evandr Loc: Tooele, Utah

Hey, I'll settle for one of his lenses but, if he's like me, I think I would have a better chance of getting one of his arms LOL :-D

saichiez Loc: Beautiful Central Oregon

Couple of thoughts for you. In our club, we had separate divisions. Added a bit of time to the meetings for change over...maybe ten minute. The divisions were "Prints" and "Digital" with actual hanging prints judged/critiqued, and then digital on projection screen, judged and critiqued.

This is a bit different from your situation. However, I could envision two divisions that you describe. "Straight Out Of Camera" shot with either digital or film (scanned to project). Second division, post processing allowed, with advanced editing qualifying. That second division might be called Image Creation-All Tools. Call that first division, Image Creation-Camera Only.

On the first division, to placate the camera only purists, I would suggest an allowable 15% crop and minimal overall brightness adjustment.

These are just suggestions, but in separating the purists from the post processors, it might smooth some feathers.

With regard to the overall issue you are contending with, there comes a point when you can no longer call your club a Camera Club, but rather a Photographic Media Club.

josoIII

saichiez Loc: Beautiful Central Oregon

Ah yes.... the return of what Nikon (and possibly Canon) call:

"FULLY PURPOSED SHUTTER LAG"

And I thought we already fought and won that battle. Leave it to the "Professional" level camera makers to turn a flaw into a "marketable feature"

Holy Jumpin' Jehosaphat!!! If we continue to let Canikon set the bar, we are so screwed!

:thumbdown: :thumbdown: :thumbdown:

Randyb1969 Loc: Armpit of California

I don't think these are great examples of whether mirror lockup is useful or not. I don't think anyone would argue that mirror lockup is less useful at higher shutter speeds and you certainly don't need to use it on every shot you take.

As far as seeing which one is clearer, it definitely depends on what section of the photo you look at. In the 33% crop, I notice the diagonal "y" branch in the bottom left looks sharper to me in the top photo (non lockup). But when I shift my focus to the diagonal branch in the center of the frame, the bottom photo looks sharper. I can only guess this is because ether the focus got changed minutely or possibly wind blow the respective branches putting them in different fields of focus.

That's just what I see. I think if you really want to make a test, you need a more controlled environment and more appropriate shutter speeds.

But all of this is really a moot point. Mirror lockup is useful in the right situations. That has already been proven time and again. It's more a question of your shooting style and the subject matter you prefer that determines how often you will use it.

evandr Loc: Tooele, Utah

[quote=Randyb1969]
True statement. Mirror lock up is a special needs feature where almost inperceptable camera "vibration" can make a real difference in the quality of the shot which is not very often and never off of a tripod.

Yooper Loc: U.P. Michigan

I find that I use mirror lockup and a remote switch a lot. I am an engineer, and as such I am a very methodical person and mirror lockup and a remote switch fit well into my way of photographing. I also do a lot of photography of waterfalls as well as a lot of shooting at dusk, and in both situations I find it beneficial. Personally I would rather err on the side of caution and get the best image I possibly can. If that means that I use mirror lockup needlessly at times, so be it. As an interesting side note, if you shoot using Live View, mirror lockup is a moot point, as the mirror is already up.

Randyb1969 Loc: Armpit of California

I recently got to play with my niece's XS which is one model newer than mine and the rebel with live view. I must say, that is a sweet feature. Especially for guys like me who's eyesight is somewhat diminished with time. But I did find that in live view you are pretty much relegated to manual focus. I don't know if all of the new cameras with live view are like this, but I found it incredibly awkward trying to use auto focus on her camera with this feature turned on.

JimH Loc: Western South Jersey, USA

Yes, in "live view", the mirror is flipped UP, which somehow disables the autofocus process. Most LVs have a 'zoom' feature, which lets you Zoom in on a small portion of the scene to set the focus (it's not an optical zoom using the lens, it's a 'digital zoom' like the P+S cameras sometimes have.) You set your focus manually and take the shot. Works for landscapes, portraits or any non-action type of shot.

sjbegres Loc: Pittsburgh, PA

What do you mean by "UH file degradation"?

JimH Loc: Western South Jersey, USA

Sorry - being too blase'. The Ugly Hedgehog reduces your attached image's size, and compresses it to display. There is a new option to "Store Original", which is nice, as that lets a viewer open the...well, original size image without compression and resizing.

Evidently, many users browse this site using camera phones with 3/4" square screens. The software allows them to see the pictures without waiting 45 minutes for them to download. :)

The admin has graciously added the "store original" option now, which is great.

Admin

One thing to note. If you are uploading a JPG image with dimensions less than 600x800, then it won't be modified even without the "store original" option. The thumbnail will be kept as is, since there is no need to resize it.

So if you want to post a small 100% crop, then cropping to 600px on your end (before uploading) is the better option.

That way, people on slow connections won't have to download a 2-5MB file to see noise, sharpness, or whatever else you are trying to illustrate with a crop.

LucyAbrao Loc: Oregon

I use mirror lock-up for most of my shooting as well as a tripod with the IS turned off. In tests shots I can definitely see an improvement where the lock-up is used and the IS is off.