So dumb question... How to shoot with mirror lock up and what lens next?

I have a 60D with the oem wired remote. I would like to understand how to shoot with the mirror locked up. I know this should be straight forward but I cannot seem to get the settings right. I use the back button focus so I know I need to change the focus button setting for using the wired remote, but I cant seem to figure out the correct setting for everything. If someone could explain please in simple terms I would really appreciate it.

Also bonus question, My kit is listed below. I would like to invest in some new glass soon. WIthout coloring your opinions with my thoughts so fa, what would you get next? My budget will be around 1500 and I shoot a little of everything.


Thanks for any and all help.

Juan

1) What are you trying to achieve ?

2) Dependent on what you want to shoot and what is your current set of Lens not doing for you .

David

Regarding lens selection, do you need really low light capability or perhaps do you want extended reach for wildlife, sports or just a narrow field of view? Or do you really want to get into landscapes. Those will determine your lens direction.

As an answer for your second question i would suggest investing good prime lens. May be FF body compatible in case... as you said to shoot little of everything sigma 35 mm f 1.4 is a good option. Also sigma 85 mm f 1.4 makes a great portrait lens.

Sorry, for part 1 I am trying to shoot long exposures at night. So I have read that using mirror lock up is the best way to ensure no vibrations. I am just having trouble figuring out how to use it with my camera and the wired remote.

As for the lens recommendations, I am just testing the waters to hear what others would purchase next. I have ideas of what I would like to have but I am jut getting some ideas from others to see if there is something I have not thought of.

Search "Mirror Lock Up" in the manual PDF. Basically, set Mirror Lock up to "ENABLE", focus, press shutter button once to lock the mirror up. Press shutter button AGAIN to take the shot. Mirror lock up stays on until you set it to "DISABLE".

Your second question is so vague it is impossible to give a meaningful answer.
Shooting long: 400 f/5.6L.
Better long zoom: 70-300L.
Wide fast zoom: 24-70 f/2.8L.
Fast primes:
short: 24L
mid: 35L or 50L
long: 135 f2L
longer: 400 2.8L (not getting this one for $1500!)

Do you need more zoom range, better IQ, faster glass, longer reach? See what I mean? This is necessarily a "you go first" question. Kind of like "What kind of automobile should I buy?" We need to know if you want to haul two tons of bricks, get 9 kids to a hockey game, or pass everything else on the autobahn, first.

To enable mirror lockup, take these steps:

Set the Mode dial to a mode in the Creative Zone.

Mirror lockup isn’t available in the fully automatic exposure modes.

Press Menu and navigate to the Custom Functions menu.

Scroll down to C.Fn III: Autofocus/Drive and press Set.

Press left or right on the multicontroller until you see C.Fn III-5, Mirror Lockup; then press Set.

Press up or down to highlight the Enable option.

It sounds like you may be confusing Mirror Lockup with shooting in Bulb mode. All ML does is lock the mirror up before taking a shot, and then reset it after the shot is taken...this has no effect at all on exposure times.

'Bulb' mode is the mode you would shoot in for long exposure shots, where the shutter remains open as long as the shutter button is kept depressed. To use this effectively, you'll need a remote that has a lock function for the shutter button that will keep it locked once you hit it, or an RF remote that supports Bulb mode. Otherwise, you're going to stand around holding the remote button in one hand and a stopwatch in the other.

On the newer bodies, like your 60D, Live View is a better option than using ML, in my opinion. LV automatically locks the mirror up and leaves it up, so there's no vibration; plus, you can more easily see what your framing and everything is going to be like without having to keep touching the camera to look through the viewfinder

Juan A wrote in post #15441894
Sorry, for part 1 I am trying to shoot long exposures at night. So I have read that using mirror lock up is the best way to ensure no vibrations.

If you're doing long exposures, you shouldn't need mirror lockup. The insignificant amount of vibration from the mirror flipping up won't even register on a long exposure. Same with a very short exposure. If I recall correctly, there's a pretty narrow range of shutter speeds where mirror lockup is necessary. Someone please correct me if I'm wrong here.

Juan A wrote in post #15441792
I have a 60D with the oem wired remote. I would like to understand how to shoot with the mirror locked up. I know this should be straight forward but I cannot seem to get the settings right. I use the back button focus so I know I need to change the focus button setting for using the wired remote, but I cant seem to figure out the correct setting for everything. If someone could explain please in simple terms I would really appreciate it.

Also bonus question, My kit is listed below. I would like to invest in some new glass soon. WIthout coloring your opinions with my thoughts so fa, what would you get next? My budget will be around 1500 and I shoot a little of everything.


Thanks for any and all help.

Juan

Hi Juan,

Mirror lockup lets you raise the mirror and take the picture as two separate actions, so when it is enabled you have to press the shutter button twice for each shot, once to raise the mirror and again to activate the shutter. This is the same whether you're pressing the shutter button on the camera or on the wired remote... the picture is taken on the second full press of the button. Do you have a simple wired remote with a lockable button on it? Mirror lockup can confuse intervalometers...

