On a Canon T1i using the heavy 16-35 lens with a tripod will using mirror lock up make any difference in photo sharpness at exposures of 1/30 and under. When does mirror lock up help.
On Sun, 8 Nov 2009 06:56:50 -0800 (PST), ransley <Mark_Rans...@Yahoo.com> wrote:
>On a Canon T1i using the heavy 16-35 lens with a tripod will using >mirror lock up make any difference in photo sharpness at exposures of >1/30 and under. When does mirror lock up help.
It always helps. Camera shake from slapping mirrors (and clunky focal-plane shutters) in all D/SLR cameras is enough to always destroy enough detail where you'll never be able to employ the full resolution capability of any of your optics at any shutter speed.
Unfortunately, you can't then use the optical viewfinder. So ... people live with the annoying (and to some, huge) drawback and only save mirror-lock-up for those rarer times when it's tolerant to do so. Long exposures, projects where the highest available resolution is required, etc.
ransley <Mark_Rans...@Yahoo.com> wrote: > On a Canon T1i using the heavy 16-35 lens with a tripod will using > mirror lock up make any difference in photo sharpness at exposures of > 1/30 and under.
How about "try it yourself and find out if it matters to you"? After all, wouldn't you say that a very flimsy tripod would have different results than a very sturdy one?
> When does mirror lock up help.
When the vibration from the mirror causes non-acceptable degradation of image quality, of course.
> ransley <Mark_Rans...@Yahoo.com> wrote: >> On a Canon T1i using the heavy 16-35 lens with a tripod will using >> mirror lock up make any difference in photo sharpness at exposures of >> 1/30 and under.
> How about "try it yourself and find out if it matters to > you"? After all, wouldn't you say that a very flimsy tripod > would have different results than a very sturdy one?
>> When does mirror lock up help.
> When the vibration from the mirror causes non-acceptable > degradation of image quality, of course.
> -Wolfgang
Hello Wolfgang.
Mirror lock-up was discussed at length a few weeks ago on rec.photo.digital.slr-systems. The original posting was on 08/06/09 and the Subject was Mirror Up Mode. This link may take you to the postings: news:h5f645$4v2$1@news.eternal-september.org
If that doesn't work then a Google search may find an archive of the discussion.
Personally, I used mirror lock-up on my film camera when I was taking photos in a theatre. I was one of the official photographers and so the cast knew I'd be taking photos but I still wanted to keep the noise down. Lock up made the camer a lot quieter. Another photographer said he only just heard my camera firing. My camera was still noisier than a Leica rangefinder ... but not a lot noisier.
My DSLR has Live View mode and that, of course, operates with the mirror locked up. Live View also affects the way that the shutter is used and the result is that the camera is quieter using Live View than using it normally, i.e. viewing via the mirror and viewfinder.
Personally, I wouldn't avoid subjects which are moving if you use mirror lock up. It shouldn't be too difficult to pan the camera without having to see through the viewfinder. I take photos from trains and buses and often shoot without putting the camera to my eye (if I did that then I'd lose the shot). I get the shot I want at least 80% of the time.
Wolfgang Weisselberg <ozcvgt...@sneakemail.com> wrote: > ransley <Mark_Rans...@Yahoo.com> wrote: >> On a Canon T1i using the heavy 16-35 lens with a tripod will using >> mirror lock up make any difference in photo sharpness at exposures of >> 1/30 and under. > How about "try it yourself and find out if it matters to > you"? After all, wouldn't you say that a very flimsy tripod > would have different results than a very sturdy one? >> When does mirror lock up help. > When the vibration from the mirror causes non-acceptable > degradation of image quality, of course.
I'm amazed at how many people who have DSLRs and tripods argue endlessly about this question without ever bothering to try an experiment. On the very limited range of cameras and tripods I've checked for mirror slap image smear I've found the shutter ranges over which it degrades the images and how much to vary greatly with camera, with lens, and with camera support method. That was less true in the days of film cameras, which had larger clunkier mechanisms and suffered a lot more from the problem. I suspect that generally speaking with modern DSLRs there's enough variation due to all these features that there's not much point in trying to state general rules.
But as you say, for any individual enquirer the answer is simple -- try it and see.
[mirror lock up and live view for quiet(er) cameras]
Different topic ...
> Personally, I wouldn't avoid subjects which are moving if you use mirror > lock up. It shouldn't be too difficult to pan the camera without having to > see through the viewfinder. I take photos from trains and buses and often > shoot without putting the camera to my eye (if I did that then I'd lose the > shot). I get the shot I want at least 80% of the time.
|
