Could the LCD on an SLR have a realtime view.

311

I was thinking of buying a Zigview for my 350D ,but it's just another worry and I'd say it's easy to break.
Thinking about what would be involved ,would it not be possible for canon to stick a camera inside the penta prism so the LCD could be used as a realtime screen ,in future cameras??

DeVore

Its the only thing I dont like about the 350D. I'm used to big crowds at the end of the poker tournaments (crowds of day-triping reporters that is) and often have to hold the camera over their heads to get a shot. Would be nice to be able to see what I'm shooting

DeV.

rymus

They have done already in the 20Da. However it's intended use is solely for astrophotography and it's expensive.

I think either a zigview or a return to point & shoot land are your options. It may turn up in future models but I'm not sure if it'd get much use. As for over the head shots, My trick is to hold camera as high as possible, guess the angle and take about 40 photos

mervifwdc

Zigview works well for that sort of thing. I use mine mainly for low down angle shots where I dont feel like lying down in the muck :-)
Merv

311

Thanks rymus ,I thought the only difference on the 20DA was an infra coating on the sensor
Zigview is still expensive ,don't see it coming down in price much .

Roen

Not sure but can CMOS sensors (as used by Canon) provide a full time view? They're not 'always on' so I wonder if it's even possible at all.

Peteee

AFAIK there is a dSLR that gives a live preview on its screen?

Not from canon/nikon but from another manufacturer..posibly samsung or panasonic?

311

I found this out about the 20Da
"While traditional digital SLRs lack a live preview due to the blocking of the image sensor by a reflex mirror and shutter, the EOS 20Da digital SLR addresses this issue by locking up the mirror and opening the shutter to display a magnified live view of the subject on the 1.8" LCD monitor. (This feature is effective for clear night viewing conditions only.) To help ensure a sharp focus, the central portion of the image can be magnified on the LCD by 5x (4% of the picture area) or 10x (1% of the picture area). The live view mode can also be viewed through most TV monitors while connected to the EOS 20Da camera's video OUT terminal."

What I was thinking though ,is it not possible to have a seperate sensor inside the prism somewhere ,connected to the rear LCD that shows what the viewfinder does?

rymus

_Brian_ wrote:

What I was thinking though ,is it not possible to have a seperate sensor inside the prism somewhere ,connected to the rear LCD that shows what the viewfinder does?

That's more or less exactly what the Olympus E-330 does
http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/olympuse330/

Fajitas!

I know this is a very snobbish thing to say about live view compared to a typical SLR...but dosn't more mirrors mean less quality? And indeed, slightly less light?

311

I've seen the olympus ,I was thinking about a system for a standard camera though .It's just something I think should be made available down the road.

I was thinking it would be possible to have a sensor behind one of the prism mirrors ,the type of mirror that you can see through from the back.

Zillah

rymus wrote:

They have done already in the 20Da. However it's intended use is solely for astrophotography and it's expensive.

I think either a zigview or a return to point & shoot land are your options. It may turn up in future models but I'm not sure if it'd get much use. As for over the head shots, My trick is to hold camera as high as possible, guess the angle and take about 40 photos

Ah, ye old "when in doubt take a billion shots" technique. Personal favourite.

Fajitas!

He forgot "Use a wide angle lens"

You're DEFO gonna get a shot in focus that way