Will a Canon shoot with the mirror propped up?

Does anyone happen to know if the older non-pro Canon DSLRs will shoot if the mirror is physically propped up and prevented from moving back down between shots? Or will they throw an error and refuse to operate?




I'm working on a DIY frame-by-frame telecine project, and will be needing a camera body that I can trigger repeatedly for thousands of continuous shots. The exposure and white balance will be locked (manually set), and the focusing is via external optics. Basically, once it is constructed, there will be no need to look through the viewfinder after that.

I know that the later live-view enabled bodies can do a full-time mirror lockup, but given that I will undoubtedly kill several bodies due to the shutter life expectancy, this would add substantially to the project cost. From what I understand, the older bodies (say, the 350D and below) will only do a single-frame mirror lockup, nothing for continuous bursts or multiple shots... hence the question about physically propping the mirror up.




Thanks.

I Think i have read somewhere that the lower class canon dslr need the mirror to re **** the shutter.

Not 100% sure but mayby 80%. Dont recall where though




Thomas

You will need a live view camera for that. And a mid range one, like a 40D/50D/60D. These can shoot in live view without needing the mirror to go back down. The 450D-650D need the mirror to go down to work the shutter, as they share motor.




However... You can not keep the mirror up constantly, as live view shuts down when not used for a minute or two. Also, live view heats up the sensor, and uses a lot of battery. I can not judge which camera is best for your purposes.

I'm guessing you'd you'd have to disconnect whatever moves the mirror from the mechanism that cocks the curtains. If it were me I'd want to start with a Live View camera.

brightcolours said:

brightcolours wrote:

You will need a live view camera for that. And a mid range one, like a 40D/50D/60D. These can shoot in live view without needing the mirror to go back down. The 450D-650D need the mirror to go down to work the shutter, as they share motor.

Click to expand...

Is that how the Canons work though? Is it a completely rigid assembly? (also in reference to WilbaW's reply)

For comparison, I have a Nikon D40, which also has only one motor that I am aware of. The mirror is moved down and held down by a spring force, not by a direct linkage to a motor. You can freely push the mirror up, and it simply snaps back down when you let go. The D40 also doesn't care if the mirror never goes down - you can put the camera in M mode, hold the mirror up, and fire away - it doesn't complain or throw any errors, and you can shoot as many shots as you please.




I should note that I'm not talking about disconnecting anything or changing the way the shutter cocks - I'm only considering propping the mirror up - non-permanent, non-destructive. So I think the question then is if the lower-end Canons genuinely "need" the mirror to come down, or if the mechanism will let it stay up (against a spring force like the Nikon) while the mechanism behind it "thinks" it is moving it down by tensioning the spring, while it cocks the shutter.




Hopefully that makes sense...




In this case, I also think this could be "better" than using a live-view camera. Because it wouldn't be running the sensor between frames (using power, making heat). The camera would be in its low power state between shots.

I just tried it with my 500D, and it works. The mirror is spring-loaded, like your Nikon.

Kevin C Ross said:

Kevin C Ross wrote:

I just tried it with my 500D, and it works. The mirror is spring-loaded, like your Nikon.Thanks for checking that, Kevin!

Click to expand...

Thanks for checking that, Kevin! I appreciate the help!

Just for reference, did it let you take shots with the mirror pushed up? (Or were you just commenting that the mirror "could" be pushed up?)

I took shots while holding the mirror up with my finger. Of course without a lens attached you couldn't actually make out anything in the shots.

WD40 said:

WD40 wrote:

WD40 said:

Kevin C Ross wrote:

I just tried it with my 500D, and it works. The mirror is spring-loaded, like your Nikon.Thanks for checking that, Kevin!

Click to expand...

Thanks for checking that, Kevin! I appreciate the help!

Just for reference, did it let you take shots with the mirror pushed up? (Or were you just commenting that the mirror "could" be pushed up?)

Click to expand...

you should try it with the older cameras, as pointed out, the life view is not what you are looking for, you don't want the sensor continuously active.

Perhaps in the worst case it's possible to remove the mirror.