[cirwin]

Chris,

I would love to see the Live View turn off only during the "Taking" part of the sequence. It is so confusing when Live View freezes during that moment that the photo is being taken. People see their image freeze on screen, and they think that the photo has already been taken. Then, the camera snaps the shot, and the people are caught totally off guard. It doesn't happen all the time. But, for those who fail to read or listen to our instructions, they walk away disappointed because the camera never captures their lip-lock.

Any chance this feature can be added?

Cherie

[Chris Breeze]

But wouldn't it be more confusing if the live view display suddenly disappeared? It might be worth trying the option to only display live view for the first shot in the sequence.

[cirwin]

I've done 96 events over the last 2 years, and I am certain that I don't want to turn off live view after the first shot. I really want the live view to turn off just while the camera is taking the photo. My "taking" screen reads this way, "We're taking your photo now. Hold your pose until the camera flashes." But, because they can see their image freeze on the screen, they think that the photo has already been taken. If the live view just turned off, they would be more likely to read the instructions, rather than be distracted by their frozen image on the screen.

Is this something that can be accomplished?

[Chris Breeze]

What sort of delay are you getting from the live view freezing and the picture being taken?
On my system I get a delay of approx 1/3 sec with a Rebel series camera and slightly less using a 50D or 7D.

Could you try removing the taking.jpg photo altogether? DSLR Remote Pro will complain that it can't find taking.jpg when you enter fullscreen photobooth mode but it should still work. What will happen is it will show the countdown screen and text right up until the photo is taken instead of switching to taking.jpg 1 sec before taking the photo.
It's possible that the users are getting distracted by the screen changing to taking.jpg and they stop to look at it just as the photo is being taken.

[cirwin]

I just tried that, and I'm not sure that I like that either. Live view still freezes. I really want the "taking" screen to appear with my instructions.

But, I would guess that by your offering up other solutions, you are not able to turn off Live View during the "taking" part of the sequence or you are not willing to make it available. I was not looking for another solution, just the one that I asked for. Please understand that I am not trying to be rude; I am just disappointed that you do not seem willing to even look into making this a possibility. I do believe that it would solve a problem for many of your patrons, not just me.

[Chris Breeze]

How long is the delay from the live view freezing to the picture being taken on your system? When I tested it with a Rebel series camera is was about 1/3 sec. It seems surprising that people would notice this and react fast enough to affect the picture.

[carroll1]

I get what he's saying with this request, although I'm not sure what the ideal solution is.

Patrons constantly see the picture freeze prior to the one that is actually taken. When they see it freeze, they think they are done when in reality it is about to be taken.

Also, they look at the frozen picture and may have been blinking and we always tell them that it prob didn't actually come out that way bc that's not the actual pic taken. It might be half a sec to 1 second prior to the actual pic.

Using a SX110.

[Qapla]

I usually tell people just as they enter the booth, that the screen will count down the pictures. But, I also tell them that there is a "random pause" after the countdown and before the picture is taken.

I let them think that this "feature" is to add more fun as it injects an uncertain surprise as to when the actual picture is snapped.

Most of them seem to understand when I tell them about the "random pause" and they laugh when it catches them with their mouth open, their eyes shut or whatever.

If they want a better pic, they just go back in and do it again. It keeps them comming back all night (or whenever the event is).

Works for me, anyway :cool:

[cirwin]

Chris, I haven't had a chance to connect everything and check the freeze time. But, I will try to get to this sometime today.

We are still working with PSRemote and the Canon G10. I prefer the point & shoot over the DSLR. We were working with our Canon 40D's, but I prefer to use the Auto Focus capability of the G10. We know that we will have to switch back to our 40D if our Point & Shoot cameras go out. But for the time being, they are the best choice for us.

In all honesty, we tell our patrons to hold their pose till the camera flashes. But, I hate that we have to give a long list of instructions when every new group enters the booth. We are usually at wedding receptions with loud music. People have trouble hearing us or are too drunk to understand what we are saying. Older ones really have a hard time with this. If I can take the confusion out of the process, then my "booth" doesn't the get the blame for their bad pictures. I feel bad when an elderly couple comes out of the booth, exclaiming "we didn't get our kiss on camera." If I can prevent that by taking away the confusing part of the process, then I would be one happy girl.