14
Basics of Live View
When new or potential owners of the Nikon D800/D800E hear about the video capabilities of the camera, many of them say, “Oh, I don’t care about video. I never shoot movies!” Of course, they can’t help trying out the movie-making features—and then falling in love. The D800 makes shooting video so simple, and provides such great results even when you have little experience or knowledge of techniques that it’s easy to fall prey to NAS—in this case Nikon Action-Capturing Syndrome.
Don’t panic. This chapter and the next can serve as your introduction to the basics of Nikon movie-making, and capturing stills in live view mode (or while shooting video). Because live view forms the foundation of the D800’s video capabilities, we’ll start there.
The New Perspective of Live View
Live view, like movie-making, is one of those features that experienced SLR users sometimes think they don’t need—until they try it. It’s also one of those features (like truly “silent” shooting, without any shutter click) that point-and-shoot refugees are surprised that digital SLRs (until recently) have lacked. Of course, all single lens reflex cameras have actual, mechanical shutters that can’t be completely silenced, as can be done with point-and-shoot cameras. I’ve fielded almost as many queries from those who don’t know about live view and want to preview their images on the LCD—just as they did with their point-and-shoot cameras. Indeed, these days many P & S models don’t even have optical viewfinders, engendering a whole generation of amateur photographers who think the only way to frame and compose an image is to hold the camera out at arm’s length so the back-panel LCD can be viewed more easily.
The Nikon D800 has a gorgeous 3.2-inch LCD monitor that can be viewed under a variety of lighting conditions and from wide-ranging angles (up to 170 degrees horizontally), so you don’t have to be exactly behind the display to see it clearly. It offers a 100-percent view of the sensor’s capture area, the same as the D800’s optical viewfinder. It’s large enough to allow manual focusing—but there is an automatic focus option, too. You still have to avoid pointing your D800 at bright light sources (especially the Sun) when using live view, but the real-time preview can be used for fairly long periods without frying the sensor. Nikon’s system works just like you’d want it to: the mirror flips up, the shutter opens, and what the sensor sees is displayed in full color on the monitor on the back of the camera, as shown in Figure 14.1.
Figure 14.1 Live view really shines on the Nikon D800’s large 3.2-inch monitor.
What You Can Do with Live View
You may not have considered just what you can do with live view. Once you’ve played with it, you’ll discover dozens of applications for this capability.
Preview your images on a TV. Connect your D800 to a standard definition or high-definition television using an (optional) HDMI cable, and you can preview your image on a large screen. Because you’re viewing the actual image that will be captured, you can check things like focus or white balance in real time, on a larger display. You can preview exposure with live view, because the camera adjusts the monitor display to approximate the metered exposure. However, if you make EV changes that exceed +3/–3EV (you can set up to +/–5EV), the monitor will not reflect the actual exposure.
Preview remotely. Extend the cable between the camera and TV screen, and you can preview your images some distance away from the camera.
Improve your point of view. If looking through the viewfinder to frame your subject is awkward (say, you have to hold the D800 over your head to clear obstructions such as a crowd of people), live view may allow you to see what you’re going to shoot before you snap the shutter. (A remote release is a good idea in this mode.)
Shoot from your computer. With Camera Control Pro 2 (an extra cost option) or Lightroom 4, you can control your camera from your computer in “tethered” mode, so you can preview images and take pictures without physically touching the D800.
Continuous shooting. You can shoot bursts of images using live view.
Shoot from tripod or hand-held. Of course, holding the camera out at arm’s length to preview an image is poor technique, and will introduce a lot of camera shake. If you want to use live view for hand-held images, use an image-stabilized lens and/or a high shutter speed. A tripod is a better choice if you can use one.
Watch your power. Live view uses a lot of juice and will deplete your battery rapidly. The optional AC adapter is a useful accessory.
Watch your usage times. Nikon says live view can be used continuously for as long as one hour, but notes that after periods of more than a few minutes, the sensor warms up and increases image noise and color artifacts. Your D800 will shut down before your camera seriously overheats, and will give you a warning on the monitor 30 seconds before shut off.
Beginning Live View
Activate live view by rotating the live view switch on the back of the camera (just to the lower right of the monitor) to the stills position (represented by a camera icon). Then, press the live view (LV) button to activate live view, as seen in Figure 14.2. The first thing to do when entering live view is to double-check three settings that affect how your image or movie is taken. These settings, which are basically set exactly as in non-live view mode, include:
Metering Mode
While using live view, you can rotate the metering mode button on the back of the camera (just to the right of the viewfinder) to select Matrix, Center-weighted, or Spot metering.
Focus Mode
Focus mode is also chosen using the same controls as when using the optical viewfinder. Set the focus mode selector switch on the side of the camera under the lens release button to AF (and set the lens focus mode switch to AF, as well). Then press the AF mode button and rotate the main command dial until either AF-S or AF-F is displayed on the back-panel LCD. The available modes differ slightly from those possible when not shooting in live view. To use manual focus, set the focus mode selector switch to M.
