Just got my GH1. This is my first SLR if you can call this camera an SLR, anyway it may not apply for video recording but I don't get what Live view is? At least I thought I knew. When I'm a taking picture and I'm in shutter priority mode, I make the shutter speed really fast and when I look at the LCD screen I don't see the image getting darker. I thought the purpose of Live view is to see the real effect of the picture before taking a pic. Even when I press shutter button half way I still can't see picture getting darker relating to fast shutter speed on the screen. The only time I can see the real affect of shutter speed in live view is when I switch to Creative movie mode. Any idea what I'm missing?
Live view confusion for newbie
- Thread starter dojoman
- Start date
PhilD
Well-known member
That's called Shutter Speed Effect.
Press the Shutter / Trash Can icon in any picture mode then press the Display Button. Unfortunately, it doesn't seem possible to leave it on at all times.
admactanium
Well-known member
Live View is basically being able to see what's being framed/recorded in the LCD or in the case of the GH1 the LCD and/or EVF. It makes more sense if you put it in the context of the previous generation of DSLRs. My Canon 30D has an LCD screen on the back of it but it's only for reviewing the images that have been shot or for making control changes to the camera. You can't frame with the LCD of that generation of cameras because it won't show what the lens is seeing through the LCD.
It doesn't seem that revolutionary if you're coming from Point-n-Shoot cameras because they had live view a lot earlier than DSLRs.
It doesn't seem that revolutionary if you're coming from Point-n-Shoot cameras because they had live view a lot earlier than DSLRs.
Ben_B
Veteran
Also while Live View won't always preview things like shutter speed, etc, it will give you a preview of how your aperture is effecting your DOF. For video it will also automatically preview exactly what it will look like when you hit record. For photos it would be annoying if it didn't crank up gain to make the image viewable, as you might be trying to take photos in a very high contrast situation and not really be able to see anything otherwise.
Live view. Live, as in happening right now. View, as in you see it. You see what's there right now. That's all it means.
And it wouldn't work as well to do a preview of shutter speed because the shutter speed range is so high and has a lot of different effects with still photography. An example; if you stop down too much so that you can have a slow shutter speed and get a lot of motion, a non-compensated LCD would be too dark for you to frame with. So that's not the default. Also true if you're doing light painting or compensating for flash.
And it wouldn't work as well to do a preview of shutter speed because the shutter speed range is so high and has a lot of different effects with still photography. An example; if you stop down too much so that you can have a slow shutter speed and get a lot of motion, a non-compensated LCD would be too dark for you to frame with. So that's not the default. Also true if you're doing light painting or compensating for flash.
ahhh..ok i get it. LCD is showing whatever you're composing but not necessary means the picture will look like this with current setting like aperture/shutter/ISO etc...
But Live view works in video and it shows you exactly what it will record even before pressing record button. When i was messing around with shutter speed in creative movie mode, I noticed LCD getting darker and darker as I change the shutter speed faster, and i wasn't even recording. I didn't know about it. I was expecting the same for taking pic but it doesn't.
But Live view works in video and it shows you exactly what it will record even before pressing record button. When i was messing around with shutter speed in creative movie mode, I noticed LCD getting darker and darker as I change the shutter speed faster, and i wasn't even recording. I didn't know about it. I was expecting the same for taking pic but it doesn't.
Not quite. In the photo modes, you see a wide-open aperture view by default. DOF preview is not shown until you press the DOF button (which of course might be the same if the aperture is set full open anyway). Then pressing the shutter speed preview button adds the effect of shutter speed on both the exposure and to motion - it's giving you a continuous stream of images in the viewfinder/LCD as if you were taking a continuous stream of photos at the current setting. However, if you then press the video button on the back, you might well see something quite different as in the photo modes video settings are automated, not what is set for a photo.
In the Creative Motion Picture mode, yes, in essence the GH1 is recording using the current setting from the outset but feeding the output to the viewfinder/LCD and not to the card. Press either record button, and recording to the card commences. But - in fact there's some loss of quality in the viewfinder/LCD before the recording starts - it's noticably more grainy if you preview a dark area. But it's close to what you'll get.
admactanium
Well-known member
Yes. Most point-n-shoot cameras would be considered live-vew. That's what I meant by saying that it doesn't seem revolutionary for people who come from a PnS background because they're used to their cameras showing the live view on the LCD. Most people now frame their photos with the LCD. DSLRs haven't had live view for very long at all because there were technical issues that had to be worked around before they could do it with ease. The main problem was and still is that DSLRs use a mirror to show what's being framed in the viewfinder. This necessitates having a mirror redirect the image from the path to the sensor into the viewfinder. Therefore you couldn't really have live view because the sensor wasn't seeing anything at all except the back of the mirror. The newer DSLRs have live view now by locking up the mirror during live view mode. The reason the GH1 is revolutionary in this field is that it doesn't need a mirror because the viewfinder is electronic.