewfinder. So if you have an exposure that is much too dark or has blown out highlights that will show up readily in live view but not through the optical viewfinder.

As mentioned above Live View also allows you to zoom in to check critical focus and in some cameras offers a Focus Peaking view which can be very handy for checking critical focus. Live View generally also allows you to choose specific auto focus points that are often across a wider portion of the image frame than what's available through the optical viewfinder.

In a mirrorless camera, Live View and the Electronic Viewfinder view are basically the same thing but in a DSLR they're quite different.

 

[Palouse]

With the Z series Nikons: You can use LV with split-view to check and fine tune the dof of landscape shots. You can use to set up focus stacking, set up panorama shots, really check studio lights and strobes, and set up multiple frame shooting; it's great when using a tripod for landscape and macro shots. It is an incredible teaching aid, allowing you to show others how to frame etc.