Hi Everyone,I have tried shooting long exposure shots using my wired remote control with my 500d. I recently did a one day course in which i was told to use mirror lock up at speeds under 1/15 sec to get crisp sharp pics. So a few days ago during a break from the rain I took my camera out and thought I'd try out what I'd learned and set my camera up on the tripod. I enabled mirror lock up and tried shooting at speeds of both 1 sec and 2 secs at iso 100 as told. The pics just wouldn't come out. They were totally black. So I increased the iso incrementally until I finally reached iso 1600, but still the pics came out completely black. i also naturally tried it at 1/15 sec also but still no joy. I am obviously doing something wrong.Tonight just trying some remote shot wihtout mirror lock up and the camera seems to be fine. The photos seem fine.I would greatly appreciate any advice and help you can give me.Thanks and take care,Paddy5000

Just checking the silly stuff - Don't you have to set it to 2-second self timerorpress the shutter button a second time to make mirror lock-up work?Page 104 of the manual: http://gdlp01.c-wss.com/gds/6/0300002246/01/eosrti-eos500d-imh-en.pdfEspecially note the "!" section at the bottom of the page talking about MIL + Self Timer + Bulb modeAre you using live view? If so it might be the old firmware (1.0.9 IIRC). http://web.canon.jp/imaging/eosd/firm-e/eosdigital6/firmware.html (Note: this is a longshot.)Otherwise - I seriously have to ask if your lens cap was on - even though I realize that you did focus the lens somehow.

hi1 things come to mind as a possible explanation. First , are you remembering to trigger shutter after initially locking mirror up. You have to press shutter a twice....once to lock up mirror then a second time to actually release shutter.

I hope you find out what the issue was with your mirror lock up, it works fine for me - needs pressing twice, I noticed you said you are using wired shutter release, perhaps that has something to do with it....But I was also interested to know the 1/15 sec you quoted regarding when mirror lock up should be used. I wonder how they arrive at this !? I would like to know what the order of things are after pressing the shutter so that the vibration effects IQ.Does the shutter opens after the mirror reaches it's final resting place or before ? And if before is that why the vibration does not matter at high speed (that is the shutter is opened and closed before the mirror hit the top (to create vibration) !?Perhaps someone can put light on it, or is at more of a Canon technician question....

Thanks Shorthand, for your advice and help. I was making the mistake of only pressing the shutter release once.Thank youPaddy5000

Thanks Jik22, for your advice and help. Yes I was making the mistake of only pressing the shutter release once.Thank youPaddy5000

Thanks uzin, for your advice and help. I was making the mistake of only pressing the shutter release once.I don't know the answers to the other issues you raised. I hope you get those answers. I'm just learning myself.Thank youPaddy5000

uzinwrote:But I was also interested to know the 1/15 sec you quoted regarding when mirror lock up should be used. I wonder how they arrive at this !? I would like to know what the order of things are after pressing the shutter so that the vibration effects IQ.Here's something written by a Nikon guy with regards to Nikon cameras, but good in general"... there's tangible "mirror slap" vibration that shows up with telephoto lenses when the shutter speed is in the 1/2 to 1/15 range (I usually suggest either avoiding the 1 second to 1/30 range with lenses over 100mm unless you have a solid platform and use either mirror lockup ..."Quote fromhttp://www.bythom.com/support.htm

Just a thought:if using the mirror lock-up to avoid vibrations,wouldn't make more sense to choose-if possible-the 2-second delay instead of pressing the shutter twice,more so when shooting at 1\15 ?

uzinwrote:But I was also interested to know the 1/15 sec you quoted regarding when mirror lock up should be used. I wonder how they arrive at this !? I would like to know what the order of things are after pressing the shutter so that the vibration effects IQ.The problem is that the mirror flapping up, kicks off a low frequency vibration in the tripod. With fast shutter speeds (personally I would say greater than 1/125 - YMMV), this movement is insignificant within the time the shutter is open.This effect gets more noticeable as the focal length is increased, effectively raising the minimum usable shutter speed. As an extreme example on my C8 Telescope (2000mm). The vibration of the shutter (not the mirror!) on the 400D was causing an 8 pixel double image of the moon at slow shutter speeds. (above about 1/500 it was ok)Does the shutter opens after the mirror reaches it's final resting place or before ? And if before is that why the vibration does not matter at high speed (that is the shutter is opened and closed before the mirror hit the top (to create vibration) !?Perhaps someone can put light on it, or is at more of a Canon technician question....Without Mirror lockup the sequence is...1. Mirror flaps up and hits the stop 2. First curtain of the shutter opens and starts moving across the sensor.For fast speeds above about 1/2503. 2nd curtain of the shutter closes and moves across the sensor, creating a 'moving slit' which is narrower with higher shutter speeds. But the rate at which they both move across the sensor is a constant. 4. This slit moves across the entire sensor. 5. The mirror flaps down and re-cocks the shutter. (so it can fire again)For slower speeds3. The first curtain fully opens 4. There is a time delay (depending on shutter speed.) 5. The 2nd curtain closes (again the rate at which they both move is constant) 6. The mirror flaps down and re-cocks the shutter. (so it can fire again)Liveview is a very good implementation of 'mirror lockup'. Not only do you get a live previewwhile the mirror is locked up.But also much less vibration.The sequence is...1. Set liveview mode - The mirror locks up 2. Shutter opens (1st curtain) and stays open (liveview image available on LCD) 3. Upon pressing the shutter the exposure is started electronically. 4. The exposure is terminated with the 2nd curtain closing. 5. The mirror flaps down and re-cocks the shutter. 6. The mirror flaps up and locks up. 7. The shutter opens (1st curtain) and camera returns to liveview.The advantage is much less vibration as the exposure is started electronically. This is why I purchased the 450D, which solved my 8 pixel double image problem.Note - The liveview method above is a bit like an 'electronic first curtain'. i.e. It's still a moving slit for high shutter speeds. This is because there is no way of terminating the exposure electronically, apart from downloading the image. (which can not be done fast enough at high shutter speeds)During liveview (image preview and video recording), the method is therefore to download the image continuously at the maximum rate (say 30/60 f.p.s), but electronically start the exposureby flushing away any charge on each pixela specific time before it is downloaded. The delay being equal to the shutter speed.The disadvantage of this method however, is the 'jellow' effect you see with fast panning.RegardsAndy.