RE: [APML] question about mirror lockup...

["R. Scott Ireland" <ireland@gate.net>]

Hi Jeff,

Yes, some cameras have a separate button/level to lock up the mirror such as
the Nikon F series cameras.

Although I use F3's for astrophotography, I don't bother with mirror
lock-up.  I prefer to use a black cloth to flip over the front of the lens
when opening and closing the shutter (a/k/a the "hat trick"), to avoid
translating any vibration to the image.  You can go to Wal-Mart or a fabric
store and select the most opaque black material - cut to your desired
dimensions, fold it over on itself once and sew the edges (otherwise they
will fray).  These cloths are very handy and I use them all the time for
nighttime photography of landscapes, volcanoes and astro subjects.

Mirror lock-up is most useful when shooting at shutter speeds between 1/30
and 1/8 second, which is the range of exposure times when the mirror
vibration will most degrade your image sharpness.  Without mirror lock-up,
try to shoot with shorter or longer shutter speeds and avoid this range.

Take care,

Scott

website:  http://www.rsiphotos.com/
email:  ireland@gate.net

> -----Original Message-----
> From: owner-astro-photo@seds.org [mailto:owner-astro-photo@seds.org]On
> Behalf Of Jeff Crilly
> Sent: Friday, October 11, 2002 1:41 PM
> To: astro-photo@seds.org
> Subject: [APML] question about mirror lockup...
>
>
>
> I have a nikon EM SLR 35mm body which seems to do fine for
> astrophotography.
> ...No decent focusing screen,  but I can cope with that ... and
> the B setting doesnt drain the battery afaict... In any event I beleive
> I'm getting decent results.  And it was cheap.
>
> Anyhow, I've been using the "self timer" to lockup the mirror before
> taking an exposure.  I'm not seeing any vibration in the photos so I
> think this technique is good.  Afaik, the camera doesnt have a specific
> mirror lockup function.
>
> I'm wondering what folks mean by "mirror lockup" (on other cameras).
>
> Is it a specific button to actually lockup the mirror, or is it
> this self-timer thing?
>
> jeff
>
>
>
>
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