If this is your first visit, be sure to check out the FAQ by clicking the link above. You may have to register before you can post: click the register link above to proceed. To start viewing messages, select the forum that you want to visit from the selection below. |
|
|
Thread Tools | Display Modes |
#1
|
|||
|
|||
real-time "video out" for digital cameras?
Hello, Everyone,
I've found that when the light is too low for my FZ30's autofocus to work properly, I need to perform a manual focus. However, this can be difficult when using the LCD screen onboard the camera. My question is -- why not have a "VGA out" jack on the camera into which could plug a pair of lcd goggles? You could have full vga resolution with a huge angular field of view (through the goggles) played from the camera through the lcd goggles. One could then put on the goggles and hold the camera far away from oneself, swiveling it in all directions but still "seeing what the camera sees" with ease. Focusing would be much easier then, too. Does this capability exist, or is it on the horizon for new cameras? With digital SLR's, this might be even MORE useful, for super-fast lenses that are really tough to focus manually due to limited depth of field. Looking at a 2" LCD screen, determining perfect focus is darn difficult. But I bet such focusing would be much easier when viewing the image real-time through a much larger screen -- either lcd goggles, or piped directly into a laptop (or desktop, depending on where you are at the time) to view the image at larger size. -Scott |
#2
|
|||
|
|||
real-time "video out" for digital cameras?
Scott Speck wrote:
Hello, Everyone, I've found that when the light is too low for my FZ30's autofocus to work properly, I need to perform a manual focus. However, this can be difficult when using the LCD screen onboard the camera. My question is -- why not have a "VGA out" jack on the camera into which could plug a pair of lcd goggles? You could have full vga resolution with a huge angular field of view (through the goggles) played from the camera through the lcd goggles. One could then put on the goggles and hold the camera far away from oneself, swiveling it in all directions but still "seeing what the camera sees" with ease. Focusing would be much easier then, too. Does this capability exist, or is it on the horizon for new cameras? Hmmm... Several things here. First, small-sensor cameras like the FZ30 don't do well in low light. Second, I understood that the FZ30 could increase the gain on the display in low light. Does that not help? And finally, what makes you think an external LCD would improve things? Sure, it would be cool, but I can't imagine a camera maker thinking that was a marketable feature worth a higher price. With digital SLR's, this might be even MORE useful, for super-fast lenses that are really tough to focus manually due to limited depth of field. Looking at a 2" LCD screen, determining perfect focus is darn difficult. But I bet such focusing would be much easier when viewing the image real-time through a much larger screen -- either lcd goggles, or piped directly into a laptop (or desktop, depending on where you are at the time) to view the image at larger size. Not possible with SLR's, since the sensor doesn't see the image until you click the shutter. Keep dreaming, Scott. You'll come up with the Next Big Thing sooner or later. Paul Allen |
#3
|
|||
|
|||
real-time "video out" for digital cameras?
On Sat, 07 Jan 2006 09:37:33 -0800, Paul Allen wrote:
Scott Speck wrote: Hello, Everyone, I've found that when the light is too low for my FZ30's autofocus to work properly, I need to perform a manual focus. However, this can be difficult when using the LCD screen onboard the camera. My question is -- why not have a "VGA out" jack on the camera into which could plug a pair of lcd goggles? You could have full vga resolution with a huge angular field of view (through the goggles) played from the camera through the lcd goggles. One could then put on the goggles and hold the camera far away from oneself, swiveling it in all directions but still "seeing what the camera sees" with ease. Focusing would be much easier then, too. Does this capability exist, or is it on the horizon for new cameras? Hmmm... Several things here. First, small-sensor cameras like the FZ30 don't do well in low light. Second, I understood that the FZ30 could increase the gain on the display in low light. Does that not help? And finally, what makes you think an external LCD would improve things? Sure, it would be cool, but I can't imagine a camera maker thinking that was a marketable feature worth a higher price. It's not intended for LCD goggles, but a lot of cameras have video-out feeds. They typically plug into the same port as the USB cable (with a different connector at the end, of course), and are meant for displaying pictures on TVs. Some, but not all, can drive this output while in Record mode; that's how reviewers usually get all those nice screenshots of the different LCD display modes and so forth. I don't think his application is particularly useful, but if someone had a goggle set that could accept NTSC or PAL input, there's a reasonable chance that an off-the-shelf camera could drive it. -dms |
#4
|
|||
|
|||
real-time "video out" for digital cameras?
