Liveview is a very different view than the actual image

[AGreyCrane]

I am finding that when I have the settings for exposure and ISO set so that I get a decent image, the live view is so dark that you can't really see anything. If the live view looks good, the resulting image will be completely washed out. Is this normal? Or am I missing something? I realize they will not be an exact match for each other, but it would be nice if they were close. If I could "offset" the live view from the actual image settings that would be great.

The camera is a Canon T5i.

Thanks!

[BillPickle]

I have found the same thing with my 500d... I never use the live view at all no...

Its worth downloading the 30 day trial of backyard EOS. It has a few HD star map settings in the frame and focus section that do what you would expect and has focusing tools that help you really get the best out of what your aiming at and lets you actually see things on the laptop screen.

Once the trial runs out its roughly £35 which im definitely gonna pay in 7 days.

It does mean setting up a laptop but it really makes the whole process much easier and automated.

[michael8554]

What sort of object are we talking about?

A bright star to focus on, with the Live View magnifier on, can be seen on the rear screen, but is so much easier on a PC monitor using Canon Utilities.

The Ring nebula? Too dim of course.

Jupiter? never tried, but probably bright enough?

Michael

[PorkyB]

I am finding that when I have the settings for exposure and ISO set so that I get a decent image, the live view is so dark that you can't really see anything. If the live view looks good, the resulting image will be completely washed out. Is this normal? Or am I missing something? I realize they will not be an exact match for each other, but it would be nice if they were close. If I could "offset" the live view from the actual image settings that would be great.

The camera is a Canon T5i.

Thanks!

Yes, this is entirely normal.  Live view is only really useful for checking your focus on a bright star, zoomed-in and using a focus mask if you have one.  This is important as you can repair many errors when you get to processing, but bad focus can't be fixed.

To get an idea of exposure you need to take a test shot.  Even then your raw images will be very different to your final processed images, but it should give you an idea.

[GraemeC]

I find my liveview performance varies according to which lens I'm using. I always use liveview to focus,I have tried a mask but it didn't seem to give a clear indication for me. With liveview, wider angle lenses (50 - 135) require me to use one of the brighter stars in the sky for focus. The manual focus on the lens should be approximately at infinity and then the fine adjustment is done to minimise the star at 10x. At the moment I'm taking photos with the canon 200mm L telephoto lens, and with that I can see even faint stars on liveview at the focus point. As an example I set the camera at Jupiter to get rough focus, then at the focus point the moons of Jupiter popped up. Outside of that focus point, they blur into the background. So it's a useful check if there is a mag 4 or 5 star in your starfield - the faint star is only visible over a very small focussing range and that helps me pinpoint the focus point.

Graeme

[Alien 13]

I find my liveview performance varies according to which lens I'm using. I always use liveview to focus,I have tried a mask but it didn't seem to give a clear indication for me. With liveview, wider angle lenses (50 - 135) require me to use one of the brighter stars in the sky for focus. The manual focus on the lens should be approximately at infinity and then the fine adjustment is done to minimise the star at 10x. At the moment I'm taking photos with the canon 200mm L telephoto lens, and with that I can see even faint stars on liveview at the focus point. As an example I set the camera at Jupiter to get rough focus, then at the focus point the moons of Jupiter popped up. Outside of that focus point, they blur into the background. So it's a useful check if there is a mag 4 or 5 star in your starfield - the faint star is only visible over a very small focussing range and that helps me pinpoint the focus point.

Graeme

I think you have hit the nail on the head regarding liveview and focus its performance is dependent on the camera/lens or scope combo but in general I have no difficulty seeing dim stars and even some nebulosity on mine provided it is in perfect focus.

I too use this method of starting with a brighter star zoom in re focus again until the dimmest one gets to the point of "switching" on/off with the slightest tweek.

Alan

[gajjer]

If you think about it, liveview is a series of short exposures like in a movie. It can not represent what you would see with a 30sec exposure, let alone anything longer. The individual frames may only be 1/30th sec. Liveview is not much use for previewing your target.

I use liveview for focus on a bright star in the vicinity of the target and possibly with a target like the pleiades, framing too. With a target like M31 or M42 I usually do a few 30 sec exposures just to make sure the framing is good. With M42 it is possible for me to see some of the stars with liveview and make some framing adjustments with just that. Though I always do a long exposure afterwards just to check.

It might sound like a lot of messing about but as has already been said, you can not correct for bad focus or bad framing.

cheers

gaj

[PeterCPC]

+1 for Backyard EOS - makes the whole process so much easier.

Peter

[ronin]

Live view is what falls on the camera in about 1/30 second, bit like a video frame, the image you take will be say 30 seconds.

So the image has 900 times the light captured so yes it can be expected to be washed out compared to the live view.

[RichM63]

+1 LV for tweaking focus but not for capture. Most of the time AP images will be the result of many frames stacked together and depending on the abilities of the person post processed with what I find complicated software.

If you know the correct exposure settings for your image ensure that you change back to them before capture if they have been changed when using LV.

[Casus belli]

I'm another recent fan of backyard eos.  Due to living in scotland I've only manged one very short session with it, but I was impressed.

[AGreyCrane]

Thank you all so much for the responses. I have tried out Backyard EOS and I believe it is going to be really helpful. My images of Jupiter seemed to come out a bit darker using the Planetary option in BYEOS, than the ones I took the other night with the same exposure length/ISO. That may have just been coincidence though.

I'm really loving Backyard EOS for taking multiple shots one after the other. Did a whole stack with PIPP and Registax. Still a bit limited at the moment until I order my motorized mount. I'm using an Orion VersaGo III AZ mount right now and manually tracking as quick as I can between shots.