AF-S. This single autofocus mode, which Nikon calls Single-servo AF, locks focus when the shutter release is pressed halfway. This mode uses focus priority; the shutter can be fully released to take a picture only if the D800 is able to achieve sharp focus.
AF-F. This mode is roughly the equivalent of AF-C. Nikon calls it Full-time servo AF. The D800 focuses and refocuses continually as you shoot stills in live view mode or record movies. Unlike AF-C, this mode also uses focus priority. You can’t release the shutter unless the camera has achieved sharp focus.
MF. Manual focus. You focus the image by rotating the focus ring on the camera.
Focus Area
With the focus mode selector button pressed, rotate the sub-command dial to choose one of the following focus area modes. Your choices, which I also explained in Chapter 5, are as follows:
Face-priority AF. The camera automatically detects faces, and focuses on subjects facing the camera, as when you’re shooting a portrait. You can’t select the focus zone yourself. Instead, a double yellow border will be displayed on the monitor when the camera detects a face. You don’t need to press the shutter release to activate this behavior. Up to 35 faces may be detected; the D800 focuses on the face that is closest to the camera. To change to a different face, use the multi selector to shift the double-bordered box to the one you want. When you press down the shutter release halfway, the camera attempts to focus the face. As sharp focus is achieved, the border turns green. (See Figure 14.2.) If the camera is unable to focus, the border blinks red. Focus may also be lost if the subject turns away from the camera and is no longer detectable by Face-priority.
Wide-area AF. This is the mode to use for non-portrait subjects, such as landscapes, as you can select the focus zone to be used manually. It’s good for shooting hand-held, because the subjects may change as you reframe the image with a hand-held camera, and the wide-area zones are forgiving of these changes. The focus zone will be outlined in red. You can move the focus zone around the screen with the multi selector buttons. When sharp focus is achieved, the focus zone box will turn green. (See Figure 14.3.)
Figure 14.2 Face-priority AF attempts to focus on the face that’s closest to the camera.
Figure 14.3 Wide-area AF is best for landscapes and other subjects with large elements.
Normal-area AF. This mode uses smaller focus zones for precise placement of the focus spot, and so is best suited for tripod-mounted images where the camera is held fairly steady. As with Wide-area AF, the focus zone will be outlined in red. You can move the focus zone around the screen with the multi selector buttons. When sharp focus is achieved, the focus zone box will turn green. (See Figure 14.4.)
Subject-tracking AF. This mode allows the camera to “grab” a subject, focus, and then follow the subject as it moves within the frame. You can use this mode for subjects that don’t remain stationary, such as small children. When using Subject-tracking AF, a white border appears in the center of the frame, and turns yellow when focus is locked in. To select the subject to track, frame the image until the object you want to follow is within the box on the screen, then press the multi selector center button to lock it in. (See Figure 14.5.)
Manual focus. In this non-automatic focus mode, you can move the focus area around the frame with the multi selector buttons, press the shutter release halfway, and then adjust focus manually by rotating the focus ring on the lens. When sharp focus is achieved, the red focus zone box will turn green, and the camera’s beeper, if enabled, will sound.
Figure 14.4 Normal-area AF allows you to zero in on a specific point of focus.
Figure 14.5 Subject-tracking AF allows you to follow moving subjects.
Viewing Live View Information
Once you’ve activated live view, a display like the one shown in Figure 14.6 appears. Not all of the information appears all the time. For example, the Time Remaining indicator shows only when there are 30 seconds or less remaining for live view shooting. The indicators overlaid on the image can be displayed or suppressed by pressing the Info button (that’s to the lower right of the LCD). As you press the button, the LCD cycles among these screen variations:
Live view screen overlaid with shooting information, as shown in Figure 14.6.
Live view screen overlaid with only minimal information. (Figures 14.2-14.4 are examples of this kind of display.)
Live view screen overlaid with a 16-segment alignment grid. (See Figure 14.7.)
Live view screen overlaid with a virtual horizon leveling aid. (See Figure 14.8.)
Live view shooting information screen with 16:9 aspect ratio of HD movie format indicated.
If the Live View switch is set to the Movie position instead, the information screens that can be summoned by pressing the Info button are slightly different:
Additional shooting data related to movie-making, such as audio levels and movie format, appear on the shooting information screen.
The minimal information screen (and all other live view screens) are masked to show the 16:9 aspect ratio of the HD movie format.
The 16-segment grid screen and the virtual horizon leveling screen are both basically the same, except for the masking.
An additional screen showing a live histogram is available.
The overlaid indicators include:
Focus mode. Shows AF-S or AF-F when active. If you switch to Manual focus mode, this indicator disappears.
Figure 14.6 The live view display includes a lot of information, some of which can be hidden.
Focus Area mode. Shows whether Face-priority, Wide-area, Normal-area, or Subject-tracking autofocus will be used.
Active D-Lighting status. Shows the D-Lighting that will be applied.