Daniel Silevitch wrote:
On Sat, 07 Jan 2006 09:37:33 -0800, Paul Allen wrote: Scott Speck wrote: Hello, Everyone, I've found that when the light is too low for my FZ30's autofocus to work properly, I need to perform a manual focus. However, this can be difficult when using the LCD screen onboard the camera. My question is -- why not have a "VGA out" jack on the camera into which could plug a pair of lcd goggles? You could have full vga resolution with a huge angular field of view (through the goggles) played from the camera through the lcd goggles. One could then put on the goggles and hold the camera far away from oneself, swiveling it in all directions but still "seeing what the camera sees" with ease. Focusing would be much easier then, too. Does this capability exist, or is it on the horizon for new cameras? Hmmm... Several things here. First, small-sensor cameras like the FZ30 don't do well in low light. Second, I understood that the FZ30 could increase the gain on the display in low light. Does that not help? And finally, what makes you think an external LCD would improve things? Sure, it would be cool, but I can't imagine a camera maker thinking that was a marketable feature worth a higher price. It's not intended for LCD goggles, but a lot of cameras have video-out feeds. They typically plug into the same port as the USB cable (with a different connector at the end, of course), and are meant for displaying pictures on TVs. Some, but not all, can drive this output while in Record mode; that's how reviewers usually get all those nice screenshots of the different LCD display modes and so forth. Dang! I would have bet a dollar that the video out wouldn't work in record mode. I just hooked up my old Oly C700 to the television and it shows exactly what's on the LCD on the TV screen, regardless of the camera's mode. I don't think his application is particularly useful, Yep, especially since it'll show the same dark hard-to-focus image the he's seeing on his camera's LCD. but if someone had a goggle set that could accept NTSC or PAL input, there's a reasonable chance that an off-the-shelf camera could drive it. The available data suggests that you're right. Paul Allen |
#5
|
|||
|
|||
real-time "video out" for digital cameras?
Hi Paul,
Thanks for your thoughts. The main reason I thought of displaying the camera monitor signal (real-time) on a larger display was that when I'm shooting in bright surroundings, the LCD screen can be swamped by background brightness. This happened yesterday, while I was shooting on the grounds of National Cathedral, so I just used the eye viewer instead of the flip-out lcd screen, and I was pretty well able to compensate. I'm a complete amateur here - no professional photo credentials, and I was surprised at how well the FZ30 did in lower light, inside the cathedral. If you're interested, my shots are at: http://www.scottspeck.com/pictures/n...ral/index.html My longest exposure times were seven seconds. My main failure was in properly exposing stained glass windows where the window is situated between me and the sun (bad mistake!). I've learned that I should shoot the window (from inside the church) with the sun being relatively behind me, at least until I learn otherwise. I also want to learn how to build composite images by piecing together sections of images (of arbitrary shape) that are each exposed properly. For example, take a short exposure of a stained glass window, then a longer exposure (to properly illuminate the stone structure around the window), then build a composite image. Have a nice day, Scott "Paul Allen" "paul dot l dot allen at comcast dot net" wrote in message ... Scott Speck wrote: Hello, Everyone, I've found that when the light is too low for my FZ30's autofocus to work properly, I need to perform a manual focus. However, this can be difficult when using the LCD screen onboard the camera. My question is -- why not have a "VGA out" jack on the camera into which could plug a pair of lcd goggles? You could have full vga resolution with a huge angular field of view (through the goggles) played from the camera through the lcd goggles. One could then put on the goggles and hold the camera far away from oneself, swiveling it in all directions but still "seeing what the camera sees" with ease. Focusing would be much easier then, too. Does this capability exist, or is it on the horizon for new cameras? Hmmm... Several things here. First, small-sensor cameras like the FZ30 don't do well in low light. Second, I understood that the FZ30 could increase the gain on the display in low light. Does that not help? And finally, what makes you think an external LCD would improve things? Sure, it would be cool, but I can't imagine a camera maker thinking that was a marketable feature worth a higher price. With digital SLR's, this might be even MORE useful, for super-fast lenses that are really tough to focus manually due to limited depth of field. Looking at a 2" LCD screen, determining perfect focus is darn difficult. But I bet such focusing would be much easier when viewing the image real-time through a much larger screen -- either lcd goggles, or piped directly into a laptop (or desktop, depending on where you are at the time) to view the image at larger size. Not possible with SLR's, since the sensor doesn't see the image until you click the shutter. Keep dreaming, Scott. You'll come up with the Next Big Thing sooner or later. Paul Allen |
#6
|
|||
|
|||
real-time "video out" for digital cameras?
