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Greg D

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Nikon mirror lock-up question
« on: August 22, 2009, 10:43:17 am »

I just got a Nikon D90.  Haven't used it yet, just been learning my way around it, and I discover to my horror that there is no way to lock up the mirror.  I knew it had no mirror-up drive option, but I thought with live view it wouldn't matter - the mirror's up, right?  Well, sort of.  In live view, the mirror goes up, you focus (manually or auto), and when the shutter's pressed, the mirror goes BACK DOWN, then up again, the shutter fires, and the mirror goes back up.  What's up with that??  This strikes me as a fatal flaw, but am I overestimating the importance of MLU?  I've used it a great deal with my previous cameras (Canons).  I shoot a lot on tripod, often waterfalls, landscapes in low light, etc. that involve medium to very slow shutter speeds, so it seems essential.  Any ways to work around this?
Thanks for any advice....
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01af

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Nikon mirror lock-up question
« Reply #1 on: August 22, 2009, 11:16:41 am »

If your SLR camera really has neither mirror lock-up nor mirror pre-fire (the latter usually disguised as the 2-sec self-timer) then it's a snap-shooter's toy, not a photographer's tool. Get rid of it and buy a real camera.

-- Olaf

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Tgrain

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Nikon mirror lock-up question
« Reply #2 on: August 23, 2009, 12:29:49 am »

I found this in the DP Review forum.  Hope it helps.  Not quite mirror lock up, but pretty close.

Custom menu D10: "Exposure Delay" This delays the shutter release until about 2 seconds after the mirror has raised. The D90 also has a gentler mirror slap than the D70S and D50.

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MarkL

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Nikon mirror lock-up question
« Reply #3 on: August 23, 2009, 05:12:11 am »

Quote from: Tgrain
I found this in the DP Review forum.  Hope it helps.  Not quite mirror lock up, but pretty close.

Custom menu D10: "Exposure Delay" This delays the shutter release until about 2 seconds after the mirror has raised. The D90 also has a gentler mirror slap than the D70S and D50.

Does setting the self timer lock up the mirror?

The exposure delay on my D700 is ~1sec not sure about the D90. 2 secs should be OK, 1 sec isn't ideal. I have no idea why nikon don't make the time user selectable.

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Slough

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Nikon mirror lock-up question
« Reply #4 on: August 24, 2009, 06:19:03 am »

Quote from: MarkL
Does setting the self timer lock up the mirror?

The exposure delay on my D700 is ~1sec not sure about the D90. 2 secs should be OK, 1 sec isn't ideal. I have no idea why nikon don't make the time user selectable.

It's called product differentiation. You make sure there is enough in the cheap end cameras for them to sell, but not so much that they take sales from the high end gear. Canon are better in respect of MLU.

There are software means to control a Nikon DSLR via USB, and it might be that they include methods to raise the mirror even in the D90. Breeze and Nikon Control Pro are the two I know about. Of course this means a laptop/PC is needed. Maybe a handheld PC? I suspect these software products do not support them though.
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