Exposure Delay mode on Nikon D80

[FungiJohn]

Hello all

I'm creating quite a few images now using bellows, reversed lenses and through microscopes by way of an adaptor.

The 'horizontal' bellows 'rig' is very stable but I suspect I am introducing 'mirror slap' issues, even using the remote.

Has anyone used the mirror / shutter delay option on the D80 and more importantly, found it successful? I'm typically using exposures of 1-3 seconds at f29.

I get the feeling, a camera upgrade is on the cards to make use of the mirror lockup

Any comments as ever much appreciated

John

[Lancashire Lad]

I haven't yet used the facility with my D80 John, but I am aware of it.

Having been brought up on film SLR's with (mechanical) mirror lock up as more or less a standard, it seems strange that the facility isn't incorporated into more of today's DSLR's.

I note that the user manual states: -
Quote: Select On to delay shutter release until about 0.4 s after the shutter release button is pressed, reducing camera shake in situations in which the least camera movement could result in blurred photographs (for example, microscope photography). Unquote.

It does seem strange that the delay is set at approx. 0.4 second, as it would surely only have been a software tweak to make that delay say 1 second or even 2 seconds.

I can only imagine that Nikon are satisfied that the set delay is adequate - (Bearing in mind that the mirror assembly on these DSLR's is substantially lighter than was the case on the SLR's of the old days).

I'd be tempted to try a series of test shots to see if satisfactory results are obtained before investing in a new body.

EDIT - I'd always use the 2 second self timer to release the shutter as well.

Regards,
Mike.

[FungiJohn]

Originally Posted by Lancashire Lad

I haven't yet used the facility with my D80 John, but I am aware of it.

Having been brought up on film SLR's with (mechanical) mirror lock up as more or less a standard, it seems strange that the facility isn't incorporated into more of today's DSLR's.

I note that the user manual states: -
Quote: Select On to delay shutter release until about 0.4 s after the shutter release button is pressed, reducing camera shake in situations in which the least camera movement could result in blurred photographs (for example, microscope photography). Unquote.

It does seem strange that the delay is set at approx. 0.4 second, as it would surely only have been a software tweak to make that delay say 1 second or even 2 seconds.

I can only imagine that Nikon are satisfied that the set delay is adequate - (Bearing in mind that the mirror assembly on these DSLR's is substantially lighter than was the case on the SLR's of the old days).

I'd be tempted to try a series of test shots to see if satisfactory results are obtained before investing in a new body.

EDIT - I'd always use the 2 second self timer to release the shutter as well.

Regards,
Mike.

Hi Mike and thanks for this.

I too was surprised over the relatively short delay but can't find anything yet on Nikons technical pages.

I will give it a try, but I suppose I'm after an excuse to upgrade and do it properly

John

Edit : I do!

[Lancashire Lad]

Originally Posted by FungiJohn

....I'm typically using exposures of 1-3 seconds at f29....

Just a thought, but if you were to extensively prolong the exposures to say 10 seconds or more, by reducing lighting levels (and also setting ISO 100 if not already done so), the effects of mirror shake will be nigh on eradicated regardless of delaying shutter release, so the combination of long exposures plus shutter delay should do the trick.

From what I've been able to find out mirror shake very seldom manifests itself on exposures longer than three seconds. (There is some discussion on this subject on astro-photography blogs).

Regards,
Mike.

[FungiJohn]

Originally Posted by Lancashire Lad

Just a thought, but if you were to extensively prolong the exposures to say 10 seconds or more, by reducing lighting levels (and also setting ISO 100 if not already done so), the effects of mirror shake will be nigh on eradicated regardless of delaying shutter release, so the combination of long exposures plus shutter delay should do the trick.

From what I've been able to find out mirror shake very seldom manifests itself on exposures longer than three seconds. (There is some discussion on this subject on astro-photography blogs).

Regards,
Mike.

Interesting information Mike. I'll check it out.

Oddly enough, images taken through the scopes are better ... Typically in the range 3 to 8 seconds!!

John

[Bruce Williams]

I used the mirror delay option with my D80 quite a lot - mainly shooting (benchtop) stacked macros of fossils and found it to be quite effective at shutter speeds of ~1s and slower.

I traded up to the D300 some time back and I have to say that I immediately noticed a significant improvement in IQ - and of course the D300 does have a proper mirror lock-up facility.

John, you mention that you are shooting at f/29 and I just wonder if your image might be showing some diffraction limitation softening. I did some tests in Feb 2009 with the D300 (see pics below) and comparing f/16 with f/32 shows very noticeable loss in quality. Images are as shot (excepting crop in cs3).

Subject is a sock.
Camera on tripod.
Lens (Nikon 105mm macro VR) set to closest focus (1:1).
Mirror locked up and shutter fired on 30s timer.



Note1: You can also see the difference in depth of field so there is a trade off of sorts.

Note2: This Nikon camera/lens combination shows aperture in terms of working (or effective) f-number not in terms of nominal f-number. I'm guessing that your f/29 is the also the effective f number.

Bruce

[FungiJohn]

Originally Posted by Bruce Williams

I used the mirror delay option with my D80 quite a lot - mainly shooting (benchtop) stacked macros of fossils and found it to be quite effective at shutter speeds of ~1s and slower.

I traded up to the D300 some time back and I have to say that I immediately noticed a significant improvement in IQ - and of course the D300 does have a proper mirror lock-up facility.

John, you mention that you are shooting at f/29 and I just wonder if your image might be showing some diffraction limitation softening. I did some tests in Feb 2009 with the D300 (see pics below) and comparing f/16 with f/32 shows very noticeable loss in quality. Images are as shot (excepting crop in cs3).

Subject is a sock.
Camera on tripod.
Lens (Nikon 105mm macro VR) set to closest focus (1:1).
Mirror locked up and shutter fired on 30s timer.



Note1: You can also see the difference in depth of field so there is a trade off of sorts.

Note2: This Nikon camera/lens combination shows aperture in terms of working (or effective) f-number not in terms of nominal f-number. I'm guessing that your f/29 is the also the effective f number.

Bruce

Hi Bruce and many thanks for this.

The sun must be having a detrimental affect on me the image of Physarum album in the Gallery was taken at f22 on the reversed 50mm. Not the best of lenses, especially at that aperture.

I'm just about to set off on holiday to Cornwall but will look at this on my return taking into consideration your excellent advice.

I shall crack this one, as it is very frustrating seeing a stunning image in the viewfinder only to end up with a rather 'soft' result.

The joys of macro

John

PS I'm seriously looking at the D300 upgrade option too!

[WhiskyBottle]

I use the delay on a D300(s), though I thought it was 1s. Not done any test shots with/without.

Trouble is I forget to switch it off again

[Bruce Williams]

Martin,

I suspect you were using the Exposure Delay Mode (EDM) not Mirror Lock-up. When selected, EDM delays the shutter release until ~1 sec after the mirror is raised. This is probably long enough for any mirror related vibration to die down. However these shots were for the purposes of IQ testing so I guess I was just being super cautious.

When you lock the mirror up on the D300 (and you don't fire the shutter) it will automatically fire 30 seconds after the mirror was raised. I used this "long wait" approach in this instance because I was too lazy to hunt for the cable release.

Out of interest, as an alternative the self-timer delay (without mirror lock-up) can be set to 2s, 5s, 10s or 20s.

Bruce