The Advantage of Being Able to Raise the Mirror

In macro photography, being able to manually raise the mirror before triggering the shutter helps avoid unwanted vibrations and therefore reduces the risk of motion blur at the moment of exposure.

However, not all film cameras offer this feature.

Working Around the Problem with Bulb Mode

However, the issue can be worked around by using the camera’s bulb mode for exposure times lasting several seconds.

While keeping the lens cap on the lens (to prevent the film from being exposed):
Trigger the shutter in bulb mode and keep it open. Some cameras allow the shutter release button to be locked in the pressed position. If this feature is unavailable, use a cable release to avoid camera shake caused by holding the shutter button down with your finger.


In two steps (to avoid vibrating the camera when uncovering the lens):
– Loosen the lens cap
– Then quickly remove it to uncover the lens

As mentioned above, this method still has the disadvantage of only being usable with exposure times of several seconds.