Picture Control. Shows the current active Picture Control.
White balance. Displays the current white balance preset or WB Auto status.
Image Size. Displays the current resolution, L (Large), M (Medium), or S (Small).
Image Quality. Shows JPEG Image Quality: Fine, Norm, or Basic.
Image Area. Shows current image area setting, such as FX, DX, 1.2X, or 5:4.
Live view time remaining. This is displayed when the amount of shooting time in live view mode is 30 seconds or less. Although live view is possible for 60 minutes, if the D800 overheats, this countdown display appears and the camera exits live view before damage is done.
Focus zones. Shows the appropriate focus indicator for the AF-area mode in use.
Monitor brightness. This indicator shows the relative brightness of the back-panel monitor during live view as you make adjustments. Press the Zoom Out button, then use the left/right directional buttons to highlight either the LCD Brightness icon (at the right side of the screen) or LCD White Balance icon (on the left). To change monitor brightness, hold the Zoom Out button and press the up/down directional buttons while this icon is highlighted.
LCD White Balance/Monitor Hue. The monitor will generally match the colors found in the final image. (Many early users of the D800/D800E complained that the screen had a “green” cast, but Nikon insisted this was a more accurate rendition.) The exception is when you are using flash, or you have manually set a special color balance preset. You can adjust the monitor hue. Choose this icon with the Zoom Out button and left/right directional buttons, then rotate the main command dial to modify. Nikon has issued a firmware update that eliminates most of the green cast for you, but you may still want to fine-tune the balance of the monitor here.
Action icons. These icons are a reminder that you can adjust the screen brightness and screen white balance by pressing Zoom Out and directional buttons to choose the mode.
Additional information is arrayed along the bottom of the monitor image, more or less duplicating much of the data in the LED display that is seen through the viewfinder when not using live view. These indicators include:
Metering method. Shows whether Matrix, Center-weighted, or Spot metering is selected. Choose before entering live view.
Shutter speed. The currently selected shutter speed.
ISO value. Shows the ISO sensitivity setting, or ISO Auto.
Shots remaining. Indicates the number of images remaining on your memory card at the current Image Size and Image Quality settings.
Flash ready. Shows the electronic flash is fully charged and ready to shoot.
More icons not shown in the figure include the alignment grid, and indicators for movie modes:
Alignment grid. (Shown in Figure 14.7.) This set of guides can be used to help line up horizontal or vertical lines.
Audio recording indicator. Shows when a microphone is being used.
No Movies Possible. This shows that it is not possible to shoot movies, because there is not enough space remaining on your memory card.
Movie time remaining. Indicates the number of minutes and seconds remaining for movie shooting.
Movie frame size. Displays the resolution of the movie frame and frames per second rate, from 1920 × 1080 pixels to 1280 × 720, down to 640 × 424, at your selected frame rate.
Figure 14.7 The live view display with alignment grid.
Figure 14.8 The live view display with virtual horizon.
Shooting Stills (and Movies, Too!) in Live View
Shooting stills and movies in live view is easy. I’ll show you more about movie-making in Chapters 15 and 16, but you can begin shooting stills or movies right now with no further instruction. Just follow these steps:
1. Rotate LV switch. Specify live view mode by rotating the switch to either the Still or Movie icons. (See Figure 14.9.) Then press the LV button. The D800 can be hand-held or mounted on a tripod. (Using a tripod mode makes it easier to obtain and keep sharp focus.) You can exit live view at any time by pressing the LV button again.
2. Zoom in/out. Check your view by pressing the Zoom In and Zoom Out buttons (located to the left of the color monitor). Five levels of magnification are available, up to 6.7X zoom. A navigation box appears in the lower right of the monitor with a yellow box representing the portion of the image zoomed, just as when you’re reviewing photos you’ve already taken using Playback mode. Use the multi selector keys to change the zoomed area within the full frame. Press the Zoom Out button to zoom out again.
3. Make exposure adjustments. While using an automatic exposure mode, you can add or subtract exposure using the EV settings, as described in Chapter 4. Hold down the EV button (just southeast of the shutter release) and rotate the main command dial to add or subtract exposure when using P, S, and A modes. The back-panel color monitor will brighten or darken to represent the exposure change you make.
4. Choose a focus mode. Select from autofocus or manual focus with the AF/MF switch on the camera body. Choose AF-S or AF-F by pressing the focus mode button in the center of the AF/MF switch and rotating the main command dial.
5. Choose an AF-area mode. Select autofocus area by pressing the focus mode button in the center of the AF/MF switch and rotating the sub-command dial. Choices include Face-priority AF, Wide-area AF, Normal-area AF, or Subject-tracking AF. You’ll find complete descriptions of focus and AF-area modes in Chapter 5.
6. Shoot. Lock focus and begin capture by pressing the shutter release all the way down to take a still picture, or the movie button to begin capturing video. Press the movie button a second time to stop.
Figure 14.9 Choose the live view or movie mode.
