90D: 24/7 Live preview mode using LCD screen possible instead of viewfinder?

[Casey Cheung]

I'm guessing the answer is no, but thought I'd throw out the question anyway. I prefer to always shoot my 90D using the live preview LCD screen for focusing and composing, both for stills and videos. Is there a setting that can be made so that every time I turn on the 90D, the live preview LCD screen mode is enabled without having to press the "Start Stop" button? If not, is there a setting so that the live preview mode doesn't automatically turn off after a certain number of minutes? I don't know exactly how long, but I notice the live preview mode automatically turns off by itself when I hear a noticeable (clicking?) noise and the LCD screen turns off. I'm guessing the camera does this automatically to conserve battery life. I'm not concerned about battery life, I want to be in live preview mode 24/7 whenever the camera is on...if this is possible.

 

[Mark B.]

I'm guessing the answer is no, but thought I'd throw out the question anyway. I prefer to always shoot my 90D using the live preview LCD screen for focusing and composing, both for stills and videos. Is there a setting that can be made so that every time I turn on the 90D, the live preview LCD screen mode is enabled without having to press the "Start Stop" button? If not, is there a setting so that the live preview mode doesn't automatically turn off after a certain number of minutes? I don't know exactly how long, but I notice the live preview mode automatically turns off by itself when I hear a noticeable (clicking?) noise and the LCD screen turns off. I'm guessing the camera does this automatically to conserve battery life. I'm not concerned about battery life, I want to be in live preview mode 24/7 whenever the camera is on...if this is possible.

Out of curiosity, why did you not instead get the M6 Mk II? Being a mirrorless cam w/o a built-in VF, it is much better suited to how you shoot. I'm not aware of a setting on the 90D that does this. I don't have the 90D, but every other Canon DSLR I've had does not have the means to start up with Liveview on. There should be a setting to at least adjust the time before the Liveview shuts off.

Mark

 

[Casey Cheung]

I'm guessing the answer is no, but thought I'd throw out the question anyway. I prefer to always shoot my 90D using the live preview LCD screen for focusing and composing, both for stills and videos. Is there a setting that can be made so that every time I turn on the 90D, the live preview LCD screen mode is enabled without having to press the "Start Stop" button? If not, is there a setting so that the live preview mode doesn't automatically turn off after a certain number of minutes? I don't know exactly how long, but I notice the live preview mode automatically turns off by itself when I hear a noticeable (clicking?) noise and the LCD screen turns off. I'm guessing the camera does this automatically to conserve battery life. I'm not concerned about battery life, I want to be in live preview mode 24/7 whenever the camera is on...if this is possible.

Out of curiosity, why did you not instead get the M6 Mk II? Being a mirrorless cam w/o a built-in VF, it is much better suited to how you shoot. I'm not aware of a setting on the 90D that does this. I don't have the 90D, but every other Canon DSLR I've had does not have the means to start up with Liveview on. There should be a setting to at least adjust the time before the Liveview shuts off.

Mark

I got the 90D cuz of the extra video capabilities, plus a viewfinder with hotshoe. The M6 body doesn't have headphone out port, which I want, the 90D body has it. Plus I add various external shotgun mics inserted on top of the hotshoe, hence the need for a hotshoe in addition to adding a full size speedlight flash or LED light. A beefy viewfinder with hotshoe is very useful for attaching external accessories, not just for looking through it.

 

[Daverich04]

. I'm guessing the camera does this automatically to conserve battery life. I'm not concerned about battery life, I want to be in live preview mode 24/7 whenever the camera is on...if this is possible.

According to pg. 269 of the 90D manual it’s because of heat.

 

[Casey Cheung]

. I'm guessing the camera does this automatically to conserve battery life. I'm not concerned about battery life, I want to be in live preview mode 24/7 whenever the camera is on...if this is possible.

According to pg. 269 of the 90D manual it’s because of heat.

Aaah, thank you for that. Yes, that's how I would interpret page 269 as well.

On my tiny mirror-less Canon M50 camera, there is a setting for full time live preview mode, which I have enabled. Therefore I thought maybe my 90D has the same setting choice. Maybe mirror-less bodies are less prone to overheating versus a DSLR or hybrid-DSLR?

 

[Try_and-try_again]

On my tiny mirror-less Canon M50 camera, there is a setting for full time live preview mode, which I have enabled. Therefore I thought maybe my 90D has the same setting choice. Maybe mirror-less bodies are less prone to overheating versus a DSLR or hybrid-DSLR?

Hello Casey:

Please go a few submissions further down to mine of 'Image quality of M50 vs. 90D', of 4 days ago. Seeing that you have both the M50 and the 90D, which I aspire to, could you please share your experience on that issue? I am quite happy with the M50, but do want to upgrade from my 70D if it's worth it for image quality.

Thanks a lot, Andy.

 

[Casey Cheung]

On my tiny mirror-less Canon M50 camera, there is a setting for full time live preview mode, which I have enabled. Therefore I thought maybe my 90D has the same setting choice. Maybe mirror-less bodies are less prone to overheating versus a DSLR or hybrid-DSLR?

Hello Casey:

Please go a few submissions further down to mine of 'Image quality of M50 vs. 90D', of 4 days ago. Seeing that you have both the M50 and the 90D, which I aspire to, could you please share your experience on that issue? I am quite happy with the M50, but do want to upgrade from my 70D if it's worth it for image quality.

Thanks a lot, Andy.

Hi Andy,

There is definitely an image quality improvement with the 90D versus the M50. But that was not my main reason for getting the 90D. I want the 90D for its much better video shooting capabilities. Plus to have a large selection of EF-S lens selection without resorting to an adapter. So far I'm quite satisfied with my 90D. Plus it looks and feels like a real camera, unlike the M50 which is toy-like and topples over when a regular size flash is attached to the hotshoe.

