Do you shoot using the Live View function

[[email protected]]

I think my images are sharp using conventional focusing.
LV takes time and battery life.

Is it worth it?

In the back yard, battery life is immaterial.
Climbing a mountain, it might be an issue.
I'll agree with you that the D3 and D3X battery life
is really good.

Its interesting to me to read the views of
people who find LV helpful.

Here's a image unmolested by Liveview that looks sharp.
Would LV have helped?

I'm only here to learn,
maljo

 

[Waldo_O]

Live View will become your friend. With the 14-24, not so much...

I think my images are sharp using conventional focusing.
LV takes time and battery life.

Not much time or battery life IMO. I can do everything but fine tune the focus without Live View, so on for 5-10 seconds at most.

Is it worth it?

It's a great tool and it's easy to use, so for me, yes. Moreso with macros, low light/at night, or anytime I'm needing/wanting to emphasize something in a landscape type photo where I'm not using a wide angle lens. Also it seems that you could more accurately setup a scene for stitching using this method though I haven't tried that yet.

In the back yard, battery life is immaterial.
Climbing a mountain, it might be an issue.
I'll agree with you that the D3 and D3X battery life
is really good.

Its interesting to me to read the views of
people who find LV helpful.

Here's a image unmolested by Liveview that looks sharp.
Would LV have helped?

See above comment on wide (or super wide) angle lenses.

I'm only here to learn,
maljo

You've learned well young man, love the colors

Keith

 

[Jeff Kohn]

...as focusing on something 10 feet away?
What are the depth of field considerations?

For large prints, missing your focus point by a little bit can make a real difference. Yes, you have more DOF with a wideangle lens, but that can actually make it more difficult to tell if something is truly in focus. What looks sharp through the view finder may look like mush in a 16x24" print. With live-view, I can set my focus point exactly where it needs to be, zoom in to 100% and get the focus as sharp as possible, then stop the lens down to shooting aperture and make sure everything that needs to be sharp, is sharp.

--
Jeff Kohn
Houston, TX
http://www.pbase.com/jkohn
http://jeffk-photo.typepad.com