MLU necessary on the R8?

[quixotic]

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I did a test the other day with a roll of film.  Every odd numbered shot with no MLU, and every even numbered shot with MLU (same image for the two shots, therefore 18 different images on a roll of 36).  It was all on a tripod, so I could compare sharpness.  I didn't find any differences, though the longest shutter exposure was 1/6".  

 

Has anybody done any conclusive tests on this unit, particularly with longer shutter exposures?  

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[sarkleshark]

What ia MLU?

[erl]

+1

[andybarton]

Mirror Lock Up?

[masjah]

What focal length lens were you using?

[masjah]

PS: Did you also use a cable release or the camera's own self-timer?

[Michael Geschlecht]

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Hello Everybody,

 

And, on a really solid tripod with a solid tripod head, after cocking the shutter & making all adjustments including focusing & stopping down the lens, was there at least 1 minute of waiting for everything to "settle down" before the shutter was GENTLY released? Longer than 1 minute if using a long lens or photographing something close up. Or both.

Best Regards,  

 

Michael

Edited May 12, 2018 by Michael Geschlecht

[quixotic]

Hello Everybody,

 

And, on a really solid tripod with a solid tripod head, after cocking the shutter & making all adjustments including focusing & stopping down the lens, was there at least 1 minute of waiting for everything to "settle down" before the shutter was GENTLY released? Longer than 1 minute if using a long lens or photographing something close up. Or both.

 

Best Regards,  

 

Michael

 

Nope.  5 or 10 seconds maaaybe.  In the past, with other cameras, if there was any breeze, I'd tension a bungee cord from the head down to the ground, but that's usually with medium format.   

 

With the R8, at the exposure times I was using, I didn't see any difference between MLU and non-MLU anyway.

[quixotic]

PS: Did you also use a cable release or the camera's own self-timer?

 

It was with a cable release, and the lens I had was a 35mm Curtagon.  

 

I did a bit more hunting around the internet after I posted, and someone mentioned that he/she never bothered with lock-up on the R8.  There was some speculation that it might have just been a selling feature, as opposed to a fix for an actual problem. 

[masjah]

Vibrations (whether caused by pressing the shutter or by mirror vibrations) are much more troublesome with long focal length lenses. For tripod work I tend to use lock-up in conjunction with the self timer (or with a cable release if the very instant of shutter press is critical). I once took a picture of the central ceiling boss of York Minster, for which a sturdy tripod with legs unextended, mirror lock-up and the self timer were all essential. That used the 280/4 Apo R + 2X Apo Extender. I suspect that it is in extreme cases such as this that mirror lock-up is most useful. Paradoxically, some say that with very long exposures, say 10 seconds plus, lock-up starts getting less important again, because the fraction of the exposure that is subject to vibration is much less. Personally I play safe, and for tripod work, I tend to use lock-up and self-timer (or cable release) as a matter of course.

[erl]

As an aside, Hasselblad in their later models employed a system where the mirror as it swings up, also 'glides' back into a park position, rather than just thumping up. Maybe I didn't explain that very well, but my point is that is well accepted that mirror flop IS detrimental to image sharpness. Anything that can avoid it is good. Leica M has it well solved!

[Michael Geschlecht]

Hello Quixotic,

 

Welcome to the Forum.

 

A non-stretchable cord might give somewhat more stability when you use a cord to to add stability to a camera & lens on a tripod.

 

Also: Shorter focal length lenses need less stability than longer lenses. Even with that I can see the difference in sharpness in photographs between a properly stabilized Camera & lens on a tripod and a more casually stabilized camera & lens on a tripod when using a 35mm lens on an M3.

 

Best Regards,

 

Michael

Edited May 13, 2018 by Michael Geschlecht