Live view is not a must, really. With DSLR I always shoot with the viewfinder. That's what DSLR is about.
live view (especially one which has a tiltable LCD) is very useful in certain situations. Cut and paste from another thread which i posted:
. but live view - is just useless(except in times when u give other newbie to shoot).
Take a look at these guys taking photos, thru the view finder
Few weeks ago in Orchard Road, I saw a female tourist doing the same thing, lying on the floor and taking ground shots. Imagine the number of eyes looking at her. Now, a Sony Alpha DSLR user taking ground shots wont be doing such silly poses. They would just squat down, on live view, tilt the LCD and compose the shots. No need to lie on the floor and using the view finder. So unglam, especially for a girl!
Now the below 2 pictures are taken 2 weeks ago during the 瑶瑶 "爱的抱抱" fan session. 瑶瑶 was standing on a stage, and below the stage there was a sizable crowd.
I caught this Canon user trying his best to take pictures. However there's a crowd in front of him, so when he compose thru his viewfinder, there will be alot of heads blocking his view. I can see him keep moving here and there, trying to compose his shots and avoid moving / blocking heads. Now image a girl, who on average is shorter than a guy, standing in the same position trying to take photos. If she uses the view finder, she would find it even harder to take photo compared to that taller guy.
Now, in the same situation, a Sony Alpha user, with live view and a tiltable LCD screen, would have no problems composing and taking photos. He on live view mode, tilt the screen down, hold the DSLR over his head and compose and shoot.
There's many other situations where live view can be used. For example taking Candid shots of people and especially kids. Its human nature to either pose, or look away or act unnaturally when you see someone taking a camera, looking thru the view finder and aiming it at you. Kids especially will tend to pose or run away when they notice u taking photos of them. So with a DSLR and composing shots thru the view finder, there will be more chance of the kids noticing you and they wont be natural at all. However if you use live view, you can place your camera at waist level (pretend to be looking thru the photos or something) and take shots. This way your targets / kids will not be conscious that you are taking photos, and thus it will be easier to take candid shots.
So is live view (and especially Sony's tiltable LCD live view) useless? Far from it. On the hands of someone with a little creativity, the live view with tiltable LCD screen offers other unique way of picture composition as well as to take in difficult angles (like overhead and ground shots).