Permanent mirror lockup with EOS 500D/T1i?

[realflow100]

How do I force the mirror to NEVER flip between shots when using interval timer?
my tripod is ultra hyper sensitive to oscillations and i have to wait 15 seconds for it to finally become stable and the mirror flipping causes my images of the stars to look like all the stars are duplicated vertically and smeared by like 50 pixels!

I'm also doing this untracked. camera set to prime focus with a telescope. I still need a field flattener for a cheap 70mm F5.1 refractor telescope cause its a bit fuzzy toward the edges to improve the sharpness at the edges because the view is so wide.
so I need to catch as many frames as possible in quick succession without the mirror flipping causing crazy camera shake.
the first frame looks sharp but all other frames dont because even if i try the best combination of options for mirror lockup "always on" and using interval timer the mirror will start flipping up and down for every frame and i cant get it to stop!

How do I make the mirror stay up aside from pinning it up with a toothpick or some object??

[Walter Schulz]

Lookup FRSP (Full Resolution Silent Pics). You will find silent.mo in modules tab.
FRSP has serious limitations, though.

Have you tried MLV/RAW video recording with very low frame rates?

[realflow100]

video mode is unacceptable quality and limited to 1080p so not an option. camera not able to do raw video recording. and wheres the modules tab? i dont seem to have any kind of silent mode

[realflow100]

i just tried the silent mode module thing in full resolution option and NOTHING HAPPENS it just shoots like normal! Totally useless
i even have mirror lockup always on and it still flips the mirror every time no matter what mode i choose!

[Walter Schulz]

Please don't blame ML for features not working for you but for everyone else.
Try running FRSP without intervalometer first and follow FRSP instructions to the letter.
It's a little bit tricky to run FRSP and Intervalometer together because they "listen" to the very same trigger if default settings are used.
See details in https://wiki.magiclantern.fm/camera_help

EDIT: Just looked it up again and found 0.8 sec restriction for FRSP on 500D. