Mirror up or not?

megido

megido

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Hi
Is there really that much perceivable difference in sharpness when using mirror up?
I'm thinking of buying a Nikon F but would rather not lose a frame. If there is a worthwhile difference then I'll be looking at the F2.
Your opnions please.
Thank you
 
It's a bit tedious but you don't have to drop a frame on the F to use the mirror lock. Yes, the manual says you have to fire off a blank frame and that's true. But do you remember the old trick about how to make a multiple exposure with a 35mm camera that doesn't have the feature? Ie. taking up the slack in the film canister, releasing the wind lock and then securing the rewind knob as you cock the shutter? Well, it also works with the mirror lock up. As long as you cover the lens before setting the MLU and releasing the shutter (set 1/1000 + f/16 to guard against leaks) you can get the frame back, as outlined above.
Cheers
Brett
 
Yes, i'm aware of the double exposure proceedure. I think though, I would only use that method as a last resort. As you say, it's a little tedious, especially if not really necessary.
 
megido said:
Is there really that much perceivable difference in sharpness when using mirror up?
I'm thinking of buying a Nikon F but would rather not lose a frame. If there is a worthwhile difference then I'll be looking at the F2.
Your opnions please.
Click to expand...

Back in the 1970s, when I was shooting with my SLR mounted on a microscope, the mirror lock up feature made a big difference in image quality.

One of the reasons I switched from the Nikon F to the Nikon F2 was because of the improved F2 mirror lock up feature.
 
narsuitus said:
Back in the 1970s, when I was shooting with my SLR mounted on a microscope, the mirror lock up feature made a big difference in image quality.

One of the reasons I switched from the Nikon F to the Nikon F2 was because of the improved F2 mirror lock up feature.
Click to expand...

Hmmm, I wonder if that means there would be a perceivable difference in 'normal' (non microscopic) conditions too.
 
I've never intentionally locked my mirror up, except in testing.
When I have "fat fingered it" and inadvertently activated MLU
it's been a surprise and took me a moment to realize my error.

Chris
 
Why not try it? Only takes two frames per speed. Put the camera on a tripod; focus on a test target or newspaper; twist the lock; shoot. Mirror stays up, but the slap is before the exposure, so that's all you need. There's your not-locked test. Twist the lock back to free. Shoot. Mirror comes down, but not until after the exposure, so there's your locked test. Repeat for whatever speeds you're likely to use.

Incidentally, when I rested this, I found that the lock-up wasn't working on the first F I tried. I didn't know that could happen!

Cheers,

R.
 
Roger, thank you for your comments. However, the question is really a precurser to deciding on a F or F2 as I don't own either. If there is no discernable difference in sharpness between mirror up and not then I would prefer a F. If thats not the case then it will have to be an F2 to avoid losing a frame or uneccesary tedious procedures to save a frame. Hope that's ckear!
 
megido said:
Roger, thank you for your comments. However, the question is really a precurser to deciding on a F or F2 as I don't own either.
Click to expand...

Do you have any manual focus Nikon? If so, chances are that you already have mirror lock-up, at least enough of it for your purposes. Among the "lesser" Nikons, all Nikkormats (other than the extremely rare FS) had MLU, and the FE/FM/FA series replaced that with mirror pre-fire on the self-timer. Which serves the same purpose concerning stability, but won't do for the other use of MLU, namely mounting deep-mount lenses that extend into the mirror box - the 21/4 Nikkor and one or two of their most extreme fisheyes.
 
At what size are you printing the shots?
In other words, will you ever reach a resolution (as print size and viewing distance) that it will be visibly make a difference if you used mirror lock-up or not? Are you typically shooting handheld or do you use a tripod anyway?
I'd say for 35mm it's a nice to have but forget about it feature. Different story when you enter medium format...
 
icebear said:
At what size are you printing the shots?
In other words, will you ever reach a resolution (as print size and viewing distance) that it will be visibly make a difference if you used mirror lock-up or not? Are you typically shooting handheld or do you use a tripod anyway?
I'd say for 35mm it's a nice to have but forget about it feature. Different story when you enter medium format...
Click to expand...

I aim to print 12x16 maximum. I normally hand hold rangefinders (printing no larger than 8x10) The project in question requires a SLR and tripod. At what print sixe would you say mirror up would make a difference?
 
You should be able to see for yourself whether you get visible amounts of unilateral vertical motion blur with your current camera and specified parameters - any other type and direction of motion blur will not be mirror related.
 
With a 105mm lens you shouldn't need mirror lock up, unless your using a really bad tripod. Even then you can start the exposure with a black card in front of the lens.
 
megido said:
Roger, thank you for your comments. However, the question is really a precurser to deciding on a F or F2 as I don't own either. If there is no discernable difference in sharpness between mirror up and not then I would prefer a F. If thats not the case then it will have to be an F2 to avoid losing a frame or uneccesary tedious procedures to save a frame. Hope that's ckear!
Click to expand...
Sorry! My fault for not reading more carefully...

Cheers,

R.
 
Fraser said:
With a 105mm lens you shouldn't need mirror lock up, unless your using a really bad tripod. Even then you can start the exposure with a black card in front of the lens.
Click to expand...

I'll be using an original Tiltall. Out of interest, what's the black card trick exactly?
 
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