[brian wright22]

Today I have been assessing the difference between my 350D and this new Canon 550D and also comparing the difference to the 500D.

Well I have to say I am very dissapointed. I did not get any further than checking out the Live View.
I don't know if it is the same as on the 500D but when using the optical view the focusing is almost instant.
When using the Live View the focus time was sometimes 2 seconds for the same subject and distance and never less than 1 second.
The shop assistant said this was because it was capable of movie HD and the menue could not be set to single shot focus only .This sounded like aload of old tosh to me but I could not make the Canon focus more quickly.
My wifes Canon Ixus focuses in less than 0.3 seconds and that is effectively Live View as all compacts are.
I suggested that there must be a fault with this sample but the shop assistant insisted that it was the same on the Canon 500D.
Any members have any experience with either of these Canon DSLR's

[Dabhand16]

I don't know for sure, but I think that all dSLR's will not focus as fast with live view as they do normally. Nikons have two live view modes and I think they use different focus methods but I've not explored this feature.

[Boofers]

I only have limited use of live view. I have it on my 50D and my wifes 500D, they work pretty much the same way. I press the focus button which is the star button or exposure button when switched to live view. I thought it worked OK but I am sure everybody who has live view will have more to say and most likely correct me on the focus button. I don't remember which one it is, but it worked pretty good. "I am supposed to be working" hee hee

[JMitchell]

It's because the camera can't use mirrors to focus when using Live View. To use Live View, as far as I'm aware, the shutter remains open and the mirror remains up, so that you can actually see 'TTL' (through the lens). This means that the focusing mirrors aren't getting any light as the mirror has to be up for that to happen. The means by which most Live View mechanisms focus is 'contrast detect' auto focus, where the camera scans the whole image and gradually goes through the focus range in increments until it finds an area of high contrast that it takes to be an edge, and focuses on that.* This is of course nowhere near as quick as normal focusing, and is one of the major downfalls of Live View.

* NB: There is an option (on the D300 at least) to press 'AF-On', have the mirror flip down, use the focus mirrors, and flip up again, but then you can't see what you're focusing on, and I have generally not found it very useful at all.

[brian wright22]

Hmmmm and I thought that this live view technology was going to give me the advantages of a very good compact LCD view and focus with the best that DSLR optical view can combine.

There needs to be a giant step forward in the live view technology for me to replace my present DSLR

[Dabhand16]

Originally Posted by brian wright22

There needs to be a giant step forward in the live view technology for me to replace my present DSLR

Bear in mind that due to their smaller sensors and wider lenses, compacts tend to have a huge depth of field compared to a dSLR, so their focusing systems don't have to be as accurate. This probably accounts for why they acquire focus faster.

Is live view the only thing you want in a new camera? Better noise control, higher usable ISO and more refined focus and exposure systems count for nothing?

Although for my use live view is something I can do without, from what I've read it seems that on a dSLR it is most useful for macro/close up work on a tripod where you can enlarge the screen image to check that the focus is spot on. If you are not going to be taking this sort of shot at least 50% of the time it is a feature that you might not use much. Given the choice you would not rather use the LCD rather than a viewfinder for most shots would you?

[brian wright22]

[QUOTE=Dabhand16;298547]
Is live view the only thing you want in a new camera? Better noise control, higher usable ISO and more refined focus and exposure systems count for nothing?

Of course they do and it goes without saying that any Canon DSLR released since my present Canon DSLR is much better in most respects especially the higher ISO and lower noise.

But just going on the press releases and manufacturers specifications it is not obvious that the Live View performance is as slow as it is.
I don't really care for what reason why it is so slow but the very first Live View on a DSLR( correct me if I' m wrong here) was an Olympus and quickly followed by Panasonic.
These two used I believe two sensors,one for capture and the other for focus/metering.This arrangement seemed to work quite well.But I want to stay with Canon due to my peripheral Canon accessories.
The problem with the major players in the quest for market leadership and as such I think have slighly lossed the plot.

I also don't want movie in HD facility, how much does this add to the total cost?.
It would appear to me that Live View is of interest mainly to the movie making folks. I say buy a movie camera,the shape of which is ergonomically better for the task in hand.

[Boofers]

"Quote"
I also don't want movie in HD facility, how much does this add to the total cost?.

I grabbed my 50D because it was the same price as the 500D. It has no movie and I don't mind. I have used it for macro and it's an improvement over the 20D in a lot of areas. I liked the fact like Graham says, that you can max in close for the focus. It works,,,my personnal feeling is your never going to be happy with what they are selling and the price,,,

[J.R./Pinehouse Photos]

I am with Boofers on this one, having just made a leap of faith to the Canon 50D myself- I figured if video was really a priority for me, I would be looking for a video camera, not a DSLR. The student budget pretty much shaped my decision, but I have to say, I think in the end it was the more practical way to go anyhow!

[Markulous]

What's Live View?

I suppose I ought to try Live View (I have on the 40D but not yet on the 7D) but I've yet to see any practical use for me. And I don't really see myself learning a whole new skillset for taking videos - I'm still learning to take stills!

[Dave Canon]

I have had a DSLR with live view for about a year now. Most shots I still use the viewfinder which is the best solution so only occassionally do I use live view. Whenever, I have used live view it was for table top close up work for which it is ideal. It is best to use manual focus and used the magnifier to obtain very accurate focus. Just looking at my camera manual, it has 3 focus modes for live view as well as manual. One mode uses the same method as non-live view which means that it needs the mirror (called Quick Mode). The second mode is called live mode and can be slow (the mode I think you are referring to) and the third mode is face detection (I have never tried this).

I doubt that Movies add much cost as it is almost all done by software. What does add cost is the powerful computer that is required to process JPEG files. This must add a lot of cost that Raw users do not need. However, all cameras will be a compromise for any one user so just do not use the facilities that you do not need.

[fionaB]

im like Mark have yet to try it on the 7d, that and the video. have never had live view so its not like im missing it.