Mirror Up

<p>I use a d300, and have shot sports for about 3 years. I want to do other things, such as landscapes and night time shots in the city. Yesterday I bought my first tripod and cable release; I have 2 questions about using this. Do users here recommend the use of the mirror up feature? Is it necessary to cover the viewfinder (where I would normally have my eye) when using my cable release? </p>

<p>Your D300 camera came with manual that states on page 91 how or when to use the viewfinder cover DK-5 that came with your camera.</p>

<p>On D700 this or better cover is already built into the camera to stay there permanently, and you can flick the cover shade easily.<br>

Using mirror lock up always helps, but depending on your settings and stability of tripod, may not make significant difference. I use the shutter delay feature instead of mirror lockup as a more convenient way - not necessarily any better, for non-action photographs.</p>

<p>I was sometimes sloppy about using the viewfinder cover until about 3 months ago when I was taking some long exposures of the sea which were effectively ruined by light leaking in through the viewfinder. If you are still standing behind the camera it is usually sufficient just to hold your hand up behind the viewfinder provided the exposure isn't too long. In the instance I mention above the exposures were many minutes and I simply just went off to sit somewhere else. I might add that it was still twilight in which this happened proving that only a tiny amount of light can be enough to spoil your shot.<br />On the D300 you have something called exposure delay in the settings that raises the mirror for something like 0.8 seconds prior to shutter opening and you can use that in combination with MLU. That is usually sufficient if your tripod is robust and you are on a firm surface - if the tripod is on something more spongy or bouncy (typically on very long grass) you will need the cable release with mirror up as 0.8 seconds does not give your setup enough time to settle down.</p>

<p>Thanks James and Frank; both replies have helped me. Frank sorry about being needed to RTFM. A guy in my local camera shop told me specifically that covering the viewfinder was unecessary. I have since changed shops. Thanks again.</p>

<p>I made a small mistake in my last posting - what I meant to say is that I constantly use the 2 second self timer (not MLU) in combination with the 'Exposure Delay' setting. This gives the vibration from pressing the shutter release 2 seconds to abate before the mirror swings up at the beginning of the 0.8 second exposure delay period prior to the shutter opening.<br>

It works perfectly.</p>

<p>Most, if not all, Nikons have a button to lock exposure. Use of this control should obviate any need to shield the eyepiece.</p>

<p>Mike, the manual tells us to use autoexposure lock to recompose photographs after metering the <br /> exposure. Could you go into more detail on how you avoid stray light out of the view finder from getting into the exposure on long exposures.</p>

<p>The "Exposure Delay" as already alluded to, may be one of the best yet least used feature on this camera...so much so, I wish it were a external control instead of buried in the menus. (MUP) is great to have though not necessary obviously with fast shutter speeds.<br>

Tripod head dampening plays a major role in deciding when or when not to use MUP.</p>

<p>I find the Exposure Delay more than adequate for most of my mirror up requirements.</p>

<p>Don't forget to set exposure delay back to OFF when you're done. I sometimes forget; the next time I shoot a frame I say to myself "Now that's what I call shutter lag!" LOL</p>

<p>James,<br>

There is an option in the Custom Settings Menu (#C-2 in the D200) which permits a single press of the AE/AL to lock just the exposure (continuous pressing is NOT necessary). So you can use this method to lock exposure and then recompose, or lock exposure and then move your eye away from the viewfinder prior to tripping the shutter.</p>

<p>As far as stray light entering through the viewfinder and causing incorrect exposure, the length of the exposure is not a factor. The exposure is determined in the instant just before the shutter is fired (or the instant before the AE lock is pressed). Any light entering thru the viewfinder while the exposure is in progress will have no effect. (This is in contradiction to J. Symington's post above and I would appreciate his comments.) So this problem only arises when you are shooting in one of the auto exposure modes and you take your eye away from the viewfinder prior to firing the shutter. Among other situations this is almost always the case when you shoot in Self Timer mode.</p>

<p>I use mirror lock-up whenever it's feasible. Unless I'm shooting people or something that's moving (and timing is critical), I raise the mirror before taking an exposure. This includes hand-held shots.</p>

<p>Sometimes I shade the viewfinder with my hand (an inch or so away). Leaving it unshaded is not really a problem unless I'm taking a long exposure and I have a bright light behind me.</p>

 

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<p>Sometimes I shade the viewfinder with my hand (an inch or so away). Leaving it unshaded is not really a problem unless I'm taking a long exposure and I have a bright light behind me.</p>

 

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<p>Dan, what evidence do you have that light entering the viewfinder <em>during the course</em> <em>of</em> (i.e. after the shutter has opened and before it closes) a long exposure can influence the exposure parameters? Please see my remarks in my prior post.</p>

<p>On my D80 as soon as I press the shutter button (with self timer) to make the exposure, the exposure is locked. I don't know about the D300, but I wouldn't be surprised if it works the same.</p>

<p>Hi Mike,<br>

I am not referring to the problem of light entering the viewfinder prior to exposure that will affect your exposure parameters (shutter speed or aperture) which is a well known issue on SLRs.<br>

What I am saying is that without shading the viewfinder it IS categorically possible - and in my case provable - that light coming through the viewfinder can make its way onto the sensor during exposure and actually put a band all the way across your photo. As the exposures were many minutes long and the band was fairly mild (but nevertheless ruinous to the picture) the leak must be small. On an exposure of a few seconds I suppose it would not have been visible. And no, this is definitely not some strange lens induced flare or an electronic artifact of the long exposure. This was on a D700.<br>

Nevertheless in 20 years of taking photographs this was the only time I have observed that to happen so I presume it requires the alignment of two factors: light entering the viewfinder at a specific angle and a very long exposure to reveal this small leak.</p>

<p>For the curious if you go to my website and look at the third photograph in the UK gallery this was approximately the shot where I had this problem although the camera was pointed about 20 degrees further to the left but nevertheless down at that angle. The sun was still some while away from rising just over my right shoulder.</p>

<p>Hi James,<br>

Thanks for that clarification. That is indeed an unusual phenomenon. One wouldn't expect a light leak from the viewfinder to the sensor. I wonder what Nikon would say about that.</p>

<p>Ray, on the D200 the exposure is not locked when the shutter release is pressed in self-timer mode. It is in exactly this situation that most user manuals recommend blocking the viewfinder eyepiece. Don't know about the D80; it may be the exception to the rule.</p>