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Canon 40D: how long for mirror lock up

MartynMartyn Registered Users Posts: 112 Major grins
edited June 9, 2014 in Cameras
Hi,

how long should you wait after activating mirror lookup before taking a photo?
I have the camera on a tripod and working in milliseconds.

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    ziggy53ziggy53 Super Moderators Posts: 23,827 moderator
    edited June 2, 2014
    For a wide angle lens, or a zoom lens at wide angle settings, 1/2 second may be sufficient, also depending somewhat on the type of tripod and head.

    For telephoto and super-telephoto, I tend to wait around a second, depending partly upon whether the camera/lens is mounted by the camera or by the tripod ring. (I tend to allow more settle time for a camera mounted lens/camera combination than for tripod-ring mounted lens/camera combinations.)

    For long-super-telephoto applications (which I qualify as longer than 500mm effective) "two" tripods may also be indicated. In that case, 1/2 second should be sufficient time with sturdy tripod/head combinations.

    For a Canon 40D with a vertical grip addition, and with the tripod attached to the vertical grip, allow extra settle time, as the external grip seems to require more time for the camera to settle.

    BTW, Canon 1D/!Ds series bodies have a latch to secure the mirror, greatly reducing mirror slap and resulting vibrations.
    ziggy53
    Moderator of the Cameras and Accessories forums
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    MartynMartyn Registered Users Posts: 112 Major grins
    edited June 3, 2014
    ziggy53 wrote: »
    For a wide angle lens, or a zoom lens at wide angle settings, 1/2 second may be sufficient, also depending somewhat on the type of tripod and head.

    For telephoto and super-telephoto, I tend to wait around a second, depending partly upon whether the camera/lens is mounted by the camera or by the tripod ring. (I tend to allow more settle time for a camera mounted lens/camera combination than for tripod-ring mounted lens/camera combinations.)

    For long-super-telephoto applications (which I qualify as longer than 500mm effective) "two" tripods may also be indicated. In that case, 1/2 second should be sufficient time with sturdy tripod/head combinations.

    For a Canon 40D with a vertical grip addition, and with the tripod attached to the vertical grip, allow extra settle time, as the external grip seems to require more time for the camera to settle.

    BTW, Canon 1D/!Ds series bodies have a latch to secure the mirror, greatly reducing mirror slap and resulting vibrations.

    Thanks.

    The lens is the Sigma 90mm macro with the camera connected to the tripod. It sounds like a second will be good.

    I wish I had the funds for a 1D/1DS.
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    paddler4paddler4 Registered Users Posts: 976 Major grins
    edited June 4, 2014
    If you are using it for macro, the issue may be more how long it takes for the subject to settle than for camera vibration to end. I use mirror lock-up for macro shots of photos, but in many cases, the flower is still moving (e.g., from vibrations in the floor I caused by movement) after the vibration from mirror slap has presumably ended. So, I often end up waiting a few seconds.
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    MartynMartyn Registered Users Posts: 112 Major grins
    edited June 7, 2014
    paddler4 wrote: »
    If you are using it for macro, the issue may be more how long it takes for the subject to settle than for camera vibration to end. I use mirror lock-up for macro shots of photos, but in many cases, the flower is still moving (e.g., from vibrations in the floor I caused by movement) after the vibration from mirror slap has presumably ended. So, I often end up waiting a few seconds.


    Using it for water drops and the point of focus is static. The water drops are always moving though.

    The sequence is; mirror lock-up, wait (1 second), open shutter (start bulb mode), make the drops, fire flashes, close shutter. Working in semi darkness.

    I am having problems getting good sharpness and I am looking at different ways to improve it. Previously I was only allowing 200-300 milliseconds for the camera to settle and didn't know if this was enough time. I am still not really sure if this is a problem or not though. After the shutter is opened the flahes don't fire for around half a second in which time the camera is settling anyway.
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    Brett1000Brett1000 Registered Users Posts: 819 Major grins
    edited June 9, 2014
    Martyn wrote: »
    Using it for water drops and the point of focus is static. The water drops are always moving though.

    The sequence is; mirror lock-up, wait (1 second), open shutter (start bulb mode), make the drops, fire flashes, close shutter. Working in semi darkness.

    I am having problems getting good sharpness and I am looking at different ways to improve it. Previously I was only allowing 200-300 milliseconds for the camera to settle and didn't know if this was enough time. I am still not really sure if this is a problem or not though. After the shutter is opened the flahes don't fire for around half a second in which time the camera is settling anyway.

    one second seems to be enough time but I haven't done water drops
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