 

[Try_and-try_again]

There is definitely an image quality improvement with the 90D versus the M50. But that was not my main reason for getting the 90D. I want the 90D for its much better video shooting capabilities. Plus to have a large selection of EF-S lens selection without resorting to an adapter. So far I'm quite satisfied with my 90D.

Thank you for that good news info re the implied good 90D image quality, Casey.

I did buy the adaptor for the M50 and my non-M Canon lenses, and other than the lopsided physical balance, that worked OK for me. And for what it's worth, my videos turned out satisfactorily enough for me too with that M50.

However, the 90D shines temptingly spec wise; and perhaps the viewfinder burst speed autofocusing shortcomings - already written about even with the advent of the 70D - are something I could continue to work around. But I do wonder why it takes Canon so long to fix that problem.

Cheers, Andy.

 

[Casey Cheung]

There is definitely an image quality improvement with the 90D versus the M50. But that was not my main reason for getting the 90D. I want the 90D for its much better video shooting capabilities. Plus to have a large selection of EF-S lens selection without resorting to an adapter. So far I'm quite satisfied with my 90D.

Thank you for that good news info re the implied good 90D image quality, Casey.

I did buy the adaptor for the M50 and my non-M Canon lenses, and other than the lopsided physical balance, that worked OK for me. And for what it's worth, my videos turned out satisfactorily enough for me too with that M50.

However, the 90D shines temptingly spec wise; and perhaps the viewfinder burst speed autofocusing shortcomings - already written about even with the advent of the 70D - are something I could continue to work around. But I do wonder why it takes Canon so long to fix that problem.

Cheers, Andy.

Yeah, you're welcome, Andy. I think the 90D does 10 frames per second, is that what you're referring to? But that wouldn't be terribly important to you for architectural photography, would it? I mostly shoot portraits and events myself, so burst speed isn't of importance to me. The other day, I was shooting with my fixed 28mm f2.8 lens on my 90D body, and was just doing test shots of my Godox AD200Pro flash studio lighting setup. A Claritin allergies medicine box sitting on the table about 12 or 14 feet away from me was captured in the frame, just by coincidence. When I downloaded the image to my laptop, I was amazed that I could zoom in on my laptop screen to see the small print on the back of the Claritin box with pretty good clarity. Again, that was shooting with my $125 el cheapo 28mm f2.8 nothing-special-lens with my 90D body. I mostly attribute the amazing cropping ability to my new 90D body and less so on the 28mm lens, although I could be wrong. Either way, I was a bit surprised. As for the viewfinder on the 90D, it's actually pretty usable, especially after I set the built-in diopter to my eye's vision. In the past (read 10 plus years ago), I had 20/20 vision so that I could clearly see through my old Nikon D1x and D2x DSLR viewfinders clearly. Nowadays, I usually need reading glasses to see anything within 12 inches of my eyes. That's why I prefer to use the 3" LCD screen for both framing and changing exposure/shooting settings. It's way easier for me to tap on the 3" screen to make changes, versus the small LCD screen on top right of the camera next to the shutter release button. The icons and numbers are just too small for my eyes to see the small font. Again, another reason I prefer to see the 3" LCD screen using live preview. If you don't have that problem yet yourself, don't worry, give yourself another decade or so, haha. As for the M50 camera body, as much as I like the dainty little thing, I would be laughed out of the church and reception if I had to shoot a wedding day with that camera. It has nothing to do with the M50's quality nor specs, it just looks and feels like a toy when it's up against a 90D body or any of the $5,000 pro bodies that I'm used to shooting with in the past. I could never show up to a wedding as the paid/primary photog with the M50 as the primary camera, I could only use it as a backup. But that's just my humble opinion. Now that I have a decent Canon 17-55mm f2.8 IS USM zoom to pair with my 90D body, I pretty much have everything I need to do the type of shooting I require.

 

[mdmarqphoto]

Maybe mirror-less bodies are less prone to overheating versus a DSLR or hybrid-DSLR?

I would guess the issue is because the mirror has to be kept up using power.

 

[Ray UK]

Maybe mirror-less bodies are less prone to overheating versus a DSLR or hybrid-DSLR?

I would guess the issue is because the mirror has to be kept up using power.

In most modern DSLRs the mirror is motor driven so once it reaches the end of its travel the motor stops and therefore draws no power.

 

[JackiePan]

I'm guessing the answer is no, but thought I'd throw out the question anyway. I prefer to always shoot my 90D using the live preview LCD screen for focusing and composing, both for stills and videos. Is there a setting that can be made so that every time I turn on the 90D, the live preview LCD screen mode is enabled without having to press the "Start Stop" button? If not, is there a setting so that the live preview mode doesn't automatically turn off after a certain number of minutes? I don't know exactly how long, but I notice the live preview mode automatically turns off by itself when I hear a noticeable (clicking?) noise and the LCD screen turns off. I'm guessing the camera does this automatically to conserve battery life. I'm not concerned about battery life, I want to be in live preview mode 24/7 whenever the camera is on...if this is possible.

In many cases, OVF can be replaced. However one advantage of 90D's OVF, you can continuously shoot with AI Servo at 10FPS, which can help you catch BIF suppose you love birding. The 2nd advantage is that shooting thru viewfinder will save some battery. Other than that, i don't find a reason for not using live view-mode .

 

[Too_Grizzly]

To turn in live preview mode, all you have to do is push the Sart/Stop button that you use to start recording video. If you push it while in camera mode it will give you a live preview.