Photography Shooting Technique #2: Using Mirror Lockup

Photography Shooting Technique #2: Using Mirror Lockup
Requirement: DSLR camera with Mirror Lockup (I think all DSLR’s have this, I’m not sure though with Film cameras)
Shooting style: Hand held (Not applicable for use with tripod)
Flash / Lighting: Built-in / Speedlite / Studio or Strobe / Continuous / Ambient
Best Used: For macro shooting; When using slow shutter speed (slowest value may depend on how “stable” you can be); When shooting long range or when using long focal length

In my previous post, we have discussed how to effectively utilize the manual focus in live view shooting to improve the sharpness of the subject to be photographed. In this post, we will be discussing how to use Mirror Lockup to reduce camera shake.

In this discussion, we will be using a Canon 40D with Canon 50mm f/1.8 II lens. The lens may be classified as a prime lens, but due to its focal length, we can also consider this lens as a medium telephoto lens.

What is Mirror Lockup?
As we press the shutter button, 3 components spring into action: the mirror, the first curtain, the second curtain. All these three components move extremely fast which can cause vibration, just like a recoil of the gun after firing. Exaggerated? Maybe. But the slightest vibration may cause camera shake that will ruin your photo. I’m not saying that you need to use mirror lockup all the time nor using mirror lockup will remove camera shake, but using mirror lockup on certain shooting situations may significantly reduce camera shake, thus improving the quality of your shot.

When to use Mirror Lockup?
1. Shooting close up or macro photography;
2. Shooting long range or using long focal length;
3. Shooting using slow shutter speed (“5 – 1/30)
- All situations shooting hand held.

When shooting in condition #3, it really depends on how stable the photographer can be. The more stable the photographer can hold the camera, the longer shutter speed can be achieved.

How does Mirror Lockup work?
In normal operation, once the shutter button is pressed, the mirror moves up, allowing the first curtain to expose, the second curtain closes, then the mirror returns to its original position. Once the mirror lockup is enabled, the shutter must be pressed twice to complete a shot. The first time the shutter button is pressed, the mirror will move up but the second curtain will NOT activate. This prevents the first curtain to expose. The second time that the shutter button is pressed, the second curtain is then activated so the first curtain exposes and the rest of the actions follow (second curtain will close and the mirror will move back to its original position). In this process, the vibration caused by the mirror moving upward is eliminated, reducing the total combined vibration which results to a lesser camera shake.

Can Mirror Lockup replace IS / VR / VC (Vibration Control)?
Depending on the shooting condition, YES. Also, Image Stabilizer (IS) by Canon or Vibration Reduction (VR) by Nikon lens technology increases the monetary value of the lens by almost half of its original value. Not all of us can afford that.

The images below are cropped 100%, the picture on the left side was taken using normal method while the picture on the right side was taken using Mirror Lockup:

Shutter speed – 1/5, Aperture value – f/7.1, ISO speed – 100, hand held shooting

It is clear that enabling mirror lockup when shooting using slow shutter speed reduces the camera shake caused by the vibration of the 3 components (mirror, 1st and 2nd curtains) in the camera.

Note: Amount of vibration reduction may vary.

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