Digital Rebel XT?

[BVI Diver!]

I love my new Cannon Rebel, but I don't understand why they won't let you use the LCD screen as a viewfinder. It only flashes the image after you have taken it. I liked my older cammeras that let you see the image in the window before you snapped the shot. Do any of you know how to change it so you can see the image in the LCD screen.

 

[alcina]

You can't with dslr cameras - they don't work that way.

P&S show you through the lcd and what you snap is slightly delayed.

There are some techno explanations around - www.wetpixel.com is a good start.

 

[liberato]

Alcina, would someone who needs bifocals then need to have a bifocal mask in order to see the DSLR viewfinder correctly? With a snap shot camera I just hold it at arms length and see the LCD with no problem. I wonder what happens if I try to bring the DSLR viewfinder up to an uncorrected mask. Do the housings correct for the distance between the lens and the eye. If I use auto-focus then I would only need to worry about basic composition and not worry if it appeared out of focus, right?

 

[alcina]

Hmmmm, I don't use bifocals so can't really comment.

Of course you can just set it in AF and fire away, but without being able to see into the viewfinder you would have to rely on the lcd screen to display the image after shooting to see if what YOU wanted was in focus or not.

You can adjust most (all?) DSLR viewfinders for your eyesight so when you look through the viewfinder things are clear. There shouldn't be much, if any, difference in looking through the housing's eyepiece after you have done this. You would need to adjust and test and readjust to fit your own needs but it's very easy.

 

[liberato]

OK, that's what I needed. Thanks!

 

[pakman]

BVI diver, slightly off topic, but have you gotten a housing for it yet? Although my bank account is screaming at me after last christmas, I'm soo tempted to get the rebel xt and the ikelite housing this year...

 

[orangeBloke]

You can't with dslr cameras - they don't work that way.

If I hadn't recieved an email from a friend today I'd be in total agreement with you but Olympus have just upped the stakes on this. Check out http://www.olympus.co.jp/en/news/2006a/nr060126e330e.cfm

 

[alcina]

As of the original post date Oly hadn't announced yet...the digital world is changing fast so it pays to be diligent. I've seen no hands on reviews of the new toys yet but keep your eyes open coz they will start soon!

 

[stiebs]

The "live preview" has limited use, IMO. Instead of just an exposure meter in the pentaprism, they have put a fully fledged CCD, albeit of a resolution (I don't know what the atual resolution is, but I doubt it is greater than 0.2mp, since that is all the LCD is capable of.
So this means that instead of viewing your subject through an image manipulated purely by glass, you're now viewing the image picked up by a teeny tiny CCD and projected onto a low-res LCD screen.