G Dan Mitchell Photography

When I acquired a Canon EOS 5D Mark II a few months ago I assumed that the main improvement over my previous camera would come from the 21 megapixel sensor. Other features of the updated version of the Canon 5D series seemed like they would either represent minor improvements or perhaps not be of any real use to me at all. I lumped the “live view” feature of the camera into the latter category. I understood that it would permit be to view the scene “live” on the rear screen, but I failed to see any big advantage over looking through the viewfinder and I much of what I had heard suggested that there would be serious downsides to the feature.

Consequently, it wasn’t until after I had the camera for some time that I actually thought to try out “live view.” At first the feature seemed very counterintuitive to me, since I am completely used to looking through the old fashioned kind of “live” view – the one seen through the viewfinder. On top of this, with live view enabled the normal autofocus system is turned off. However, once I did start to use live view I realized that it is one of the most significant and useful features of the Canon 5D Mark II. How is it useful? Here is a list:

1. Live histogram – You can optionally display a live histogram on the rear screen in live view. This histogram display updates instantaneously as the scene changes or as you make exposure adjustments. Rather than making an exposure, checking the histogram, making adjustments, and then shooting again – you can simply get it right the first time.
2. Manual focus – In many cases live view provides the very best method for achieving accurate manual focus. While you can manually focus in the normal viewfinder, really critical manual focus is very difficult using that approach. However, with live view you can zoom in to 5X or 10X magnification and focus precisely on any point in the frame. This is like having a 10x loupe built into the camera. There are more advantages related to manual focusing, but I’ll break them out separately below.
3. Accurate Depth of Field – Determining what will and will not be sharp enough at a given aperture always involves a bit of guesswork on a DSLR. You can press the Depth 0f Field (DOF) Preview button and try to check this visually, but this is even more difficult that trying to achieve accurate manual focus via the viewfinder. When you press the DOF Preview button the viewfinder can become extremely dark, making it very difficult or impossible to accurate assess DOF. However, live view automatically adjusts the display brightness when you press the DOF preview button – so you can see as well at f/16 as you can at f/1.4. Not only that, but you can again use the 5X or 10X magnification on any part of the scene to check focus with great accuracy.
4. Night photography – It was actually while doing night photography that I first gave live view a serious try. I was shooting some industrial subjects under full moon and artificial light and trying to focus on the side of a dimly lit building without much luck. AF could not acquire focus, and in the darkness I couldn’t see enough detail to focus manually through the viewfinder. However, with live view – keeping in mind that the camera adjust the display brightness – my very dark subject was light enough that I could manage to focus manually and get a sharp image.
5. Neutral density filters – I sometimes use a 9-stop neutral density (ND) filter in order to make rather long daytime exposures. The 9-stop ND is so dark that you cannot really even see your scene through it and composing and focusing are impossible. My previous method of operation was to compose the scene and focus first, switch off the AF feature, attach the ND, and then shoot “blind.” However, if I needed to change the composition or adjust focus I would need to remove the ND filter first. I quickly discovered that the live view can display a useful image even with this filter attached, permitting changes in composition, manual focus, and even accurate depth of field checks.
6. Optional display grid – Several different electronic grids may optionally be superimposed on the live view display. I often switch on the  3 x 3 (three horizontal and three vertical lines) grid to check that the horizon is level or that vertical lines are actually vertical.
7. Awkward camera positions – As long as you can still see the LCD, you can place your camera in positions that would not work if you had to compose through the viewfinder and would otherwise have to “shoot blind” or miss the shot. I’ve found it useful for some wildflower shots where the camera had to be down low among the plants. In addition, I can shoot with the camera on the tripod raised well above eye height with live view.
8. Tilt/Shift lenses – Although I’m not a tilt/shift lens user, several other photographers (see below for the link to the first of them) have now pointed out that live view greatly improves the usability of T/S lenses and makes it easier to achieve critical focus.

This list could be even longer, but I’ll stop here for now. Are there any downsides to using live view? In some situations there are, so live view is not called for in every photograph.

1. Battery life – The use of live view significantly reduces the number of frames you can expose before your battery runs out of power. I have made 400-500+ photographs on one battery with the 5D II without live view and not run the battery down to the point that I would think about switching. However, with heavy live view use on a few occasions I got only a few more than 200 shots. I limit my use of live view in situations where battery life is an issue, such as when I go on long backpacking trips.
2. Active subjects – While live view is great for relatively static subjects (such as architecture and landscapes, for example) it is far less suited to shooting active subjects. For those I’ll stick to using the through-the-lens viewfinder.
3. Portraits – While you certainly could shoot portraits in live view, I think that it is sometimes better to either peer through the pentaprism viewfinder at the almost-real view seen there or, better yet in some cases, step back from the viewfinder/camera and just look right at your subjects. (Update: Someone with far more portrait experience than I have recently made a very good a point about getting away from the viewfinder and communicating directly with your subject – though you could do that independent of Live View.)

In the end, although I shoot more often without live view than with it, for certain types of photography I now find it indispensable , including much urban and natural landscape work, night photography, and when working with neutral density filters.

UPDATES:

Todd Klassy points out that live view is very powerful for those who shoot with tilt/shift lenses.

Regarding my point about portraits, someone with far more portrait experience than I have recently made a very good a point about getting away from the viewfinder and communicating directly with your subject – though you could do that independent of Live View.

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A “thank you” to 1001 Noisy Cameras 5DMKII blog for the link.

If you found this information helpful in making a purchase decision, please consider making your purchase of the Canon ESO 5D Mark II from B&H using the links on this web site – your purchase helps support the site. Thanks!

G Dan Mitchell :: Jul.06.2009
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