Is mirror lock-up helpful?

StuartUK

StuartUK

Suspended / Banned
Messages
210
Name
Stuart
Edit My Images
Yes
I tried taking the same shot with mirror lock-up enabled and disabled to see if it made any noticeable difference.

The bottom line is: yes, I could discern a difference with a bit of extra detail in the mirror lock-up shot.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
I agree, Mirror lockup can certainly make a difference especially when it comes to shooting macro, especially when on tripod.

Mind you, I don't shoot mirror lockup whenever I shoot macro as I'm always hand holding and the momentary loss of vision through the viewfinder when the mirror locks up between both shutter button presses is potentially enough time to lose focus due to the very limited DoF, plus even pressing the darn button at times can push you out of the focal plane :/

I've never managed to get a tripod in place and camera adjusted quick enough to get a shot of an insect or arachnid but if I'm ever on a tripod for ANY reason whether it be macro or landscape, I'll always use mirror lockup. :)
 
Learn something new everyday. My 550D now has the mirror lock up function since I downloaded Magic Lantern. Looking forward to having a play around:thumbs: Will experiment with this today.
 
StuartUK said:
I tried taking the same shot with mirror lock-up enabled and disabled to see if it made any noticeable difference. The blog post is here.

The bottom line is: yes, I could discern a difference with a bit of extra detail in the mirror lock-up shot.
Click to expand...

That's because the movement of the mirror going up to get out of the way of incoming light shakes the camera, like someone slam the door so hard and you feel the whole house shake. Something to do with kinetic energy of the mirror that had to go somewhere else, so it decided to spoil your beautiful sharp image with traces of camera shake.

So if you want to take some macro shoots, it helps to use mirror lock-up, in addition to using cable release, self-timer, remote control, anything that don't need your finger pressing the shutter button causing movement at time of taking photo, and a tripod, so mirror lock up can help.

But with digital cameras, it plays another role, to lock up the mirror so you could clean the CCD itself.
 
artyman said:
I think mirror lockup is a little redundant with the advent of Live View, tend to use that instead these days.
Click to expand...

Yeah, but don't forget that it have another use, to lock it out of the way so you could clean the CCD, so it's not really redundant at all.
 
CaveDweller said:
Learn something new everyday. My 550D now has the mirror lock up function since I downloaded Magic Lantern. Looking forward to having a play around:thumbs: Will experiment with this today.
Click to expand...

Your 550D should have had mirror lock up, 'out of the box' so to speak, with no need for Magic Lantern. Pg 195 of the manual.
 
Last edited:
IanClark said:
Mirror lockup can certainly make a difference especially when it comes to shooting macro, especially when on tripod.
Click to expand...

Only when on a tripod. Hand held, camera movements would outweigh any advantages from mirror lock up.


Steve.
 
artyman said:
I think mirror lockup is a little redundant with the advent of Live View, tend to use that instead these days.
Click to expand...

Yes, and in live view with some cameras (eg some Canons) there's another benefit as the first shutter curtain is electronic, zero vibration, until the mechanical second shutter curtain closes after the exposure.

Mirror slap is usually most noticeable around 1/8sec to 1/15sec on a tripod (no damping from hands) and reduces progressively either side of those speeds. It also becomes more noticeable with the tripod centre column extended, especially with longer lenses.

Mirror lock-up is not much use for cleaning the sensor as it doesn't open the shutter. There's usually a custom function for that, or use B and hold the shutter release down.
 
My opinion is yes , as it helps reduce vibration when firing the shutter :)
 
Steve Smith said:
Only when on a tripod. Hand held, camera movements would outweigh any advantages from mirror lock up.


Steve.
Click to expand...

True, and I guess I should have said as much :)
 
graphilly said:
Your 550D should have had mirror lock up, 'out of the box' so to speak, with no need for Magic Lantern. Pg 195 of the manual.
Click to expand...

Was about to say the same thing. MLU was on my old 400D so I can't see any reason why 3rd party firmware would be needed for it on a camera 3 generations newer.
 
MLU is only really useful over a narrow range of shutter speeds.

At anything faster than around 1/50s (or faster, depending on focal length) the amount of movement caused by mirror-slap during the exposure time will be too small to be detectable.

Conversely, with very long shutter speeds (20s or more) the time that the camera will be shaking will be such a small portion of the overall exposure time that it will be too small to be detectable.

Only in the range between these will MLU significantly help.
 
Yep, very useful function. Have tried slow shutter speeds both with and without and you can see a little difference from micro vibrations.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top