Shooting tethered to an LCD screen using hdmi?

My sympathies on the multifocal glasses; those of us with them need special necks that bend at weird angles in order to see through the camera when it is on a tripod, some of the time.

I'm curious what answers you will get. I know that with my T1i camera and a cord to a television set, I can see on the TV what I see on the back of the camera, but that means for f8, for instance, my picture gets dark.

It seems to me that for head shots, the answer probably lies in getting the camera, on a tripod, to a level when the tilt of your head allows you to use the part of your eyeglass lens with the approriate grinding.

This might involve stools; one for you to sit on behind the camera and one for the subject.

BAK

i shoot dance schools with my pentax k7 teathered to a 20in screen via hdmi. for the reason i need reading glasses. it is awsome, the parents also love it seeing the result on the big screen, the k7 also streems live view hdmi out so for the group shots i can swivel the screen around to face the teaches that are posing the girls. but the big plus is shooting in portrait , as the k7 automaticaly orientaits the screen to portrait as well for a full size head shot, i also set up the instant review to zoom at 4x and can clearly see the eyelash detail too, to no i have nailed the focus.

cheers don

With cameras that can't be otherwise tethered I use a small, inexpensive LCD TV to shoot with in the studio when I need to get a bigger image. The benefit over tethering is the speed at which you can shoot since you are still writing the images to the card in your camera. Works with just about any TV that has an HDMI in. The color "may" not be perfect but it will certainly be in the ball park. Useful tool.

that is so true, the colours are not perfect, but it is extremly fast as you say, corperate shoots and balls are a load of fun the clients realy get into the mood as they can see themself and start goofing around you can get some great candid shots of them as well.

cheers don

Thank you everyone for your input, I appreciate it and have learned what I need to know!

I think the lcd screen is the way to go!

Kind regards,

Simon.

This is what I do with studio subjects that do not move much:

1. camera on a tripod

2. autofocus - exposure

3. switch to manual focus

4. several exposures bracketing focus

5. download the whole shoot to PC

6. select image with best focus

GI wrote:

This is what I do with studio subjects that do not move much:

1. camera on a tripod

2. autofocus - exposure

3. switch to manual focus

4. several exposures bracketing focus

5. download the whole shoot to PC

6. select image with best focus

its not just getting the subject in focus, but more about the experience and speed, i will shoot up to 1000 keepers (200 dancers) at a danceschool studio shoot in 2 days and the setup has to be like clockwork, the lcd screen alows the photographer better view of not just focus but composition as well. the last twin studio event shoot i did with another photographer not using a screen was clear to see at the end of the night, they will also shoot with a screen next time as they seen the massive advantages for speed and acuracy of the shots, they were shooting hand held and i was shooting on a tripod with a special canterlevered head i made and were supprised at the difference, as well as the toll on the body. not to mention the extra %20-30 sale increase as the shots were viewed instantly by clients.

cheers don

Just checking; these dance photos were taken with the camera shutter on manual and aperture on manual, using non-automated studio lights, right?

On my camera, when I go to live view with exposure set on manual, the brightness of the viewfinder is based on the aperture set on the lens.

Then when I press the asterisk button on the back, the camera screen brightens up. Once it is in focus, the back screen goes dark again, the amount of darkness relating to the aperture.

So now I can't see a face brightly enough to decide when to take the picture.

BAK

BAK wrote:

Just checking; these dance photos were taken with the camera shutter on manual and aperture on manual, using non-automated studio lights, right?

On my camera, when I go to live view with exposure set on manual, the brightness of the viewfinder is based on the aperture set on the lens.

Then when I press the asterisk button on the back, the camera screen brightens up. Once it is in focus, the back screen goes dark again, the amount of darkness relating to the aperture.

So now I can't see a face brightly enough to decide when to take the picture.

BAK

yes everything is manual including the lights, but my liveview is automated and the camera exposure is manual. i will have to look at the camera menu to see how this is done, i havnt throught about what is happening to your camera, its quite funny that other people complain about not seeing the exposure when set to manual in live view. but for me it is perfect. let me get back to you on that one. i use a pentax k7 which is very programmable, i will look it up asap for you.

cheers don

BAK wrote:

Just checking; these dance photos were taken with the camera shutter on manual and aperture on manual, using non-automated studio lights, right?