I use mirror lockup when I take pictures of the moon at a long focal length. The movement of the mirror causes a little vibration and the longer the focal length the more visible this is. With mirror lockup I press once to lock the mirror up, wait for any vibration to die down and then press again to take the picture. While the mirror is up you can't use the viewfinder.

For longer exposures it matters less because the mirror vibration happens once at the start of the shot but is absent for most of the exposure. The effect of the vibration will only be very faint. You do have to be careful of other sources of vibration though, like movement near the tripod, people walking past, wind.

It sounds like you've already discovered that AF only works from the remote when it is assigned to the shutter button in the camera.

For your next lens, I'd consider the 40mm pancake. A more normal prime than your 60mm, great fun and not expensive.

DantheCanonMan wrote in post #15442493
If you're doing long exposures, you shouldn't need mirror lockup. The insignificant amount of vibration from the mirror flipping up won't even register on a long exposure. Same with a very short exposure. If I recall correctly, there's a pretty narrow range of shutter speeds where mirror lockup is necessary. Someone please correct me if I'm wrong here.

I disagree with this - I think it's in the best interest of the "best" possible result to eliminate shake as completely as possible. Absolutely use mirror lockup with a timer delay and a remote during bulb exposures, there is no reason not to. It doesn't cost anything or even any inconvenience.

The range of shutter speeds where mirror lockup is useful doesn't "end" - it starts when your shutter speeds start to be slow enough to induce camera shake (think 1/focal length rule, or 1/15, or whatever, it's a bit subjective I suppose) and then extends to any exposure longer than that... My personal opinion, of course.

Even though the exposure will average out as it gets longer, blur/shake is still blur/shake and doesn't average out in the same way as someone passing through the view of the lens. It may arguably not be noticeable in a 2 minute exposure, but my argument is, why not use it if highest possible sharpness is a concern?

Snydremark wrote in post #15441975
It sounds like you may be confusing Mirror Lockup with shooting in Bulb mode. All ML does is lock the mirror up before taking a shot, and then reset it after the shot is taken...this has no effect at all on exposure times.

This is what I was thinking .

David

You seem to have most focal lengths covered already so can only suggest you may want to upgrade what you have or go for a fast prime.

Long exposures I never bother with mirror lock up or the timer. Just use the remote & I don't bother about focussing either as I usually shoot those type of things at hyperfocal

MintMark wrote in post #15442596
Hi Juan,

Mirror lockup lets you raise the mirror and take the picture as two separate actions, so when it is enabled you have to press the shutter button twice for each shot, once to raise the mirror and again to activate the shutter. This is the same whether you're pressing the shutter button on the camera or on the wired remote... the picture is taken on the second full press of the button. Do you have a simple wired remote with a lockable button on it? Mirror lockup can confuse intervalometers...

I use mirror lockup when I take pictures of the moon at a long focal length. The movement of the mirror causes a little vibration and the longer the focal length the more visible this is. With mirror lockup I press once to lock the mirror up, wait for any vibration to die down and then press again to take the picture. While the mirror is up you can't use the viewfinder.

For longer exposures it matters less because the mirror vibration happens once at the start of the shot but is absent for most of the exposure. The effect of the vibration will only be very faint. You do have to be careful of other sources of vibration though, like movement near the tripod, people walking past, wind.

It sounds like you've already discovered that AF only works from the remote when it is assigned to the shutter button in the camera.

For your next lens, I'd consider the 40mm pancake. A more normal prime than your 60mm, great fun and not expensive.

Thanks Mark. This is exactly where I was getting confused. I did not understand how to actually use the function. And yes I do have the simple wired remote with the sliding lock on the shutter button.

Thanks guys for all the suggestions. I did notice that I had forgotten a lens in my signature so I have updated it to add the fact that I already have a Sigma 30mm f1.4 as well as all the other lenses. Thanks for the suggestions and help so far. I am very much open to further suggestions.

Thanks Juan

Juan A wrote in post #15441792
I have a 60D with the oem wired remote. I would like to understand how to shoot with the mirror locked up. I know this should be straight forward but I cannot seem to get the settings right. I use the back button focus so I know I need to change the focus button setting for using the wired remote, but I cant seem to figure out the correct setting for everything. If someone could explain please in simple terms I would really appreciate it.

Also bonus question, My kit is listed below. I would like to invest in some new glass soon. WIthout coloring your opinions with my thoughts so fa, what would you get next? My budget will be around 1500 and I shoot a little of everything.


Thanks for any and all help.

Juan

If I had your kit, I'd be adding either a 100L macro, a 400mm of some kind (either 100-400L, or 400mm f/5.6L) or if you're *really* into Macro, an MP-E 65. Those would all be in your budget range, though the 100-400 would be pushing it a bit.