Digital or Optical Preview?

LeFanch · 04-24-2008, 11:44 PM

I normally go for digital preview, I find it more useful as I only use manual lenses.

François

**barondla** · 04-25-2008, 08:03 AM

Lucky sky, know that works on K20Dand K200D. Didn't on K10D (unless that got fixed in later firmware).
thanks
barondla
would still like to make the raw button switch between optical and liveview.

Geekybiker · 04-25-2008, 09:26 AM

Originally posted by ricardobeat

That's because the lens is already wide open. What you see on the viewfinder is always the lens at the largest aperture, it only stops down while taking the picture, hence the need for DOF preview!

Originally posted by ManWithCamera

You will never see a reduction in depth of field when using the DOF preview -- you will only see a greater depth of field (assuming that you are stopping down). Your aperture is always wide open until you take the shot, so you will be looking at the minimum depth of field unless you are using the DOF preview.

There was a link posted on here a couple days about about why MF sucks with digital cameras. Apparently one of the issues is that the focusing screens. They are optimized to give max viewfinder brightness at smaller aperture. Apparently they are cast with micro lenses on the view finder to achieve this. On my k10d I went the tried with the optical preview and couldn't see any difference stopping down a f1.8 lens to f2.8 while I could see a difference going to smaller apertures, or using lenses that have a small max aperture to begin with.

So in addition to this phenomena with optical preview, I've noticed that that DOF on very large aperture lenses does not appear as small in the viewfinder as it does in the resulting image. This is something I noticed before reading the article.

So either my eyes are playing tricks on me, or the article was right.

Old Timer 56 · 04-25-2008, 09:44 AM

I have digital preview set with both the histogram and "blinkies" checked but I rarely use it. As for depth of field, the only lenses I use on my K10D are the 21mm DA and the 70mm DA, both of which have depth of field scales.

Richard

AndrewG NY · 04-25-2008, 10:46 AM

I'd like to see an additional position on the lever so that it would first stop down for optical preview and only if I turn it beyond (I should be able to feel a tactile difference in the lever) should it capture the digital preview. Digital preview is good for white balance and possibly focus etc. but l don't want to give up the traditional optical preview in the viewfinder. It should of course be possible to save the digital preview to the card if desired.

PDL · 04-25-2008, 11:09 AM

My old Film SLR's had the DOF preview on them, so I use the switch. With digital preview - the LCD is not viable. I am very near sighted - so if I use the LCD with my glasses I have to hold it 2 feet away to see the D*mn thing. If I take my glasses off - I have to be within 3-4 inches to see the D*mn thing and I can clearly see the black lines between the 'pixels' - so the resolution really s*cks. (Another reason to not use "Live-View" if I ever get a K20D or higher).

I have spent a lot of "quality time" with the DoF dial from DoFMaster and now have a reasonable idea of where the DoF lies with my set of lenses. The swith is just used to validate my assuptions - or to correct them when I take the time to "think" about what I am doing (pretty rare these days).

The Elitist - formerly known as PDL

Geekybiker · 04-25-2008, 11:11 AM

Wouldn't it be nice if you could set the digital preview to automatically zoom to a 100% crop of the selected af point?

WMBP · 04-25-2008, 11:40 AM

Originally posted by Geekybiker

Wouldn't it be nice if you could set the digital preview to automatically zoom to a 100% crop of the selected af point?

Yes, that would be nice.

I don't use the preview feature very much. I've played with it, know what it is, just don't really see the point. If I have doubts, I just take the photo, and then look at it; or I take a shot, change something (focus, exposure, whatever), take another shot; and sort 'em out on the computer.

Will

creampuff · 04-25-2008, 05:05 PM

Used to use the optical preview (stop down switch) a lot when shooting film to check DOF. Frankly I use it very rarely now and choose digital preview. I find it actually faster to shoot a frame and set the playback magnification to 6-8x to check focus/sharpness. No right or wrong but depends on user preferences.

Edvinas · 04-28-2008, 02:29 AM

On autofocus cameras optical DOF preview shows much larger DOF than you get in the picture. Therefore not much sence in using it.

