Mirror lock

12 years 11 months ago #76723 by Zezzer
Is there some situations where you should not use mirror lock and does it really make a difference in your shots ?


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12 years 11 months ago #76725 by TaY9
you can't see through the lens when the mirror is locked. The purpose of the mirror lock is to prevent light from leaking through the viewfinder when the camera is on a tripod with the timer set or to allow you to clean the sensor.


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12 years 11 months ago #76727 by denhim1
Locking up the mirror always, not "often", prevents you from seeing through the viewfinder.

The purpose, theses days, is solely to avoid the vibration of the slapping mirror. The mirror always lifts to seal off the viewfinder when the shutter opens whether you lock it up in advance or allow it to lift and return normally. Long ago in a galaxy far away, mirror lock was also used to allow some special wide angle lenses to mount; their rear elements extended too close to the film plane and would hit the mirror otherwise.


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12 years 11 months ago #76733 by Baydream
In using mirror lock up, you focus and make ll other settings before you lock up the mirror (first shutter click), then you click again for the exposure. Extreme low-light long exposures are a good time to use this.

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Photo Comments
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12 years 11 months ago #76807 by Shadowfixer1

Baydream wrote: In using mirror lock up, you focus and make ll other settings before you lock up the mirror (first shutter click), then you click again for the exposure. Extreme low-light long exposures are a good time to use this.

I have to respectively disagree here. The movement caused by the mirror will not be seen in a low light-long exposure image. The percentage of time the vibration takes up as compared to exposure length is miniscule. The mirror lock up will effect exposures more in the 1/15 sec. range. That is when vibration from mirror slap is noticed more. It is most useful at these times and with macro photography. It will also help with landscapes. Does it make a difference? Yes it does when using a tripod (for the newbies). Don't bother if you are hand holding. I've always found that this is one of the most miunderstood features of a camera and when it should be used.
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12 years 11 months ago - 12 years 11 months ago #76975 by Henry Peach
Mirror lock up is to avoid camera jiggling vibrations caused by the mirror flipping out of place. All the DSLRs I've seen have a different control/feature for accessing the sensor for cleaning. MLU is most useful for shutter speeds in the 1 sec to 1/60th sec range, but I go ahead and use it for almost all on-tripod long exposures.
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