Feature Request: Live View ONLY Before 1st Photo

[rpvincent]

Photoboof has a great feature that allows the live view mode to be displayed before the button is pushed and for a few seconds after the session is started.

It then dissapears a few seconds before the countdown ends which allows the occupants to stop staring at themselves and focus on the camera.

The live view doesn't return until the the seesion is over and the print request has been sent.

This would be VERY useful to due the anomaly that the live view image freezes a second before the photo is actually taken. When I attend the booth at events, I hear at least a dozen people comment about this weird behavior.

I know I can turn off live view completely but I feel like it is really helpful for large groups so they all make sure they make it into the shot.

Thanks!

[Chris Breeze]

Thanks for the suggestion. This is the first time anybody has asked for this and I'd be interested to know whether other photobooth users would also find it useful.

Are you using Canon PowerShot cameras? The live view does freeze for a moment with a PowerShot camera when the camera is about to take a photo. The live view on Canon EOS DSLRs is better in this respect and keeps the live view active much longer.

[dfinkel]

I'm just setting up my photo booth using your software, but this is a feature I would like to see also. I essentially decided to avoid using the Liveview feature as the image that comes up just before the photo is taken seems to interfere with the process. Ultimately I decided the Liveview was more hassle than its worth. Also, it prevents real time focusing, so if someone approaches the camera they will be out of focus (this is a Canon limitation, not a DSLRremote limitation)

David

[Chris Breeze]

OK I'll add it to the list of possible future enhancements. I won't be able to include it in the latest round of enhancements which are nearly ready for release. I had hoped to release updates for DSLR Remote Pro, NKRemote and PSRemote this week but it looks like it will be towards the end of next week now. I'm currently doing a few final tests with touchscreens using the eee Top PC.

[rpvincent]

I really hope this feature can make it into the next release because I have pretty much abandoned the use of live view until then.

FINGERS CROSSED :)

[Jann Lipka]

That is definitely a problem -
EVERYONE will look onto their image on the screen .
Turning off Live View after 1st image setup is essential ....

[Olyma]

Chiming in to say yes, this feature would be greatly appreciated. I like the live view so people can get in the shot. But its true, EVERYONE continues to want to look at the screen (even when I have direct instructions to look UP!) :rolleyes:
Thanks!

p.s.
Chris, you are BRILLIANT. I love the new audio feature. THANK YOU!!!!

[rkpowers]

I, too, don't particularly like the fact that eyes are usually on the screen instead of the camera.....human nature I guess.
How about a screen, similar to the countdown and ready screens, that pops up as the live image freezes. That screen could say "Look up" or "Eyes up", because the frozen 'live' image is not what the picture ultimately ends up being anyway. That way, live-view allows everyone to get posed and 'framed' properly but they have that split second to raise their eyes to the camera. Then it would go right to the last capture, countdown to next picture, live view, etc. In other words, everything would be the same except for that one instruction coming in just before the snap.

I don't see this as a tremendous problem. I would not want to give up live-view to solve it.
Oh yeah, is there a way to get a literal countdown? If so, I must have missed it somewhere. I have "Taking picture 1 in 3 seconds" etc, but it does not countdown. As I recall, when I tried to set up the countdown, the numbers all overlapped so as to be of no use. Easy solution?

Thanks

In case it matters, I'm using a Canon SX 100is, Dell Hybrid w/Vista.

[Chris Breeze]

The latest version of DSLR Remote Pro has the option to only display live view for the first shot in the sequence.

Are you using the default setting for the text: "Taking photo @imageNumber@ of @numberOfImages@ in @secsToNextPhoto@ secs"? The @secsToNextPhoto@ should countdown showing the number of seconds to the next shot.

Please check the sizes of the various screen images if you're having problems with overlapping text as this can happen if they are too small. The latest versions of the software display a warning if the screen images are too small.

[rpvincent]

Will we see the addition of the "live view only before first photo" option in PS Remote soon too?

Thanks!

[Chris Breeze]

Yes, I'm planning to add this to both PSRemote and NKRemote. I'm aiming to have these ready for release before I go on holiday in August, but if I run out of time for a full release I'll make it available as a development release.