Mirror Up

[SailmmIV]

I have an astro modified Nikon D610 and I use BYN for my imaging plan.   I've been reading through the documentation and somehow I discovered your March 21, 2018 post where you were testing a D810 and mirror lock up.   Is it possible to do lock up the mirror with the D610?  I'm using a Celestron C8SE on an AVX mount.  

Regards,

 

John

Harris MultiMedia, LLC

Aerial and Scenic Photography

JohnHarrisPhotos.Com

718 Humphrey Dr

Haughton, LA 71037

318-949-2238 Phone

318-840-7982 Mobile

Please excuse my spelling as my "smart" computer often "corrects" my "dumb" typing.

 

[astroman133]

John,

Guylain may have better information, but according to the BYN Camera Support Grid, mirror lock up is not supported for any Nikon cameras. This is likely due to the design of the cameras and/or lack of support by the Nikon SDK that BYN uses.

[astroman133]

John,

I found the old thread that you referenced. It appears to end with no confirmation that Guylain's changes have solved the issue with Mirror Lock on Nikon cameras. This lack of feedback is likely why the support grid still does not indicate mirror lock support. It is not clear whether the current pre-release supports that capability, but it may be worth trying. If you do try, regardless of the outcome, please report what you have found.

While mirror lock is not particularly useful for deep sky astrophotography, there may be other uses where it is beneficial. Even though nobody else volunteered to test the mirror lock support in BYN, other photographers my be looking to utilize it.

[admin]

Mirror lock up is not supported any Nikon cameras.

Why do you feel you need it?  How long are your exposures?

[SailmmIV]

Thank you both for your responses.  I'm using a Celestron C8SE on an AVX mount.  However, between the back of the SCT and the back of the Nikon (sensor) there is a Moonlite focuser and rotator as well as a T-adapter for the DSLR.   That's a lot of distance between the two optics.   My past experience from 50yrs of industrial and commercial photography with tripods on location have taught me the the further the camera is located from the designed point of attachment (where the legs come together), the more likely there is a potential for unwanted vibrations.   I saw the post from 2018 and wondered if that would help remover one more variable from my imaging process.  I thought the test with the D850 might have been successful so I posted to find out.   I'm sure it's difficult working with all the makes and models of Nikons and Canons, so my hat's off to you for such a nice piece of software.   I have enjoyed my BYN and hope to continue trying to learn this new hobby of mine. Thanks again for both of your replies.

[astroman133]

When doing long exposure AP, the milliseconds of vibration, if there is any vibration, are overwhelmed by the following several minutes of exposure time. This makes mirror up unnecessary for that type of imaging.

[SailmmIV]

Thanks, I will keep that in mind and not worry about it.

[montyg]

On 11/25/2019 at 11:25 AM, admin said:

Mirror lock up is not supported any Nikon cameras.

Why do you feel you need it?  How long are your exposures?

I'm not in a dark area so I take a lot of shorter exposures (about 5 seconds) and then stack them. Mirror lockup would decrease image blur in these short exposures.

[s3igell]

The answer is still:  Mirror-Lockup is NOT SUPPORTED by the NIKON SDK

 

Tips that you can use:

1. Make sure the Mount is as Solid as possible (Don't extend Tripod Legs; Make sure Bolts attaching Legs to Head are properly Tight;  Use Tripod Spreader - make one DIY if only a Flimsy Eyepiece Tray; Hang Heavy Weight from Center Post)
2. Reduce ISO to Unity, then Lengthen Exposure until just before Sky Noise becomes Overwhelming (you can Reduce / Remove much Skyglow in Post Processing)
3. Use a Light Pollution Filter (you can restore any White Balance issues in Post Processing)