live view question?

[mynameiscd (Andy)]

Hi all,
Im not sure I can do this but can I turn up the gain in live view?
I recently purchased a 450d (moded) and im having trouble framing and focusing.
I can clearly see through the viewfinder but not in live view.
Ive seen a few videos and you can clearly see objects on live view.
At the moment im focusing during the day and if its the camera lens im taping the focus.
When its on my c90 mak im taking multiple frame with a bahtinov and its a bit hit or miss.
Is this camera able to turn the gain right up just to get focus etc then turn off for imaging or is this fuction only available on later models.
Thanks
Andy

[raymo]

Andy, if you can't see stars brightly enough to put one in the centre of the screen and magnify the star 5 or 10x for focusing with a Bahtinov mask,
either something is wrong with the camera, or you are not using " Live View"
correctly. Precise focusing with Live View and a Bahtinov mask is both
quick and easy. I don't know what experience or knowledge you have.
I'm pretty sure the gain is not adjustable, because it doesn't need to be;
brighter stars are clearly visible.
raymo

[mynameiscd (Andy)]

Thanks Raymo.
The other night I was using the 18-55 zoomed in on orions belt 5.6 iso1600 and could clearly see in the view finder but I'd switch on live veiw and had real trouble even finding a star using the 5x or 10x zoom.
A 10 second exposure and the preview is fine.
I thought I could turn up the exposure so it saturates the view and dim stars pop out.
ive used a meade lpi and web cams before but not dslrs before.
I better go back and read the manual again.
Thanks
Andy

[Mickoid (Michael)]

Andy, on my 550d if I can't see any stars using live view, it's usually because I've left the camera settings on daylight exposures. e.g. 125th of a second, f 8, 200 iso or something like that. So I just change the settings to bulb or 30 seconds at 3200 ISO and the bright stars appear ready to focus. So in answer to your question, you can change the gain in live view and see the effect it will make on the screen by revealing the brightest stars that were previously not visible before the change.

[Hemi]

Hi Andy,

Michaels right. You need to up your exposure (to the correct exposure) to see the stars on the live view screen. So either (usually a combination of both) iso needs to be raised or shutter speed lowered. The view finder on the dslr is optical not electronic so you will see the stars through it irrespective of your exposure settings, but not on live view.
Best

Hemi

[mynameiscd (Andy)]

Thanks Michael,
The 450d only goes to 1600 iso so the settings im using
are:
1600 iso, 55mm, f5.6, Bulb.
I will try 30 sec tonight and see if that helps (if the clouds go).
Im probably expecting to much after watching a video on milky way photography and you could clearly see dust clouds in live view.
I might try the laptop and see if that works.
Thanks
Andy

[fsr]

You can search for a really bright star, focus on it, then move to your target.
Magic Lantern allows you to raise the gain in LV, but i don't think it makes much sense to install it only for that, it's quite complex.

[doppler (Rick)]

Originally Posted by mynameiscd

Thanks Michael,
Im probably expecting to much after watching a video on milky way photography and you could clearly see dust clouds in live view.
Andy

They would have been using a fast lens and high iso, I have a 50mm lens that goes down to f1.7 and the camera to 6400 iso. Like the others have said focus on a bright star then move your camera to the area you want to image and readjust the settings to suit.

[sil (Steve)]

Live view is typically dark for most users, with the few point stars visible only. Better gear can help and possibly using an external screen with controls to increase brightness. Don't expect a live view to be as bright and clear as a 30sec exposure stack. Canon has some third party firmware available that might achieve this effect, you'd have to look it up, magic lantern i think its called.

Also all live views I've used have a slight lag to their responsiveness, so its easy to go from out of focus where the screen looks blank, through focus and out again to out of focus again all without you seeing the stars pop out on screen. Adust slow and take hands off camera and wait a few seconds for the screen to catch up. It varies from camera to camera as the screens on cameras are not meant to be highly responsive.

You just need to get used to how YOUR gear behaves. you can set focus anywhere in the sky and move your camera to point where you want to shoot, focus never changes, its infinity in every direction in the sky for stars.

[Premordial (Max)]

Brightish stars show in live view on my Canon. I'd zoom in 10x then fine focus until the star is tightest. The colour of the star changes as it hits sharp focus. Sounds rough, but works for me.