On my camera, when I go to live view with exposure set on manual, the brightness of the viewfinder is based on the aperture set on the lens.

Then when I press the asterisk button on the back, the camera screen brightens up. Once it is in focus, the back screen goes dark again, the amount of darkness relating to the aperture.

So now I can't see a face brightly enough to decide when to take the picture.

BAK

boy oh boy you have a great question that i hadnt thought about before, any way here goes. when my k7 is set to manual exposure in liveview the exposure compensation dial can set the lcd screen brightness + or - 5ev but does not adjust the camera exposure. so i can adjust the live view with that even though it is automated. does that make sense ? i havnt noticed this before as the k7 is always set to +.7 ev and must be close to my studio set up. im glad you picked this up as i can now more accuratly adjust my lcd brightness.

cheers don

gave something else ago, camera set on X (180 sec) exposure dial sets the lcd brightness without adjusting the exposure on the camera (same as M) in live view.

cheers don

simonharris wrote:

Hi All,

i was wondering if someone would be kind enough to give me some advice please.

i will start by explaining the nature of my problem. When I shoot using studio flash, I have to turn on live view on my 5d to obtain initial focus. I do this because I wear multifocal glasses and it is hard to get accurate focus using just the viewfinder. When I switch to live view, I have to get out of my flash exposure settings because the screen will be black if I don't. So I wind down my shutter speed until I get an image on the rear screen that is light enough to see. I then adjust focus, go back to my flash settings and take the shot.....phew!

As you can see, very tedious, especially if I am shooting 20 corporate head shots like I did today. My question is this:

Would it be possible to hook up to an LCM screen via hdmi, and have a viewable image ? It would be soo much easier for me to get accurate focus and quick as well. I know I could shoot tethered to a laptop but I don't need any of the remote shooting controls other than a larger image.

Does anyone have any ideas? I would really appreciate your help as this is a big problem.

kind regards to all,

Simon.

I cannot imagine trying to go through this procedure for headshots or portraits, where interaction with the subject is essential. I am a bit surprised corporate clients put up with it.

You should first try to solve the viewing problem. I'm am curious why you cannot use autofocus. For most photographers in most circumstances that solves the problem. For critical work you may need to calibrate your lens/body combination but after that it should be fine for all but the most critical purposes.You can set the focus point closest to the eyes, then either focus and recompose or (my preference) frame a little loose so I don't have to move the camera, then  crop for best composition.

Another option is to get a set of shooting glasses with a prescription matched to your viewfinder. You wouldn't be the first photographer to work with an extra pair of specs hanging around your neck.

Does your Canon not allow for a bright view on the LCD? The live view cameras I have used - Sony, Olympus and Panasonic - all do. Usually it is a menu setting, and on some well hidden. Still, the switching back and forth to live view seems very distracting in a portrait session (and I used to do portraits with view camera).

Finally, you could consider switching to a camera that better integrates live view and viewfinder. Sony looks like a good option, maybe the only option if you really need full frame.

Good luck.

Gato

sssesq wrote:

While I have not tried it to see how it works, I have heard some good things about "Control My Nikon".

http://www.controlmynikon.com/cmn.html

Of course you must be shooting Nikon...:-)

cool. the only problems i have seen in the past with writing to the computer is it is slow as where he lcd screen has no effect on speed, i also love the blinkies, when shooting silver or white, black costumes.

cheers don

Interesting, but for me its more of a toy not a working photographers tool, its very slow to recover a file far to slow for an event shoot or dance shool shoot in which i have less than 10 sec to get the shot and preview it for focus. while the next girl is getting ready for a shot. thanks for the link will stick with pentax k7 for a while as their is nothing as fast thus far.

cheers don

Hi Gato,

I was thinking about the CamRanger and had posted previously hoping to find someone who had some experience with one.  This is fortuitous!

My only real question involving the CamRanger is regarding the update speed of the screen.  If I was to use it as a focusing aid, will it update in real-time or is there a noticeable lag? I dont think I could deal with a screen that was running slower than me!

Is it quick to react to inputs? I would mainly use it for focusing but would love the ability to magnify screen as well, just like I do on my 5d mark 2 and 1d3.

I would really appreciate your advice on this.

KInd Regards,

Simon.