Can the LCD screen on the Canon Rebel XTi be used to preview a shot before taking a picture?
July 17, 2008 10:03 PM   Subscribe

Can the LCD screen on the Canon Rebel XTi be used to preview a shot before taking a picture like on most standard digital cameras? I heard you can do it on manual mode, but can't figure it out.
posted by stlboi to Technology (6 answers total) 1 user marked this as a favorite
 
Best answer: No. That feature is called "Live view" and is only available on newer models (40D, XSi, etc).
posted by 0xFCAF at 10:06 PM on July 17, 2008


Response by poster: Bummer :(
posted by stlboi at 10:09 PM on July 17, 2008


Yeah, with most DSLRs (with some exceptions recently), there is a mirror that redirects light up into the viewfinder, preventing it from hitting the sensor until you take the shot, at which point the mirror drops.
posted by wastelands at 10:57 PM on July 17, 2008


You'll get used to it. Unlike the viewfinders on point & shoot cameras, the viewfinder on an SLR is showing you exactly what the sensor will see. This means you can frame a shot perfectly without needing the LCD as a preview. Also, having the LCD and sensor powered down most of the time means SLR batteries last forever on a charge. Finally, I'm fairly sure having the sensor off most of the time means that it will generally give you less noisy images; noise increases as the sensor warms up.

For the record, my camera is one of the newer ones with live preview, and I never use it.
posted by knave at 7:02 AM on July 18, 2008


(Plus, you'd look even sillier holding an SLR at arms length in front of your nose than the people doing it with pocket cameras.)
posted by Tubes at 9:17 AM on July 18, 2008


Just to clarify what knave said, the viewfinder in most SLRs doesn't quite show you exactly what the sensor will see; there's usually a small area outside what you'll see through the viewfinder that the sensor will pick up. For instance, according to DPReview, the XTi's viewfinder has 95% frame coverage. Doesn't make a big difference, just something to keep in mind.
posted by sinfony at 11:21 AM on July 18, 2008


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