IQ Series Firmware 1.33 Released w/ Live View

[vjbelle]

Uploadeded the new firmware for liveview.

I guess I assumed that liveview would be something like Canon - set the prefences, push the button, get live view.

The menu on the back all comes up like the images in the "White Paper", but then I get this screen view. The back takes images fine - but live view is just not happeneing.

I reloaded the firmware update - but same same.

Any ideas?


Thanks. Mal

Looks to me like the lens isn't open......

Victor

 

[Guy Mancuso]

I tried the Hoodman for 5 minutes and packed it up and sent it back. There is a night and day difference between a Schneider 6X7 and any hoodman - even with the addition of their 3X magnifier.

Victor

Have a link to the schnieders

 

[Joe]

Re back-up firmware for Phase IQ backs: Just so everybody is clear, the IQ backs have back-up firmware ONBOARD, so no need to carry anything. You simply go to "Firmware" in the menu and choose the default option.

I had a crash with the IQ 180 last week, and the restore firmware function disappeared. Had to download and reinstall from a CF card. I have some old 2 gb cards that will stay with me in the field, just in case!

 

[yatlee]

Is that a Hoodman loupe. The loupe makes sense to me the rest just not sure I would buy. To me a tech cam is like a Polaroid just shoot and adjust as needed. What I do today when I use one but the IQ just makes it all that much easier now

Hi Guy, no this one is made in Japan. It's made out of soft plastic. So, it won't scratch the screen. The optic is quite good well.

 

[Jack]

I had a crash with the IQ 180 last week, and the restore firmware function disappeared. Had to download and reinstall from a CF card. I have some old 2 gb cards that will stay with me in the field, just in case!

Wow, good to know -- thanks!

 

[malmac]

Thanks for the advice last night - re the shutter open - for live view.

All seems to be fine - hand holding the camera was the other problem - even with the shutter open the refresh rate in the low light I was in gave a very strange rendition of reality.

mal

 

[Thierry]

it is in a way, when speaking about "bulky", "heavy", "costy".

BTW: Thierry, hope your reference to "sliding back" quote is not arTech... LOL!

 

[petercoxphoto]

I just took delivery of my IQ180 a couple of days ago. Spent last night playing with it on my Rm3d, and I have to say that live view is a non-starter for me.

The refresh rate is too slow for focusing, and the need to carry around, add and remove ND filters for that purpose is too much hassle. Focusing by distance and confirming with the focus mask afterwards is wonderfully simple.

Framing is very accurate with the Arca viewfinder so in this case, if it ain't broke, I'm not going to try fixing it.

If it was CMOS-style live view with 25fps, that's a different story - but CCDs just can't do that.

Otherwise I'm very happy with the back. Image quality and east of use is fantastic.

 

[Woody Campbell]

I'm thrilled with live view on my IQ 180. I got 1.33 loaded yesterday and had a chance to experiment with my Alpa Max and a Schneider 72mm XL. On a camera with movements live view solves three problems, composition, composition and composition. I can now chuck my iphone holder, the complicated viewfinder mask that I made and so on. For you Arca types it really supplants the little viewfinder box with all of the numbers on it.

The Alpa Max is for use on a tripod so the refresh rate isn't much of a hassle. I use the fastest refresh rate since I'm not using liveview to focus (my leica disto + high res focusing ring handles that to perfection). I've cobbled together two cheap 77mm non circular polarizing filters as a variable ND and it works fine in bright daylight at f 16.

Here's a sample image with a lot of shift - the darkening in the lower right corner is the edge of the image circle. This is composed in the camera cropped to 4x5 proportions - to get this tight without liveview would be hard to impossible.

 

[yatlee]

Woody, I never thought that the Schneider 72mm XL can achieve such a good result. I don't see the darkening corner that you mentioned.

Yat

 

[vjbelle]

I'm thrilled with live view on my IQ 180. On a camera with movements live view solves three problems, composition, composition and composition.

You got that right 100%!! Its all about being easily able to compose.... although live view for focus is still very viable for me.....

Victor

 

[Wayne Fox]

So one problem I'm having with LV is it seems to pause without any feedback - have to touch the screen to get it working again. Normal?

Also have to change the power saving setup or the screen keeps turning off. Seems it should ignore the screen time out settings whe active.

 

[RodK]

The 72mm Schneider is a great lens on any Tech camera. Compact and decent image circle with little or no distortion.
Rod

 

[vjbelle]

So one problem I'm having with LV is it seems to pause without any feedback - have to touch the screen to get it working again. Normal?

