live view

hi all
does anybody use live view
and is it worth the extra money (20d)
neil

There are very many reasons to buy the K20D but live view isn't one of them, IMHO. It is a bit clunky on the K20D I believe, and in most situations using the viewfinder is much better.

Best wishes, Kris.

I think there are times when live view could be useful though. Am i right in thinking it can be viewed on your computer screen when the camera is connected to the PC or lap top ?

I used it a few days back - needed to get a shot from high up but not enough to stand on, so, Live View on, Held up at arms length, could get an reasonable view of the image, CLICK - first one was fine.

Live view is only halpefull if it's on a tripod I think.
You need to stretch your arms out to look at the screen to make a shot, if you hold your camera that way it's very hard to not move it and it gets heavy fast.
Sony is the only one that has it good right now, they use a second sensor specially for the liveview that makes fast to use and with some models you can flip the screen so you can hold the cam near your belly and look down to take the shot.

There are some other things to get the K20D over the K10D though.
the CMOS sensor is very good at high ISO and works much better at long exposures just to name one.

You can also save some money and hope that the "K30D" comes this year.

I've been using the K20D for a few weeks now and to be honest I haven't even looked at the Live View feature, that's how much I need it!

I don't have the K20D but a reason I would like Live view is that I guess it would/ could be very useful for setting up macro shots and getting the focus exactly right - is this tru for those who have it?
Andy

I don't see how a low resolution screen can make checking focus easier. Every EVF camera I have ever used has been impossible to focus manually. The Pentax viewfinder shows quite clearly where the point of focus is, be it at normal or macro distances.

For macro work, I do think it would be handy to connect it to a laptop and see the image on the screen - I have also read that the K20D can do that (somebody please correct me if i'm wrong), and this will in my opinion make macro work easier over the viewfinder due to the sometimes akwardness of macro work - less potential to nudge the camera ever so slightly.

Also - I believe I'll be using the Liveview as others have said - to get a shot right that's difficult to look through the viewfinder for. I use the digital preview function for my K100D all the time for that (call me lazy!!) and would really find a real-time version of this much more useful.

I dont have the K20 yet but i will use the liveview for composing landscape shots when the camera is close to the ground and mounted on a ttripod.

Its a real pain if the tripod is low and i want to compose the shot but am unable to sit down or get to the same level as the tripod. Since im short sighted and wear glasses it means i have to press them into the viewfinder to be able to see the whole frame, in these situations its just awkward.

Their implementation isnt perfect or even very feature packed. I do think the resolution looks to low be be judging focus for macros. But as a simple digital preview it will work well for my needs.

If the screen tilted live view would be more useful, but with a fixed screen, and the clunky Pentax system it isn't really that useful. It is the one thing which Sony (and Olympus?) have got right, shame about the rest of the camera .
Tethered shooting (using a laptop) is probably more useful, if you want to carry a laptop everywhere. Since I lug enough weight around with just my camera gear a laptop is not about to be added to the list, not even a netbook.

Live view isn't digital preview lads!
When making a digital preview the camera actual makes a photo so you get to know the DOF and the exposure, live view just don't give you these info because it can't show you the DOF nor can it simulate the exposure time.

btw the live view use the sensor right... so doesn't it heat up when you use it?
So far as I know the warmer the sensor gets the more noise it creates on your photo, am I right here or doesn't the sensor get that warm when using live view?

Fair point Stefan. I suppose it's down to the lesser of two evils - which is more important for the user: Digital preview giving you DOP etc or the ease of LiveView without getting an accurate idea of the end result. Personally I think I will rely on my experience to predict the correct Apeture/Exposure and use LiveView as a more handy way for composing akward shots - but each to their own - but fair point Stefan LiveView is not digital preview.

Live view on the K20D is a waste of time. Lots of other reasons to get one but live view isn't a valid reason. Enjoy the the bright view finder!
bb2

well then maybe i worded it wrong towards the end. judging by the other liveview's ive used, ill only be using it for compositions. like i said in the first line.

I think i remember reading that it doesnt use the full resolution of the sensor hence the resolution of the Liveview, so hopefully thats not a problem. but its an interesting point!

**edit* as beachboy2 said, and to the OP, The liveview feature on the K20D is not one of its highlighs. its not as useful as Sony and Canons versions.

Is it worth the extra money over what?