Most of the currently made DSLR cameras that I have recently do not suffer from excessive mirror slaps. I do not have experience with every camera on the market but most of the digital Nikon and Canan models I have used over the past 18 or 20 years did not exhibit this issue to an alarming extent. I am no camera engineer or repair expert, but it seems the engineers have provided sufficient buffering of internal vibration.

I do recall, that my old and beaten-up Nikon F began to sound like a Model T Forn that needed a tuneup and slapped like a defective fan belt toward the end of its existence.

Even in the olden days, many of the better medium format SLR operated smoothly enough. Hasselblads, considering the size of the mirror and the complexity of the mechanism, were pretty good. Someof the less costly Japanese and Russian models would practically jump off the table when the shutters were released.

The new camera is not nearly as problematic in that respect, but old habits die hard and especially at slower shutter speeds, I use a sturdy tripod whenever it is practical and reflexively lock up the mirror before making the exposure. I still pref a cable or remote real for slower shutter speeds and remember the basic concept of not POKING at the shutter release on handheld shots.

It is something kinda ironic that some folks will go out and purchase the sharpest possible lenses and bodies with enormous megapixel counts and yet ignore or for some of the basics of supporting the camera, releasing the shutter, and managing the mirror issue. Sometimes it is no wonder- some shooters are so preoccupied with the back-button operation and all the control dials and sliders that they can't concentrate on someof the basics. To me, someof the cameras look like the instrument panel on the flight deck of a jet aircraft- too much stuff to mess with folks forget to "get a grip"!

I've found that at a high-enough shutter speed, the influence of mirror-slap ends.

I once went to extremes in this matter of the effect of electro-mechanical operation of the camera on image sharpness.

I mounted my camera on a tripod with a five-pound sandbag mounted from a hook just under where the camera mounts.

I mounted a bubble level in the hotshoe. I locked up the mirror and released the shutter with a wireless remote.

The release of the mirror induced a slight movement from its slap, a motion visible in the fluid of the bubble level.

Next, for this test, I released the shutter itself. At the same time, I observed no movement in the fluid of the bubble level.

This process brought about a noticeable increase in the sharpness of the image details.

Note that I disabled the vibration-reduction function in the lens.

Note further that two developments since have made obsolescent these measures for producing sharper images. One, camera-makers have introduced an image-stabilization function in the lens (for Canon). This function has reached the point that it compensates significantly for camera movement affecting the image.

Two, Adobe has introduced a filter called "Camera Shake Reduction." This filter detects blurred pixels and shifts the mage to remove this blur.

In closing, let me suggest that all who process their photographs may wish to learn how to apply the Photoshop filter known as "High Pass." It increases contrast along edges. One can vary the amount of contrast, effectively to avoid this contrast on, say, noise.

Abstract

A study of the effect of mirror slap on the sharpness of images shows that (not a surprise) the use of a solid foundation for a camera is an important element in the generation of sharp images. The study was performed in order to quantify the effect. A series of tests were performed to see what the effect of the internal motions of elements in a camera would have on the sharpness of edges in the resulting image. The results indicate that the sharpness can be decreased by a factor of around two if the camera is not solidly constrained.

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