Viewing L/V on Laptop

Is there a cable, do you know, that could link my K5 to my laptop, to fine focus in live view, in macro work?

If there is where, please, could I get one & would it cost an arm & a leg.........?

Many thanks,

Roger.

Almost certainly, yes . And it won't cost an arm and a leg . It's the method I used for my 'penny macro' attempts with the K3. My only doubt is because I don't have a K5 so can't be sure about what outputs the K5 has.

What you need is a USB video capture card. If the K5 has HDMI output, then you need a USB HDMI video capture card. (If the K5 only has AV (analogue) output, then you need a USB AV video output card instead.) The HDMI 'card' is actually a little black box with an HDMI socket at input and a USB cable/plug to connect to your laptop. The HDMI video capture card I've got is this one from Amazon - costs £15-99 (which is less than what I paid... ). You'll also need to get an HDMI cable with the right connectors to join the K5 to the HDMI input socket in the 'card'.

You'll need software to display the image on your laptop. OBS Studio does everything you need (and a lot, lot more...). And it has the great virtue of being free.

If the K5 has AV (analogue) but not HDMI output, PM me and I'll send details of the RCA video capture card that I've got.

Incidentally, if your laptop has an HDMI socket, it probably won't be any help here as it is probably designed to send to an external monitor rather than to receive from an external source.

Steve

Cheers Steve, that's great!

I'll read, learn, mark & inwardly digest all that this weekend, then on Monday I won't have to pretend I knew what the h*** all that means any more.......!

Thanks again,

Roger.

Another option is a field monitor. There are a couple of offerings that sometimes appear on Ebay. They have the virtues of being both battery and mains powered and they don't need extra software, just an HDMI cable - and yes, the K5 does have an HDMI output socket. I mount mine on a second tripod placed somewhere convenient. It isn't anywhere near as big as a laptop screen but it would be ample for precision focus stacking Roger. One annoyance that you will have to suffer no matter what system you choose is the fact that it will involve live view and a lot of banging and crashing inside the mirror box every time the camera times out or you make a goof.

Yes, a field monitor would do the job, too. It's probably the most convenient option for macro 'in the field' (smaller, mountable on tripod etc.). I chose the laptop route because it was cheaper (having already got the laptop) and would only be used for 'table-top' macro.

Worth noting that for both field monitor and laptop, the maximum image resolution is determined by the HDMI output from the camera. That is less than the sensor resolution. So don't expect to be able to focus at the level of individual sensor pixels!

Steve