# Blurry Long Exposure



## HeldInTheMoment (Oct 6, 2016)

Hello Again Everyone!

Well, from the title of this thread I am sure many of you are rolling your eyes thinking I got a crap tripod or tried to hand hold...give me a little credit? haha

So I got myself a Manfrotto BeFree Tripod for Hiking/Travel. I also got NiSi V5 Filter Holder with a 6-Stop ND and a 3-Stop GND. I was getting decent images with multiple exposures and HDR, but I want to increase my PHOTOGRAPHY skills, not my Digital Artist skills. I want to get it right in the camera.

I went our yesterday and tested the new filters, I've had the trip for some time already and very familiar with it. I noticed that any exposure over lets say 6-8 seconds was blurry and not sharp. I would shoot at f/8 or f/11 with ISO 100 or ISO 200 with my D7100 and Tamron 24-70mm lens.

I just don't understand why my photos would start to blur after a 6-8 second exposure, with NOTHING changing more than the shutter speeds.

Anyone have an idea to help me out?

Thanks,
-Jake


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## petrochemist (Oct 6, 2016)

Could it be mirror slap?


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## HeldInTheMoment (Oct 6, 2016)

petrochemist said:


> Could it be mirror slap?



You know, I thought that too...haven't been able to get back out to test the theory. IF it is Mirror Slap, how do I fix that?


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## Braineack (Oct 6, 2016)

VC on?


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## HeldInTheMoment (Oct 6, 2016)

Braineack said:


> VC on?



Yes, VC is on


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## Designer (Oct 6, 2016)

Turn VC off when your camera is mounted on a tripod.


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## HeldInTheMoment (Oct 6, 2016)

Designer said:


> Turn VC off when your camera is mounted on a tripod.



Oh? I suppose this makes sense. Could the VC compensation be adding blur?


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## Designer (Oct 6, 2016)

HeldInTheMoment said:


> Could the VC compensation be adding blur?


Ay-yuh!


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## HeldInTheMoment (Oct 6, 2016)

I feel silly now...


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## astroNikon (Oct 6, 2016)

VC /VR is normally recommended to be turned off when using on a tripod or shutter speeds above 1/500.

also keep in mind, if you are photographing plant life (trees, etc) that the wind, even lightly, will move them.  Thus a long exposure will of course by blurry due to subject movement.  The wind could also move your camera on the tripod depending upon how sturdy the tripod is.


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## astroNikon (Oct 6, 2016)

HeldInTheMoment said:


> I feel silly now...


It's all learning.
we've all been there before.


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## HeldInTheMoment (Oct 6, 2016)

astroNikon said:


> VC /VR is normally recommended to be turned off when using on a tripod or shutter speeds above 1/500.
> 
> also keep in mind, if you are photographing plant life (trees, etc) that the wind, even lightly, will move them.  Thus a long exposure will of course by blurry due to subject movement.  The wind could also move your camera on the tripod depending upon how sturdy the tripod is.



Thanks, I'll turn off VC and hope the problem resolves.

With regards to the wind and moving of my subject, I did take that into consideration and photographed nothing that would move. The Manfrotto BeFree is a solid travel tripod and it was set on a giant rock boulder, so I knew the blur had to be a camera/photographer problem.


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## goooner (Oct 6, 2016)

Do you fire using a remote? Otherwise use the self time at 2 seconds.


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## fmw (Oct 6, 2016)

Shooting in a wind can cause motion blur even with a tripod mounted camera.  To resolve mirror slap use the self timer.  If you are still getting motion blur then you don't have enough tripod for your application.


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## 480sparky (Oct 6, 2016)

fmw said:


> ....... To resolve mirror slap use the self timer. .........



Using Mirror Up would be much better.  The mirror stays down until the self-timer actuates everything and the mirror moves up right before the shutter opens.


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## fmw (Oct 6, 2016)

480sparky said:


> fmw said:
> 
> 
> > ....... To resolve mirror slap use the self timer. .........
> ...