Also have to change the power saving setup or the screen keeps turning off. Seems it should ignore the screen time out settings whe active.

Wayne,

I have my back set for screen power down at one minute. This, to me, is long enough as live view eats up batteries too quickly. I use the Disto to get me really close and check with live view..... this really is only for a few certain images as the Disto is so accurate that I find live view too slow and too power hungry. Composition, though, is fabulous with live view and doesn't require much time! I also don't have any pause issues.

Victor

 

[jlm]

this may be too geeky, but where do you set the base (zero point0 of the disto when measuring?

 

[dchew]

I add 0.02 feet To the zero point in the menu settings (sorry - I have the hpf rings in feet). Then with the 90 degree base plate flipped open I position that up against the back of the STC. Since I don't have a viewfinder I can put the disto right on top of the camera. I estimate the distance between that part of the camera to the sensor surface to be about 0.25 inches, hence the 0.02 feet.

Dave

this may be too geeky, but where do you set the base (zero point0 of the disto when measuring?

 

[Wayne Fox]

Wayne,

I have my back set for screen power down at one minute. This, to me, is long enough as live view eats up batteries too quickly. I use the Disto to get me really close and check with live view..... this really is only for a few certain images as the Disto is so accurate that I find live view too slow and too power hungry. Composition, though, is fabulous with live view and doesn't require much time! I also don't have any pause issues.

Victor

Yes, I changed mine to 1 minute, although I prefer it shorter for anything other than Live View. As I mentioned, seems that LiveView should ignore that time since while you are in live view you obviously need the screen on, also should be a more obvious way to turn live view off when you are done. the time out doesn't actually disable live view, just the screen. The green light is still flashing, so it's still eating up battery power until you turn live view off.

My real problem is the screen seems to freeze. I'm trying to focus and suddenly see no changes, I can even move the camera and see no changes. Touch the screen a pause icon flashes briefly then it begins to work again. At this point LV is totally unusable. I have no clue what purpose pausing the live video would serve... it certainly should only pause when I want it to and make it obvious on the screen that is was paused.

I was just hoping I was missing something ...

 

[alan_w_george]

The 72mm Schneider is a great lens on any Tech camera. Compact and decent image circle with little or no distortion.
Rod

Concur!

 

[David Klepacki]

I'm thrilled with live view on my IQ 180. I got 1.33 loaded yesterday and had a chance to experiment with my Alpa Max and a Schneider 72mm XL. On a camera with movements live view solves three problems, composition, composition and composition. ...

I've cobbled together two cheap 77mm non circular polarizing filters as a variable ND and it works fine in bright daylight at f 16.

Hi Woody, congrats on your IQ180. As I understand it, these are your steps for using the IQ180 for composition using live view:

1. Eyeball an initial composition, choose your lens focal length and orient the camera as a first guess.
2. Mount a variable ND filter to the front of the lens.
3. Capture live view with the IQ180 and adjust the setting of the ND filter until you can see a decent image.
4. Now, you adjust the camera orientation to get your desired composition.
5. Focus your scene using distance measurement with a Leica Disto.
6. Remove the ND filter.
7. Measure an initial exposure for the scene and take the shot.
8. "Work the composition", by re-mounting the variable ND filter and repeating steps 3 - 7 for each new composition.

I do not doubt the value of the live view feature of the IQ backs, but I find the repeated re-mounting of a ND filter to be a hassle. In the field, I almost never get the composition right on my first attempt, and am never sure of which composition actually "works" until I am analyzing my various captures on a computer. So, in general, I need to shoot many times from many different angles and positions, changing often from landscape to portrait orientation, etc. The thought of having to put a ND filter on and off between different compositions sounds painful to me.

I prefer the iphone solution myself, at least for composition, as it is much faster to test the different possibilities in the scene. The need to work quickly is often critical. For example, the available light in a landscape scene is somewhat "short lived" and fumbling with a ND filter may lose potential compositions.

David

 

[Wayne Fox]

BTW, I believe my issue was a low battery. Replacing the battery and no more pauses. Put the old one back in and the back struggled again.

More optimistic ... focusing was actually pretty manageable, and composing in conjuction with the iPhone viewfinder was terrific. Have to try it for real over the weekend, although I'm still not sure I can live with the lens cast on my 35xl.

was working in normal "evening" light, and didn't need an ND filter.