On Thu, 09 Oct 2008 20:56:41 -0700, Paul Furman
wrote:

schizoid_man wrote:
I'm new to DSLR photography, but have owned compact digital cameras
over the years.

I don't quite understand what the big deal is about LiveView, as this
technology has been available in compacts for at least 6-7 years now,
right?

I just recently got a live view SLR and it's not as useful as I thought
it would be. I missed it when moving up to a DSLR but haven't really
embraced it's return. One case where it was sort of usable was in
macros, you can frame the shot then quickly zoom in to the detail to
refine focus before snapping... but for the most part having a bigger,
clearer optical view to compose and frame is a lot more powerful way to
visualize. In theory it would be ideal for tripod work too but in
practice it's still nicer to set up with the viewfinder and you can snap
a test shot and check it quicker than changing modes, etc. Really
annoying to accidentally leave it in live view mode too.

I would like to see a studio setup with live view ported to a laptop
sized screen.

I've only used it when I can't reach the viewfinder with my eye, like
when shooting out a high window or over a crowd.