Mirror lock up on 40D

How do I enable the mirror lock up function on the 40D?

Also when I use live view mode I hear something that sounds like it opens up in side the body. Is that the same as mirror lock up? I want to get the most sharpest pictures I can get while shooting landscape.

Menu - C.FnIII-7 - Enable

When using live view mode the mirror is flipped up out of the way.

So using "live View" is similar to mirro lock up right?

Well, the mirror's locked up while you're in Live View. But there's a lot more to it than that.

Jon wrote in post #4182606
Well, the mirror's locked up while you're in Live View. But there's a lot more to it than that.

Please explain...

If I was to shoot landscape is it better to lock the mirror and then snap the shot or use live view and snap the shot?

Mirror lockup is useful when you use a tripod, such as for landscapes and macros (but not for things such as action and continuous shooting). For fast shutter speeds it's not so useful, but if you are in dim light and/or use a narrow aperture then mirror lock will help you to not expose as the camera vibrates from the mirror snapping back. I use it extensively with my tripod work.

To use mirror lockup you have to enable it in the Custom Function, then when you press the shutterspeed the camera will set focus and exposure (unless you did these manually) then the mirror will open and lock. You wait a little bit for the vibration to die down, then press the shutter button a second time and the image will be captured.

Your manual expains this procedure -- I suggest you give it a good reading to familiarize yourself with the operation of a very nice camera!

Hope this helps,

Tony

I set it to a custom function and sorted it to the top (CF1).. Its super fast to access this way... I also use it for tripod work and have discovered its not so good for in hand camera work if you have to constantly keep moving it and aiming everywhere... It helps tremendously on the tripod for landscapes thats for sure...

Ok, what is mirror lock up. I have heard it but what do you use it for?

nutsnbolts wrote in post #4187241
Ok, what is mirror lock up. I have heard it but what do you use it for?

When you shoot a photo, the mirror swings up and out of the way, so that the light can hit the sensor. The mirror is so you can see the image in the viewfinder (it reflects the light up into the viewfinder).

The swinging up of the mirror causes vibration that can "blur" a photograph under certain conditions.

Locking up the mirror eliminates this vibration that the mirror produces.

Remember, I said "under certain conditions". It's late where I am so I'll let the masses here expound on those conditions...

.

OK - so the unanswered question here is if using liveview provides the same advantages for vibration reduction as using mirror lock-up. Any opinions/data on this?

xarqi wrote in post #4187727
OK - so the unanswered question here is if using liveview provides the same advantages for vibration reduction as using mirror lock-up. Any opinions/data on this?

Because the mirror is locked up in live view, the answer is yes.

BogongBreeze wrote in post #4187792
Because the mirror is locked up in live view, the answer is yes.

Cool - another advantage of liveview that I hadn't fully appreciated. In fact, the whole PITA MLU issue just went away, as far as I can see.

AperturePriority wrote in post #4187633
Remember, I said "under certain conditions". It's late where I am so I'll let the masses here expound on those conditions...

The condition is that it is effective only in the range of shutter speeds 1/30 down to 1 second. Faster than 1/30 the speed "freezes" the mirror caused camera motion while slower than 1 second the time when there are vibrations is such a small part of the total exposure that it is inconsequential. Some people do say that the range is 1/60 - 2 sec. and others use it even more, according to the philosophy of "If it doesn't hurt, why not use it?"

xarqi wrote in post #4187848
Cool - another advantage of liveview that I hadn't fully appreciated. In fact, the whole PITA MLU issue just went away, as far as I can see.

Precisely, and with the bonus that you don't lose eye contact. OTOH, use it sparingly to avoid heat generated from LV raising the noise level.

Don't forget that you'll probably negate any benefit unless you use MLU on a tripod with a cable release. Just pressing the shutter button will probably give a vibration greater than that of the mirror itself.