Also I don't use digital DOF. I just take picture. If DOF seems not OK I just change aperture and retake the picture.

Fototim · 04-28-2008, 06:58 AM

Originally posted by Edvinas

On autofocus cameras optical DOF preview shows much larger DOF than you get in the picture. Therefore not much sence in using it.

Also I don't use digital DOF. I just take picture. If DOF seems not OK I just change aperture and retake the picture.

I tend to agree.
But optical preview is good for a quick check, or let me say, better than nothing. It gives me a rough idea of the DOF. When DOF is critical, then I check the picture after exposure.

Kentax · 04-28-2008, 09:02 AM

optical for me. digital shows up as an shutter count everytime you use it.

bymy141 · 04-28-2008, 10:37 AM

My K10D is on digital.
I use this for a general preview more than DOF preview.
Like Oldtimer 56 it shows extreme exposures and I check the composition etc.

- Bert

AndrewG NY · 04-28-2008, 02:52 PM

Originally posted by Geekybiker

Wouldn't it be nice if you could set the digital preview to automatically zoom to a 100% crop of the selected af point?

A reasonable option, but wouldn't do much good for those of us who always use the center AF point and re-compose.

Film2Digital · 04-29-2008, 11:16 PM

I'm an old film shooter so I use DOF quite alot.
Mine is always set that way.

View Poll Results: How (IF?) do you use the Digital/Optical Preview feature?
Custom Settings are set to OPTICAL Preview (default setting)	50	55.56%
Custom Settings are set to DIGITAL Preview	22	24.44%
I know what these are, but do not use them	12	13.33%
I do not use Digital or Optical Preview because I dont know what they are!	6	6.67%
Voters: 90. You may not vote on this poll

04-25-2008, 10:46 AM	#20
AndrewG NY Veteran Member Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: Chappaqua, NY Photos: Gallery Posts: 688	Both should be allowed without changing custom settings... I'd like to see an additional position on the lever so that it would first stop down for optical preview and only if I turn it beyond (I should be able to feel a tactile difference in the lever) should it capture the digital preview. Digital preview is good for white balance and possibly focus etc. but l don't want to give up the traditional optical preview in the viewfinder. It should of course be possible to save the digital preview to the card if desired.

04-28-2008, 02:29 AM	#25
Edvinas Veteran Member Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: Kaunas Posts: 1,458	I don't use them On autofocus cameras optical DOF preview shows much larger DOF than you get in the picture. Therefore not much sence in using it. Also I don't use digital DOF. I just take picture. If DOF seems not OK I just change aperture and retake the picture.

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04-24-2008, 11:44 PM	#16
LeFanch Senior Member Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: Working in Norway, Bordeaux area when on time-off Posts: 123	I normally go for digital preview, I find it more useful as I only use manual lenses. François

04-25-2008, 08:03 AM	#17
barondla Site Supporter Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: midwest, United States Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 5,715	Lucky sky, know that works on K20Dand K200D. Didn't on K10D (unless that got fixed in later firmware). thanks barondla would still like to make the raw button switch between optical and liveview.

04-25-2008, 09:26 AM	#18
Geekybiker Veteran Member Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: Chicagoland Posts: 337	Originally posted by ricardobeat That's because the lens is already wide open. What you see on the viewfinder is always the lens at the largest aperture, it only stops down while taking the picture, hence the need for DOF preview! Originally posted by ManWithCamera You will never see a reduction in depth of field when using the DOF preview -- you will only see a greater depth of field (assuming that you are stopping down). Your aperture is always wide open until you take the shot, so you will be looking at the minimum depth of field unless you are using the DOF preview. There was a link posted on here a couple days about about why MF sucks with digital cameras. Apparently one of the issues is that the focusing screens. They are optimized to give max viewfinder brightness at smaller aperture. Apparently they are cast with micro lenses on the view finder to achieve this. On my k10d I went the tried with the optical preview and couldn't see any difference stopping down a f1.8 lens to f2.8 while I could see a difference going to smaller apertures, or using lenses that have a small max aperture to begin with. So in addition to this phenomena with optical preview, I've noticed that that DOF on very large aperture lenses does not appear as small in the viewfinder as it does in the resulting image. This is something I noticed before reading the article. So either my eyes are playing tricks on me, or the article was right.

