How important is the live view feature in DSLRs?

Hi there,I’m buying my first DSLR soon, but I just recently found out that most of the older models have no live view feature. I’ve been using point-and-shoot digital cameras for years — right now i have a Canon S5 IS — so I’m pretty used to shooting with live view. A friend suggested I hold out and wait for the Canon 450D which has the feature, but as most DSLR users seem happy without it, I’m not really sure. I consider myself somewhere between intermediate and advanced — still feeling my way around, but definitely ready for an SLR.

So, on a scale of 1-5, 5 being the most important and 1 being the least, how would you rate the importance of the live view feature for someone of my experience/skill level?

Thank you.
—June

I have been shooting with SLR’s since the early 1970’s long before digital cameras were even a thought (except as a tool for monitoring Earth from space). Using the viewfinder has and is a precise way to compose and choose the exposure using the data in the viewfinder.

The only way I can think that using a Live View feature is if the camera is mounted on a microscope or telescope.

Holding a camera at arm’s length has always been a sure way to cause camera movement and I can imagine that holding a 2 pound camera at arm’s length is not going to happen for very long the the images would basically have so much movement, they would be nearly useless.

If live view is really important, you should know that the Canon DSLR’s will not auto-focus while in live view, so its inclusion has even less potential as a professional tool (Nikon’s live view does work in auto-focus in two modes, handheld and tripod mounted).
—fhotoace

I would rank it as a “1″–the least important.

Live View is useful only in very limited circumstances, such as with the camera hooked up to a monitor to show a class what the instructor sees through the camera, for macro shooting, and for telescope/microscope shooting.

There is simply no comparison between an LCD screen and a good SLR viewfinder, none at all. When you actually look though an SLR viewfinder, it’s like you are immersed in the scene and part of the image. It’s much more detailed, because you’re seeing the actual photons that will be used to make the image, not a smeary, delayed action LCD screen.

Thus, I would not rate an SLR on framing normal day to day shooting via Live View. Indeed, it would mark you as an amateur to see you with your arms extended out looking at the screen instead of using the viewfinder.

Also, note that the Canon S5 IS uses a tiny LCD screen for its viewfinder, not a prism system. So, don’t judge an SLR by the S5 IS “viewfinder” because again, there’s no comparison.

The primary purpose of an SLR LCD is to check your images, not to take them.

Enjoy your new SLR and don’t hesitate–the live view feature for taking pictures ranks as a “1″ in importance and if I could have gone lower, I would actually rank it more like a 0.1 out of 5.
—anthony h

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