ted2001 said:
I paid about $18 for the Nikon ML-L3, seemed pretty reasonable to me. Even comes in a little case.

I got mine for about the same price. Too bad it doesn't work with the D300 :^(

I paid about $18 for the Nikon ML-L3, seemed pretty reasonable to me. Even comes in a little case.

I have a D90, expose delay works great. It might not wait as long as the mirror lockup before it opens the shutter (i'd say it waits about 2 seconds) but it enough for most of the vibration to die.

By the way, instead of buying the official expensive wireless remote, you might want to take a look here : http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.6236

Much cheaper and it works.

I played around this afternoon and am satisfied with both approachs. The ML-L3 works perfectly, as does delay. Just makes an old dog learn new tricks. Arrff.

Wait a minute, guys. As a expectant D90 owner, let me get this straight. Now how do you do the long exposure method? Btw, in addition to the D90, I am getting the ML-L3 remote controller.

TIA,
Nick V

mb said:
Or you can get the remote, not too expensive I think and it makes much difference when shooting from a tripod 8)

$50 for a wired remote is annoying compared to the good ol' ML-L3.

Oh, what are the significant differences between the MC-30 and the MC-36? Anything particularly useful?

alphanikonrex said:
But then I forget and mess up later when I'm trying to take a self-portrait or something :^)

Or you can get the remote, not too expensive I think and it makes much difference when shooting from a tripod 8)

mb said:
You could shorten the self-timer delay ...

But then I forget and mess up later when I'm trying to take a self-portrait or something :^)

alphanikonrex said:
In mirror lock-up mode, the camera's mirror goes up first, and then the shutter opens to reduce blur with long exposures.

Alpha, that's mostly right. It depends on your tripod how long it takes for the vibrations from the mirror to go away but for long exposures (>5s is a conservative number), mirror lockup is less important than for exposures in the 1/4s range. It's because if the shutter is open 10 times as long as it takes for the vibrations to go away, you get almost all the light for your exposure from a shake-free camera.

I use both, remote control and Exposure Delay Mode.
You could shorten the self-timer delay ...

Actually I use exposure delay mode instead of mirror lockup. Not as quick to access, but its faster than waiting 30 seconds for my D300 to take a picture as I don't have a cable release.

ted2001 said:
The reflex mirror on an SLR is a source of vibration. Most people who shoot rangefinders feel they can get about one shutter speed better performance than an SLR because of the mirror. Locking the mirror up reduces vibration.

So does Exposure Delay Mode, it brings mirror up, waits for vibrations to set down and then fires the shutter.

The reflex mirror on an SLR is a source of vibration. Most people who shoot rangefinders feel they can get about one shutter speed better performance than an SLR because of the mirror. Locking the mirror up reduces vibration.

kellenfreeman said:
Wait, I don't understand. What is the advantage of this?

In mirror lock-up mode, the camera's mirror goes up first, and then the shutter opens to reduce blur with long exposures.

What is the advantage of what?

Wait, I don't understand. What is the advantage of this?

Exposure Delay Mode gives similar results ... and it is easier to use

I just noticed that you can only lock-up the mirror on a D90 to clean the sensor. I always used mirror lock-up with F3 for long exposures and was surprised not to have the feature in my D90. I wonder if it could be implemented through a s/w or f/w upgrade? or another reason to buy D300s (along with better use of AIS lenses).