Canon LiveView questions

[koputai]

Guys,

A few questions if I may in relation to Canon LiveView, as I believe it locks the mirror in the up position:

Can you engage LiveView (which locks the mirror up), then use an intervalometer to take a number of shots without the mirror ever moving?

Can you engage LiveView (which locks the mirror up), then remove your EF lens, attach an EF-S lens, take pictures, then change lenses back to the an EF lens before letting the mirror back down? This would avoid the problem of mirror crash on an EF-S lens with a full-frame body such as the 5D MkII would it not?

Cheers,
Jason.

[BlueAstra]

Avoid using Liveview for extended durations. It heats up the sensor and adds noise to the image. I've never had a problem with vibration caused by the mirror flip.

[hotspur]

dangerous gamble Jason,a EF-S lens is not really made for a Full frame sensor camera,it would be a bit like using .22 rifle bullets in a .22 magnum,-yes,its 'do-able',but why would anyone want too?,once one tries to 'mix and match' kit that really is'nt designed for such things,the results are always going to go down hill.

Also,if someone can afford a 5d Mk II,I am sure they could afford the L glass to go with it.Just my 2 cents worth.

Cheers Chris

[koputai]

Hey Chris,

It's just that I currently have 10-22 and was wondering about using the 10mm end on a full frame for stupid-wide shots if the need arose.

I'm seriously looking at getting a 5D MkII, to go along with the 350D, but would like some interchangingness between lenses/bodies. I'll probably just go for 24mm and 50mm prime's for the full frame (along with the 70-200). Not sure yet whether to offload the 10-22mm and 17-55mm yet, as it seems silly to keep lenses that won't suit both cameras.

Cheers,
Jason.

[Phil Hart]

you can't use an EF-S lens on a full frame body (not without modifying the lens anyway). definitely possible, but not something i have been keen to try although i do have the 10-22mm lens and a 5DII.

Phil

[Ian Robinson]

Don't know.

I can on my old Minolta SLR and that was one of reasons I bought it at the time (great for astroimaging - once focused - lock the mirror in the up pos and no more mirror vibrations at the start of exposures).

Try asking at CloudyNights too : more folks over there and someone might know if no one here does.

Probably easier to remove the mirror.

[Octane]

Why do you continue shilling CloudyNights on here?

He's asking a question related to using a Canon DSLR and not a Minolta SLR.

Jason, I've never tried, but, I think you can. You may need to put the camera into Live View Exposure Simulation mode, or even just straight up Live View mode, program your exposures and away you go. I don't have the intervalometer but, I can try by hooking the camera up to EOS Utility essentially performing the same task.

Will let you know how I go tonight.

H

[astrospotter]

Jason,
You have asked a couple questions. One was about replacing lenses with live view on for mirror lock up. Have no idea, sounds 'dangerous' but others on this list I suspect know the real answer there.

Your second part of origional question seems to be about how to avoid vibration. I have been very happy using APT which is a Canon specific real nice AND low cost tool seen in the software section of IceInSpace. It is called Astro Photography Tool and the designer is responsive and I feel has made a real valuable tool for Canon users who shoot astrophotography. This tool with my Canon 40d supports live view for focus and then for shooting sequences of frames it will lock up mirror for a couple seconds (what you specify) then take the shot. This eliminates mirror vibration (which many folks will mention is not such a big issue for 30 sec type photos). Look into that.

As far as the lens swap thing with mirror lockup, I would not be trying that on my camera unless somebody really says it is guaranteed. I don't know.

Best of luck

[luigi]

1) Yes you can but as mentioned you don't really need to do it, the noise added by sensor heat is probablya lot more than the blur by the mirror vibration. In my experience mirror lockup makes sense when the exposure time is from 1/50 to 1 second. Beyond that the exposure is just too long for the shake to affect the shot.

2) Please don't even try. Even if you could mount the 10-22 it will vignette and you can only use about half of the frame. If you move to a 5DII just sell the 10-22 and get a 17-40 instead.

[Yoddha]

Jason,

Here are my observations related to LiveView. When you turn on the LiveView the mirror is lifted. Before exposure taking there is no more mirror move. But after the exposure the camera automatically releases the mirror for a second and then lift it up again to restore the LiveView mode. So you will not be able to make several exposures with one mirror lift. And more important I think that you can't use this trick for attaching/detaching EF lens.

To reduce the noise while LiveView is used for anti-vibration a good strategy is this one:

1. LV on
2. Wait few seconds (less than 10s) to avoid the vibrations
3. Shoot
4. LV off
5. Wait several second (more than 10s) to cool the sensor
6. Start from 1 for the next exposure...

[koputai]

Thanks Ivo, and the rest of you who replied. I guess it's probably not a good idea to try it!

Cheers,
Jason.