AEB + Mirror Lockup with a 5Dsr

[Bazsl]

Is it possible to configure a 5Dsr to use mirror lockup and AEB simultaneously? The behavior I want is:

1. Press shutter release button.

2. Mirror is raised.

3. After the interval selected in mirror lockup the requested number of AEB exposures are made automatically.

Is this possible? If so, can someone point me to instructions?

It appears from the manual and my testing that if I set both mirror lockup and AEB I must press the shutter release once for each AEB exposure. The best alternative I can think of is to dispense with mirror lockup and use AEB with silent multi-frame drive mode. Thanks for any suggestions.

[Mykolas · Accepted solution]

Hi Bazsl!

Thanks for posting.

Both AEB and Mirror Lockup can be used at the same time with the EOS 5DS R, but the shutter must be released for each separate exposure, and the mirror will go up and back down for each exposure.

[Bazsl]

Thanks for the answer although it is not what I was hoping to hear. There are many times when being able to complete an HDR sequence quickly is important and having to trigger each shot manually is a very slow process. Consider a one second mirror lockup delay and a half second reaction time for each shutter release after the first one. A five shot HDR sequence will take seven seconds ((5 x 1) + (4 x 0.5)). If the camera behaved as I described it would take two seconds, one second for the mirror lockup delay and one second for the five shutter cycles.

I may be missing something, but I cannot think of any reason why I would want the camera to behave the way it does instead of the way I described. It is also an incredibly easy feature to implement since all it requires is an if statement at the beginning of the AEB routine to see if mirror lockup is enabled and if so call the mirror lockup function. At the end of the AEB function another if statement would check to see if the mirror is up and, if so, lower it.

Am I the only one who would like to see this functionality?

[RobertTheFat]

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@Bazsl wrote:

Thanks for the answer although it is not what I was hoping to hear. There are many times when being able to complete an HDR sequence quickly is important and having to trigger each shot manually is a very slow process. Consider a one second mirror lockup delay and a half second reaction time for each shutter release after the first one. A five shot HDR sequence will take seven seconds ((5 x 1) + (4 x 0.5)). If the camera behaved as I described it would take two seconds, one second for the mirror lockup delay and one second for the five shutter cycles.

I may be missing something, but I cannot think of any reason why I would want the camera to behave the way it does instead of the way I described. It is also an incredibly easy feature to implement since all it requires is an if statement at the beginning of the AEB routine to see if mirror lockup is enabled and if so call the mirror lockup function. At the end of the AEB function another if statement would check to see if the mirror is up and, if so, lower it.

Am I the only one who would like to see this functionality?

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Can't you get the same effect with live view? For HDR sequences, you'll be using a tripod anyway, right?

[Bazsl]

Yep. Live View is another work around just like plugging in your remote release and hitting the button the requisite number of times. Another solution that I suspect will be acceptable in most situations is to forget mirror lockup and use silent multi-frame drive mode. Silent mode reduces the mirror impact dramatically and still gives you three frames per second.

My question is not, are there workarounds, but rather, why should I have to settle for second best when Canon already has 98% of the functionality implemented. All we need is a firmware update. 🙂

[sdgreen]

I think that the mirror stays up if you use the HDR function instead of AEB, but you're limited to +/- 1,2 & 3 stops.

It's taken me ages to find this out - assuming it's correct of course. Here's where the penny dropped

https://www.slrlounge.com/workshop/using-mirror-up-mode-mirror-lockup/

The manual doesn't make this explicit, it just states that any delay you set is limited to the first exposure (page 235)

If you want to do purely bracketing (non HDR), I understand that the best method is to use live view as this also enables you to use the electronic front shutter, thereby minimising both sources of camera vibration. Apparently the electronic shutter doesn't work in viewfinder shooting.

I don't have the camera yet by the way, just finding out as much as possible before buying 

[denverdonate]

I have this exact same question and asked it on DPReview and they pointed me here. Your question i marked as solved but which uggestion solved it?

The "silent shutter" doen't lock the mirrior so you can still get softness when your brackets are a few seconds in length.

When you go into "Live Preview" mirrior lockup is disabled so you can't avoid the shutter-slap or vibration either.

On my 1DS Mark II and Mark III I used to bracket 3-5 shots +/1 1 and would press the cable release to lock the mirrior for every shot and release it for every shot. On the 5DSR I can only lock the first shot and the other shots fire by themselves and the mirrior never locks. Your first shot is great then the following shots will all have the potential to be less than great because the mirrior vibration/slap can really soften the images. 

Edit: I bet the answer is that you can't and the only way to do it is to use AEB?

[sdgreen]

I don't fully understand your question. All I can say is what I know. Hopefully the answer will be here

FOLLOWING APPLIES TO 5DMK4:

With AEB the mirror goes up & down inbetween each exposure.

There are three ways of bracketing with mirror up:

1 Manually bracketing each shot with mirror up enabled

2 AEB with live view enabled (mirror is up for duration of bracketed shots)

3 Using HDR function. The mirror stays up for duration of shots

If you use AEB wihout live view enabled the mirror goes up & down between each shot, potentially introducing vibration.

With the 5ds/r, there may be a way of introducing a delay between each shot in AEB. I just don't know.

If it works with live view then it seems best way

Hope this helps

[denverdonate]

I didn't know the mirror stayed up when the camera bracketed HDR. That's the answer then. In DSLRs that I have used the mirror doesn't just stay locked I always had to lock the mirror then fire the shot. What I do now with AEB is set the camera +1 / 0 / -1 and click 6 times with mirror lockup enabled. This is the same thing I used to do with my 1DS Mark II and 1DS Mark III. 1. Lock, shoot 2. Lock, shoot 3. Lock shoot With the HDR function auto-bracketing I only hear the mirror lock 1 time on the first shot so my thinking is the sequence is this: 1. Lock, shoot 2. Shoot (assumed no lock, because I can't hear it) 3. Shoot (assumed no lock, because I can't hear it) Where do you read that the mirror stays locked when the HDR brackets fire?