Scott Speck wrote:
Hello, Everyone, I've found that when the light is too low for my FZ30's autofocus to work properly, I need to perform a manual focus. However, this can be difficult when using the LCD screen onboard the camera. My question is -- why not have a "VGA out" jack on the camera into which could plug a pair of lcd goggles? You could have full vga resolution with a huge angular field of view (through the goggles) played from the camera through the lcd goggles. One could then put on the goggles and hold the camera far away from oneself, swiveling it in all directions but still "seeing what the camera sees" with ease. Focusing would be much easier then, too. Does this capability exist, or is it on the horizon for new cameras? With digital SLR's, this might be even MORE useful, for super-fast lenses that are really tough to focus manually due to limited depth of field. Looking at a 2" LCD screen, determining perfect focus is darn difficult. But I bet such focusing would be much easier when viewing the image real-time through a much larger screen -- either lcd goggles, or piped directly into a laptop (or desktop, depending on where you are at the time) to view the image at larger size. I doubt that there's going to be a "VGA-out" in the near future, might be eventually. Why not just use the regular composite video output? Piping a VGA output into a desktop is expensive, a VGA-in for a desktop machine is pro equipment. I don't think it's available at all for a laptop. As for DSLRs, they for the most part do not have live electronic displays--to work in that mode you have to lock the mirror up if the capability is present at all. -Scott -- --John to email, dial "usenet" and validate (was jclarke at eye bee em dot net) |
#7
|
|||
|
|||
real-time "video out" for digital cameras?
On 2006-01-07 06:17:54 -0500, "Scott Speck" said:
Hello, Everyone, With digital SLR's, this might be even MORE useful, for super-fast lenses that are really tough to focus manually due to limited depth of field. Looking at a 2" LCD screen, determining perfect focus is darn difficult. But I bet such focusing would be much easier when viewing the image real-time through a much larger screen -- either lcd goggles, or piped directly into a laptop (or desktop, depending on where you are at the time) to view the image at larger size. -Scott Thers is not a reasonably prcied computer screen or electronic imaging system that mortal man can afford today with sufficient resolution to allow me to focus a Digital SLR accurately. A decent monitor of normal size has a maximum resolution of 96 ppi. A 200 dpi print is higher resolution than that. The optical finder on my Nikon D70s is 100's of times sharper than that. The optical finders on high end Nikons, Canons , Contaxs and Leicas are many time better than the D70s. I agree with you on P&S's and zLRS, which is one of the many reasons I don't own one. If one of these cameras forces you to manually focus on the LCD on the back of the camera, its a very good reason to leave it on the shelf in the shop. Useless. Jim |
#8
|
|||
|
|||
real-time "video out" for digital cameras?
Jim wrote:
[] I don't own one. If one of these cameras forces you to manually focus on the LCD on the back of the camera, its a very good reason to leave it on the shelf in the shop. Useless. Jim, The manual focus on the Panasonic FZ20 (and certain other cameras I'm sure) works very well with the LCD screen, and is far from "useless". Their clever touch is to automatically magnify the centre of the image when the manual focus ring is adjusted, so that you are seeing about a 1:1 pixel magnification image, and hence finding the exact focus point is no problem. As soon as you stop adjustments, the normal full LCD view is restored. Clever, and very effective! Cheers, David |
#9
|
|||
|
|||
real-time "video out" for digital cameras?
David J Taylor wrote:
Jim wrote: [] I don't own one. If one of these cameras forces you to manually focus on the LCD on the back of the camera, its a very good reason to leave it on the shelf in the shop. Useless. Jim, The manual focus on the Panasonic FZ20 (and certain other cameras I'm sure) works very well with the LCD screen, and is far from "useless". Their clever touch is to automatically magnify the centre of the image when the manual focus ring is adjusted, so that you are seeing about a 1:1 pixel magnification image, and hence finding the exact focus point is no problem. As soon as you stop adjustments, the normal full LCD view is restored. Clever, and very effective! I don't find it to be all that effective. Something that works better on paper than it does in the real world. Or perhaps my eyes are worse than I thought. -- --John to email, dial "usenet" and validate (was jclarke at eye bee em dot net) |
Thread Tools | |
Display Modes | |
|
|
Similar Threads | ||||
Thread | Thread Starter | Forum | Replies | Last Post |
Focal plane vs. leaf shutters in MF SLRs | KM | Medium Format Photography Equipment | 724 | December 7th 04 09:58 AM |
Odd time stamp behavior -- NTFS v FAT? | Top Spin | Digital Photography | 32 | October 1st 04 08:55 AM |
Question on "one time use" Digital Cameras | Steve Byers | Digital Photography | 4 | August 20th 04 07:28 PM |
Getting published | Thistlegroup | Photographing Nature | 30 | May 31st 04 11:31 PM |
Develper for Delta-100 | Frank Pittel | In The Darkroom | 8 | March 1st 04 04:36 PM |