I do alot of macro photography and have noticed that Nikon & Minolta high-end bodies (F100, N80, Dynax 9, Dynax 7) don't offer the mirror lockup feature. For Nikon and Minolta owners, how do you deal with it? My intention is not to start any "brand" war. I just want to know if there is a trick beside solid tripod and release cable.

-- thang nguyen (nguyentnt@hotmail.com), September 01, 2000

Answers

Well a common Nikon "trick" is to buy a cheap manual focus body that has MLU. AF is not necessary for many macro applications. You can find used F3s on the market for $400 or so. The 100% finder and interchangeable focussing screens can be really handy for macro work.

The F, F2 and all the Nikkormats also have MLU (so does the F4 but they're not yet "cheap"). The FM, FE, FM2, FM2N, FE2 and FA all have a mirror pre-fire when you use the self-timer.

If you don't want a second body, the only trick that I'm aware of is to place a beanbag on top of the camera. This is supposed to absorb some of the vibrations.

For lens testing, I've heard of setting the shutter speed to "bulb" and taking in complete darkness you open the shutter, wait a second or two for the vibration to subside and then fire of a stobe. I could see using this in an emergency, but it's hardly a practical way to take pictures.

-- Geoffrey S. Kane (grendel@pgh.nauticom.net), September 01, 2000.

I have shot hundreds of flower closeup shots using a Nikon AF 8008s, it has no MLU, and an AF 105/2.8 D Micro lens, and cable release. I found that if I dont use shutter speeds 1/8th second to 1/15th I will get fine results, at least down to 1:1 on film, which is about as much as I go. Seems that shutter speeds above and below 1/8th and 1/15th perform very well.

-- Jim Bridges (jcbejb@worldnet.att.net), September 01, 2000.

The Nikon cameras you mentioned do not have mirror lock-up of any kind. However, the Minolta cameras you mentioned do have a 2 second delayed mirror prefire feature, where the mirror flips up when you trip the shutter button and 2 seconds later the shutter fires. This eliminates mirror slap, but you have that 2 second delay, which is fine for stationary objects and scenics, but could pose a problem if you are shooting living creatures that are moving around. I must add here that the mirrors/shutters of the Minolta high end cameras that you mentioned happen to be extremely smooth and produce very little camera shake, if any.

-- George Rhodes (betsy@colormewell.com), September 02, 2000.

OK, thanks everyone for your inputs. I must have overlooked the 2- second delay feature on the Minoltas. This is the same feature I have on my ElanII and A2. Again, thank you.

-- thang nguyen (nguyentnt@hotmail.com), September 02, 2000.

Another trick you can use is, if the feature is present, the self-timer.

-- David Kirk (david_j_kirk@hotmail.com), December 23, 2000.