04-25-2008, 09:44 AM	#19
Old Timer 56 Senior Member Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: New York Posts: 168	I have digital preview set with both the histogram and "blinkies" checked but I rarely use it. As for depth of field, the only lenses I use on my K10D are the 21mm DA and the 70mm DA, both of which have depth of field scales. Richard

04-25-2008, 11:09 AM	#21
PDL Pentaxian Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: PNW USA Photos: Gallery Posts: 2,128	My old Film SLR's had the DOF preview on them, so I use the switch. With digital preview - the LCD is not viable. I am very near sighted - so if I use the LCD with my glasses I have to hold it 2 feet away to see the Dmn thing. If I take my glasses off - I have to be within 3-4 inches to see the Dmn thing and I can clearly see the black lines between the 'pixels' - so the resolution really s*cks. (Another reason to not use "Live-View" if I ever get a K20D or higher). I have spent a lot of "quality time" with the DoF dial from DoFMaster and now have a reasonable idea of where the DoF lies with my set of lenses. The swith is just used to validate my assuptions - or to correct them when I take the time to "think" about what I am doing (pretty rare these days). The Elitist - formerly known as PDL

04-25-2008, 11:11 AM	#22
Geekybiker Veteran Member Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: Chicagoland Posts: 337	Wouldn't it be nice if you could set the digital preview to automatically zoom to a 100% crop of the selected af point?

04-25-2008, 11:40 AM	#23
WMBP Veteran Member Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: Dallas, Texas Photos: Gallery Posts: 2,482	Originally posted by Geekybiker Wouldn't it be nice if you could set the digital preview to automatically zoom to a 100% crop of the selected af point? Yes, that would be nice. I don't use the preview feature very much. I've played with it, know what it is, just don't really see the point. If I have doubts, I just take the photo, and then look at it; or I take a shot, change something (focus, exposure, whatever), take another shot; and sort 'em out on the computer. Will

04-25-2008, 05:05 PM	#24
creampuff Veteran Member Join Date: May 2007 Location: Singapore Photos: Gallery Posts: 3,953	Used to use the optical preview (stop down switch) a lot when shooting film to check DOF. Frankly I use it very rarely now and choose digital preview. I find it actually faster to shoot a frame and set the playback magnification to 6-8x to check focus/sharpness. No right or wrong but depends on user preferences.

04-28-2008, 06:58 AM	#26
Fototim Senior Member Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: Norway Posts: 268	Originally posted by Edvinas On autofocus cameras optical DOF preview shows much larger DOF than you get in the picture. Therefore not much sence in using it. Also I don't use digital DOF. I just take picture. If DOF seems not OK I just change aperture and retake the picture. I tend to agree. But optical preview is good for a quick check, or let me say, better than nothing. It gives me a rough idea of the DOF. When DOF is critical, then I check the picture after exposure.

04-28-2008, 09:02 AM	#27
Kentax Forum Member Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: CA Photos: Gallery Posts: 98	optical for me. digital shows up as an shutter count everytime you use it.

04-28-2008, 10:37 AM	#28
bymy141 Veteran Member Join Date: Aug 2007 Photos: Gallery Posts: 1,563	My K10D is on digital. I use this for a general preview more than DOF preview. Like Oldtimer 56 it shows extreme exposures and I check the composition etc. - Bert

04-28-2008, 02:52 PM	#29
AndrewG NY Veteran Member Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: Chappaqua, NY Photos: Gallery Posts: 688	Originally posted by Geekybiker Wouldn't it be nice if you could set the digital preview to automatically zoom to a 100% crop of the selected af point? A reasonable option, but wouldn't do much good for those of us who always use the center AF point and re-compose.

04-29-2008, 11:16 PM	#30
Film2Digital New Member Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: Northern Great Plains USA Posts: 17	I'm an old film shooter so I use DOF quite alot. Mine is always set that way.