Part 3 – Live View

Given that the Live View feature of the 40D is very similar
to the E-410’s which I reviewed previously, this section is mostly a
copy of what I wrote previously, with edits where necessary.

I’ve always liked the idea of Live View but also wondered
about the practicality of it in the field. Live View on the 40D works as
follows:

1. Press
   the Live View button (middle button), you hear the mirror flip and the LCD
   shows you what you would have seen through the viewfinder
2. If
   you want to focus, you have to press the AF-ON button. Once you do that you
   hear the mirror flip back down, the LCD goes black, the camera focuses and then
   you hear flip again as the mirror rises and you get the LCD view back
3. Hit
   the shutter to take a picture and you’ll hear the mirror flip back down again,
   the LCD goes black, the camera focuses (if not focused already) and then you
   hear flip again as the mirror rises to expose the image

The most significant point in that
description is #2, as it means you don’t get continuous AF while in Live View.
This makes using Live View to target anything that’s moving to be extremely
difficult. So with that in mind, and given the fact that there’s a viewfinder
on an DSLR, what are the practical uses of this feature? I set out to answer
that question this week and here are the answers I found:

1. The
   view you have of the image is similar to how it will be recorded. Changes to white
   balance appears accurately on the LCD before you
   take the image. This is useful when you have time and want to experiment (e.g. shooting
   a sunset or landscape would allow for easy experimentation of colours using the
   Live View function)
2. Some
   portraits work well when you don’t have to put your face behind the viewfinder.
   I found this to be the case when shooting (my) dogs. It’s a lot easier for the
   animal when you can slide a camera towards it without having to get in right
   behind it which can feel more intimidating for the animal. It also means you
   can continue to maintain eye contact and keep their interest. According to the
   marketing material of Live View, this is supposed to work well for humans too –
   although that statement is rooted in the medium format world where some cameras
   allow you to look downwards into the viewfinder – an act I find relaxes the
   subject massively. On the flip side, I have not found shooting a human portrait
   through the LCD to be anywhere near as easy so at the moment, I use it only for
   animals.
3. When
   in a difficult position where it’s tough to get behind the viewfinder (e.g.
   lying on the floor), Live View can be beneficial (although see limitations
   below).
4. Manual
   Focusing. When you need highly accurate focusing (e.g. shooting Macros), and want
   to validate the AF accuracy or are using Manual Focus then Live View is great. The
   times when you need to manually focus are often when you have time and are
   doing things like product shots, macros, etc. Despite the larger viewfinder of
   the 40D, I still find manual focusing on any
   cropped sensor to be difficult. However, after switching to live view and
   using the zoom feature, I am always able to get incredibly accurate results. Note
   this works particularly well if you have a manual focus only lens.

Conclusion of Live View? Despite me being able to find some
uses, it’s a niche feature on cameras that don’t feature it alongside either
fully articulated LCD’s or continuous AF.