Pros and Cons of Using Mirror lock up on a Nikon D700

[creativepro]

Nikon D700 + 24-70 mm lens + Nikon 105 mm lens

Going overseas in a few weeks time

Taking Landscapes, architecture street photography

will do mostly handheld - most probably take a puffin pad

Will take shutter release cable. will not be using the timer on the camera

Will be taking ND filters

I like to bracket my shots.

Questions:
1. Pros and Cons of using Mirror lock-up bearing in mind what I am using and not using above ?

2. Best practice in when bracketing shots on the D700 re activation .
( I have been having problems with this that is bracketing does not seem to be working automatically) ?

3. Using Mirror lock-up with ND filters?

thank you


sue

[kirbinster]

Do you really mean mirror lock up, or do you mean exposure delay mode? I thought mirror lock-up was just for cleaning the sensor.

[Sterling]

Mirror lock-up is used to avoid the tiny vibrations caused by the mirror moving. I know that feature isn't available on my D90, but it may be on the D700. I have no idea what a puffin pad is, but I don't see any mention of a tripod above, just "will do mostly handheld." If you are talking about using mirror lock-up with handheld shots, don't bother.

As I mentioned, mirror lock-up is to avoid unwanted camera vibration. If using ND filters on a tripod means that you'll have very slow shutter speeds then you may want to use mirror lock-up to avoid excess vibration. But it is the use of slow shutter speeds on a tripod that matters, whether or not you use ND filters.

Not to sound patronizing, but you do realize that while the mirror is locked up you can't see through the viewfinder, right?

[Nicole]

Originally Posted by Sterling

Mirror lock-up is used to avoid the tiny vibrations caused by the mirror moving. I know that feature isn't available on my D90, but it may be on the D700.

But it does have exposure delay mode on it (d10 in the menu), which is what I would guess is being meant. I use this when I'm doing long exposures or night shots (typically the same thing, but I have done long exposures in the day with ND filters and used the exposure delay mode).

I agree though, I wouldn't bother using it on hand held shots. I've accidentally left it on a few times and wondered why the heck it was taking so long to shoot.

No suggestions on bracketing with the D700 though.

[Shokinen]

Another thing to do to minimize vibrations on a tripod is using the timer function. That's what I was doing before getting a remote.

[kirbinster]

I don't think so. Mirror lockup raises the mirror when you push the shutter button and keeps it up until you turn the power off. It is designed so that you can clean the sensor.

Exposure delay mode raises the mirror when you push the shutter button and then waits about a second to actually trip the shutter.

[LeeR]

I do a lot of long exposures and almost never have trouble with mirror vibration. For one thing, it only happens at a second or less. Any longer than that and the time the vibration is a factor is so short that it has little or no effect on the total image.Second, if you are using a good quality tripod (read: heavy) the vibration will be absorbed by the mass of the tripod. That means that if you are shooting between, say, 1/15 and 1 second you need to either secure your camera to something that has considerable mass...or lock the mirror up. Usually, the former is easier and gives you the option of seeing what you are photographing right up until you press the shutter.
Having said all that I will leave you with one caveat; everything I said above goes out the window if you are shooting extreme macro. Then mirror shake can have a profound effect. But if you're not taking a tripod so I'm guessing you won't be doing any of that kind of photography.

[jdepould]

There's an MU mode on the top dial that requires two shutter presses to make an exposure. First press flips the mirror, second press trips the shutter.

[ravncat]

D700 has three functions that are easy to confuse.

A: Mirror - lock up - This is for cleaning and accessed in the setup menu. This locks up the mirror giving you access to the sensor and filters for cleaning - not helpful for shooting.

B: Mirror up mode. This is set by the release mode dial used to set continuous or singular shutter realease modes etc... (left side dial around wb/iso/qual buttons). When in Mirror up mode, the camera will require one press of the shutter to raise the mirror - and a second press of the shutter to fire the shutter - If you don`t press a second time, the image will be taken after a 30 second delay.

C: Exposure Delay - in menus , custom setting D9. This delays the image for a second - such that you can press the shutter button - and then wait for the exposure to occur one second later. The mirror moves as normal. *Edit* I may be incorrect - this mode may indeed trigger the mirror and then move the shutter one second after.


So - Why and when to use B or C.

B The mirror will introduce vibrations and reduce sharpness when shooting an exposure near the critical time of around 1/15th a second (usually between 1/20th and 1 second or so) - Longer shutter speeds will tend to wash away any slight vibrations from the mirror - and shorter shutter speeds will tend to freeze them. A tripod that doesn`t give a long lens support may also introduce vibrations when you touch the camera or be affected by the mirror vibrations.

By using B (mirror up mode) you can first lift the mirror - then wait for vibrations in the camera to subside before triggering the shutter. This is best done with a cable release as physically touching the shutter button to take the exposure can introduce more vibrations (especially if on a flimsy tripod)

Make sure to wait for the vibrations to disappear before triggering the shutter.

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C is used for when you don`t have a cable release - and you want to take a picture, but physically pressing the shutter button is going to cause some camera vibrations - the 1 second wait may not be long enough anyway.

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B and C together - gives you a one second wait before the mirror lifts up - but you still have to hit the shutter a second time to take the exposure. You successfully eliminate mirror vibrations - but introduce camera shake if you have to then hit the shutter physically - with a release cable you`re fine - but there`s little point in combining these two functions. I suppose if any and all movement were critical - this might have some incredibly small advantage.

[Almond.Butterscotch]

the D300 and up have a shooting mirror up mode that's meant to reduce vibrations caused by the mirror.

on all the other cameras, the mirror up mode is just for cleaning.