Yes.  I meant and should have said to use the self timer to eliminate moving the camera while engaging the shutter.  My standard method is to use live view (mirror up) and the self timer with a 2 second delay.


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## 480sparky (Oct 6, 2016)

fmw said:


> 480sparky said:
> 
> 
> > fmw said:
> ...



My SOP is to use a remote and the camera set to Mirror Up.  One press of the remote raises the mirror and does everything else up to the point of opening the first shutter curtain.  Then, when I decide to, I press the remote again to actuate the shutter.


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## astroNikon (Oct 6, 2016)

If I recall correctly, on at least the d3x00 and d5x00 series if you use LiveView then take a photo, the mirror drops back down and backup again just as if it did it the regular way. So there's no advantage.  Those cameras do not have a MuP function so the mirror acts differently than cameras that have MuP software functions.


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## fmw (Oct 6, 2016)

astroNikon said:


> If I recall correctly, on at least the d3x00 and d5x00 series if you use LiveView then take a photo, the mirror drops back down and backup again just as if it did it the regular way. So there's no advantage.  Those cameras do not have a MuP function so the mirror acts differently than cameras that have MuP software functions.



I don't know.  On the 7000 series and full frame models (or at least the 800 series) it doesn't do that.  I'm not sure Nikon has any sort of mirror up function except for live view.  Another nice thing about these cameras is the level function that I use to level the camera before shooting.  It is easier, faster and more accurate than the bubble levels on the tripods.


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## astroNikon (Oct 6, 2016)

Yes, I had the d7000 also but I always used MuP.  The d7x00 is a mid-consumer camera, not in the same league as the d3x00 and d5x00 consumer level.

My (d7000 - page 7 of the manual) d600 and d750 also have MuP, you can find it on the release mode dial on the left shoulder where Single, Continuous Low, Continous High, Quiet, Self Timer, Remote Control, *Mirror Up*  is located.

D8x0 has MuP too.

If you search the internet about this issue it's full of it on the d3x00 and d5x00 problem.
==> Why there is more shutter lag when using live-preview as compared to viewfinder?

==> Why is taking pictures with screen turned on with Nikon D5300 very slow?

==> What does Live View do after the shot is taken?: Open Talk Forum: Digital Photography Review


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## petrochemist (Oct 6, 2016)

astroNikon said:


> If I recall correctly, on at least the d3x00 and d5x00 series if you use LiveView then take a photo, the mirror drops back down and backup again just as if it did it the regular way. So there's no advantage.  Those cameras do not have a MuP function so the mirror acts differently than cameras that have MuP software functions.



My DSLR does that in live view ( the mirror has to be down for metering IIRC)
Using the self timer gives the camera a chance to settle after moving the mirror out of the way, 2s is generally enough.

This isn't an issue with mirrorless cameras of course, though the self timer is still often the easiest way to avoid shake from pressing the shutter release...


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## HeldInTheMoment (Oct 6, 2016)

I'd be very disappointed if the mirror was the problem, I am sure having VC on with the tripod is not helping. If that doesn't fix it I will try M-UP. If that fails, I'll call Nikon and Manfrotto to figure WHY!


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## astroNikon (Oct 6, 2016)

There is a "Shutter Delay" feature on the d3x00 and d5x00 which can also help for this situation.
I dont' have a d3x00 of d5x00 but I've helped friends with d3x00.  I bought my d7000 because it had features like the MuP that I required to have .. too bad it didn't have the built-in viewfinder blind too of higher end models.


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## HeldInTheMoment (Oct 6, 2016)

Yeah, the issue I am talking about is on my D7100...my wife mainly uses the D3200.

We are looking to get a D500, but want to see what Nikon does at Photo Plus if they announce a replacement for the D750/810 models. If no FX release, then D500 it is, if there is a FX release, we will compare it to the D500 and decide based on our needs.


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## HeldInTheMoment (Oct 6, 2016)

I also use a Shutter Release Remote or 2 Second Timer for LE Shots


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