Viewfinder user!

viewfinder 100% of the time. i only use the lcd to review the pictures.

(on my gf's fuji, the 30D doesn't have live view.)

I got you guys haha, I do wish I had some nice video, even though I'd hardly use it.

I try to use whatever tool is appropriate for the situation. If the camera is on a tripod, I will invariably be using live view, a loupe, the 5x/10x magnifier, manual focus, and a remote release. As soon as the camera is off the tripod, it is AF and the viewfinder. Works for me, and I don't much worry about what others think about me.

I hardly EVER use live view. When you are shooting floor level or over a fence, live view is sweet

This thread is fantastic.

Viewfinder 99.999% of the time. Sometimes my camera is pretty high on the tripod though and I can't see through it to frame, at these times I will use live view. Otherwise, It is faster for me to select focus points, and set my exposure settings using the viewfinder.

tzalman wrote in post #13188863
I guess I'm the odd man out, but I constantly use Live View. Not for focusing or composing, for setting exposure. LV with Exposure Simulation and the real time histogram. Shooting in M, I quickly bring the right end of the histogram to close to clipping and then turn off LV and focus, compose and shoot through the viewfinder. The live histogram is the best light meter there is since it uses data from the sensor (processed for RGB) rather than the separate sensing/interpolating system of the regular meter. For me it is an invaluable resource.

THIS. this makes alot of sense i didnt realize it had the real time histogram in LV. i am going to start doing using it more often now. thanks

sega62,

Everyone's mentioning Live View, but I'm not sure if it's clear to you that Live View (composing with the LCD) is fundamentally different than using the viewfinder. The camera uses a totally different focusing method. Live View focusing (contrast detection) is slower, but it's more accurate and by zooming way in you can accurately focus MF lenses. The phase detection focusing that the camera normally uses is very fast. My impression is that phase detection is much more predictive while contrast detection is mostly or entirely reactive.

I hardly ever use Live View but coming from a P&S I wanted to have it. Just like video. I do occasionally manually focus lenses with it and for those odd times when you want to hand the camera to a P&S user they might be happier with LV. Or when you want to compose a shot and just can't look through the VF due to the camera position.


@tzalman: I didn't know about the Live Histogram either, that's a great tidbit.