Live View

Had a question for those familiar with Live view in the new DSLRs. Do they put out live view through a cable to a monitor or laptop screen? Or is the ouput on the new larger LCDs adequate?

could a D70 or XT put out a focus mode view to a laptop similar to a webcam? In other words "almost live".

Kevin

On the 40D the view on the LCD is adequate for focusing, as its up to 10x magnified.
The same view be displayed on a TV monitor at the same resolution as well as on a laptop via the USB, but I see no benefit in either for focusing.

The canon XT and XTi have no live preview of any kind. Some software can take continous exposues and display them in "quasi" real time. But when I hear a shutter fireing like this, I can't stop thinking: How long until the shutter is worn out ? They make some 10-20k actuations on those models ...

I do focus my XT by takeing 3-4 exposures with varied focus, then manually flip at full magnification through those on the display.
But this requires to have a repeatable way to set focus, I use a dial gauge for this.
I can focus this way in about 30 seconds and need no laptop at all. Compared to my 40D's live view, it's no slower or less convenient. The only benefit of the live view is, one does not need a repeatable focus mechanism.

Michael