Photography - Cheap solution for fixing shaky tripod and mirror shake

[pendragon1998]

I thought I'd share this example with y'all of what a big impact a shaky tripod coupled with mirror shake (caused by the mirror of a digital SLR camera flipping up as the shot is taken) can make in a photo. The top image of the quarter was taken with my usual setup, a cheap tripod holding a Nikon D70 and a Sigma 150 mm macro lens. The bottom image was taken using the exact same setup, but this time with the addition of a couple pounds of dry catfood in a plastic ziplok baggie sitting on top of the camera body. The extra weight serves to dampen camera shake from the mirror flipping, resulting in a better-focussed image. The best solution, however, is obviously to use the mirror lock-up function of your camera if it's equipped with one; the D70 doesn't have that feature.

 

I'm going to shift to a more permanent solution using lead shot instead of cat food soon. Hopefully, I'll soon get around to building a better stand than my cheap (free) tripod.

 

If your images just will not focus, this is always a good trick to try.

 

Example:

[jesbroken]

Big difference, Michael. Thanks for the tip. When I get back off vacation I'm getting a new fuji s700 camera and photo stand so this will come in handy.

 

[RGT]

That's a great improvement. But, I already have enough trouble keeping the cats off of my copy stand. I cetainly don't want them hoping up there looking for dinner.

[bsshog40]

That's a great improvement. But, I already have enough trouble keeping the cats off of my copy stand. I cetainly don't want them hoping up there looking for dinner.

 

thought about that only I don't have a cat. I would have to use dog food and my Great Perineese would tear everything up!

Nice pics Michael (thumbs u

[MikeInFL]

BINGO!

[TwoKopeiki]

Michael - great images. Have you tried mirror lock? I am not familiar with D70 functions, but I'm pretty sure it has that option.

 

~Roman

[pendragon1998]

The d70 does not come equipped with mirror lock-up, except as a feature that is used to clean or inspect the low-pass filter that protects the CCD sensor. In other words, you can't use it to take photos. The only other options, then, are to (a) increase the effective mass of the camera which must vibrate with the movement of the mirror (dampening the vibration) and (b) mount the camera on the heaviest, most stable mount avalable.

 

Here's an interesting discussion on mirror shake in the d70 (gets better halfway down the thread)

 

Mirror Shake in the Nikon d70

[TwoKopeiki]

Ah, I see, Michael. I use a Rebel XT, which has the option under "Custom Function", but wasn't sure about the d70.

[TwoKopeiki]

I haven't tried incresing the weight, which makes sense and I might try it out next time I'm shooting. I've only used MLU once - Here's a shot I took with Mirror Lock, which turned out pretty nicely. It's a "test cut" on the edge of a contemporary counterfeit . Reduced vibration allowed me to catch the porousity inside on the cut.

 

The test cut can be seen on the reverse at 10 o'clock:

 

 

Close-up:

 

 

~Roman

[pendragon1998]

Very cool.

[nwcs]

Technically, it's mirror-up and not mirror lock-up. Lock-up is for maintenance and no image is captured. Mirror-up puts the mirror out of the way before you press the shutter. Keep in mind that if you do mirror-up, you need a remote cable release to prevent adding vibration or changing the composition and a few seconds of nothing for the camera to settle down.

 

The kitty food is good but another, easier, approach is to use small bean bags.

 

It also helps to avoid the 1/4-1/15 shutter speeds. Those tend to be more vulnerable to being influenced by mirror slap than others. Mirror slap is the vibration that the kitty food/bean bags are dealing with and not camera shake on a sturdy tripod.

[RWB]

This method also works well if you put the cat in the plastic bag and seal it. Shaking stops within moments. Hanging the bag from the center on the tripod column also works well – esp if you have only one cat (or yappy lap dog thing) available.

[pendragon1998]

Technically, it's mirror-up and not mirror lock-up. Lock-up is for maintenance and no image is captured. Mirror-up puts the mirror out of the way before you press the shutter. Keep in mind that if you do mirror-up, you need a remote cable release to prevent adding vibration or changing the composition and a few seconds of nothing for the camera to settle down.

 

The kitty food is good but another, easier, approach is to use small bean bags.

 

It also helps to avoid the 1/4-1/15 shutter speeds. Those tend to be more vulnerable to being influenced by mirror slap than others. Mirror slap is the vibration that the kitty food/bean bags are dealing with and not camera shake on a sturdy tripod.

 

Thanks, NWCS - I was playing a little fast and loose with my technical terms. I would argue that the extra weight ought to help a little with camera shake as well as mirror slap.

 

The cat food bags were only a temporary solution. The other day I went out and made some nice heavy sandbags (about the size of a huge baking potato). I poured dry sand into a quart-sized baggie, placed the sand-filled baggie into another one so that I could be sure no sand could escape, and placed the bag into an old, clean sock. Knotted the sock halfway down, then pulled the ankle section over the foot section to keep things neat. Works like a charm.

 

I still need to come up with a permanent solution to my stand problem. I've got a massive old wooden fish tank stand I built years ago - it weighs a good half ton (well, 100 pounds or so). I've been thinking of bolting some angle iron onto the corner and working out some sort of photo setup on the stand. I need to do some thinking, though, since I can't weld.

[ldhair]

You have a great base to start with. Bolt this to it and you are set.

Copy stand

[pendragon1998]

Dayum - $270! It's perfect, but way out of my range!

[RGT]

Here's something I came accross on the BHPhoto site that some may find interesting. It doesn't look useful for a big SLR but someone with a small fixed lens camera should be able to use this cheap copy stand solution.

 

Close up copy stand