DSLR - Mirror Lockup or Removal Mod?

[glend (Glen)]

For astro only dslrs why have a mirror at all? What have people done in regards to standard mirror vibration?

[ZeroID (Brent)]

I saw some article somewhere about someone attempting to remove the mirror but there were other electrical and mechanical complications. Theoretically though you are right, there is no need for it and it would reduce heat and power requirements.
For that matter you could remove the shutter assembly as well. Just go bare sensor like most astro cameras normally are.

Food for thought ...

[glend (Glen)]

Originally Posted by ZeroID

I saw some article somewhere about someone attempting to remove the mirror but there were other electrical and mechanical complications. Theoretically though you are right, there is no need for it and it would reduce heat and power requirements.
For that matter you could remove the shutter assembly as well. Just go bare sensor like most astro cameras normally are.

Food for thought ...

Well Brent I do think the shutter is important. I recall a pdf file write up I read about a 450D Hypermod, which stripped out all the 'unneeded' bits of the camera. A quick search and I found it again:

https://www.google.com.au/url?sa=t&r...qtrfJA&cad=rja

Useful link I think. This is the download link for the pdf file, so open in in Adobe.

[ZeroID (Brent)]

A rather extreme mod process, I'll think I'll give it a miss for now at least.
Why do you think the shutter is important ? Other than as an exposure control mechanism with blind timing it has no other purpose and for astro pix holding it open for a few minutes is just wasted power I would surmise.

[glend (Glen)]

Most high end CCD astro cameras retain some sort of shutter. Yes It's is used for exposure control but it also keeps dust from the sensor surface. The entire camera uses very little power. If your using a battery eliminator you never have to worry about power usage, and serious imaging shoud use a battery eliminator because batteries produce heat and we don't want any heat sources inside the camera, or at least minimise them. Shutters are very reliable mechanisms, I recently replaced the shutter module on one of my 450Ds with a new unit (cost was $42USD). The camera is now like new. The old shutter was working fine until I slipped with a screw driver during a mod and bent the curtain arm, hence the need to replace.

[Camelopardalis (Dunk)]

On the 1100D, removing the mirror is only a few extra screws if you follow Gina's excellent instructions over on SGL. I removed the viewfinder at the same time as it's also irrelevant once you've removed the mirror...

[astro_nutt]

Regarding vibration caused by the mirror. I've opted for a 2 second delay setting on the shutter. On this setting, I need to press the remote once which lifts the mirror out of the way, then press the remote a second time to activate the shutter. This way the vibration caused by the mirror would have stopped before the shutter opens. The camera in question is a Nikon D7000.
Cheers!

[ZeroID (Brent)]

Originally Posted by astro_nutt

Regarding vibration caused by the mirror. I've opted for a 2 second delay setting on the shutter. On this setting, I need to press the remote once which lifts the mirror out of the way, then press the remote a second time to activate the shutter. This way the vibration caused by the mirror would have stopped before the shutter opens. The camera in question is a Nikon D7000.
Cheers!

BYEos manages all that for you, plus more. I keep meaning to upgrade to the full version so I can use all the features and save programmes.

[astro_nutt]

Sounds awesome! Should work great when it's done!