D70s Preview possible?

Is it possible to 'preview' a shot using the LCD display? I'd use it to ensure focus when using the camera connected to a spotting scope or telescope, but haven't found anything in the manual about it.

I know some digital cameras can use the LCD as a viewfinder, I suppose this is what I'd want the D70s to do.

bill

No, No D-SLR can preview a shot. The whole idea of an SLR is that you are shooting what you see through the lens. As you are looking through the lens, the CCD is not in the optical path at that time.

If you want this facility, you need a Prosumer P&S 'SLR-like' camera i.e. the new Fuji or Sony models (or even Samsung now?). These have live CCDs (all imaging and viewing is via the continuously updated sensor). The top models have large zooms, big lenses with near APS size sensors but do not have the same performance levels of a D-SLR. Noise is worse on this type of sensor than on a D-SLR frame at a time sensor.

To check focus etc, use your DOF preview button for an optical view of the focal range with the lense stopped down to shot level.

A D70 SLR will outperform a prosumer camera once you have matered its use!

Hope this helps
--
Bill Ellingford
Forest of Dean, UK

Oly E-10
Oly E-20
Fuji S3 (monochrome only)
Canon D20a

Kind regards,
Martin

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http://www.datzinger.net

Hi
Yes, one can, some could.

The Olympus models you refer to are old cameras, no longer in production. These used a live CCD which suffered from high noise levels.

The Canaon D20a can use its LCD for short bursts of focussing but this has heavy battery drain as it requires the mirro to be raised. This camera is not yet widely available outside the far east and is targeted at a price around £1800 Pounds UK. This is a lot more expensive than the standard D20.

As for the Fuji S3 pro, i was unaware this could do any live foccussing, it uses the same body and mirror mechanism as the latest Nikon film SLR so I would be surprised that it can do any live imaging on the LCD but do not know the complete spec.

So, yes, in a while you may be able to spend a lot of money on a variant of the D20.
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Bill Ellingford
Forest of Dean, UK

As Bill already said, it's not possible. But you could get a ZigView digital angle finder or "live LCD viewfinder for SLR/DSLR cameras".

http://www.zigview.co.uk/

At £120 it is somewhat expensive, but could be a solution if you want to avoid telescope shake (although, an additional mirror lock-up would be even better for that, but sadly D70/D70s/D50 are missing that feature (well, they sort of have it but works only for CCD cleaning))

• Jan

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jw

Yes, I have seen the zig view. A good add on for those in news gathering who may need to hold a camera up high above a crowd. Also good for very low position shooting like flower macros.

You may be able to use this with a scope to ease focussing but will probably want to use the self timer or IR Remote to then fire the shutter to avoid vibration. To avoid any minor vibration from the mirro movement (astronomy) you may want to set a longer shutter speed and hold a black card over the telescope and remove this after the mirror has clicked up. This will require some experimentation.

All the best:
--
Bill Ellingford
Forest of Dean, UK

I checked on the suggested D20a.

The Canon D20a (mentioned earlier) is specifically designed for astronomy (hence the a in the model number).

In addition to the live LCD function, it also has less IR filtering on its CCD sensor to allow increased reds (for nubulae shots).

Apart from these astronomy specific features, it is basically a more expensive version of the D20.
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Bill Ellingford
Forest of Dean, UK

Harpman said:

Is it possible to 'preview' a shot using the LCD display? I'd use
it to ensure focus when using the camera connected to a spotting
scope or telescope, but haven't found anything in the manual about
it.

I know some digital cameras can use the LCD as a viewfinder, I
suppose this is what I'd want the D70s to do.

bill

Click to expand...

Not to sure why people worry about this with digital cameras. As film is free take the shot and you get to take it again if it's not right. I tend to take a shot, use the histogram as the main measure for exposure etc. and if happy move onto the next shot. If not I try it slightly differently.

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Bluenose

Hi

Yes, taking many shots is the bonus of using digital however, when you have a large SLR mounted to a large telescope, mounted on a tripod, it is difficult to focus the entire system as focus may often require adjustment of the scope and camera whilst not moving the whole set-up off target.

This is really an astronomy issue (or for those seeking long scope bird shots)
--
Bill Ellingford
Forest of Dean, UK

Will the Zigview work with the D70?

Still can. It's not dead yet.
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'As a matter of fact, I do know what card you're thinking of.'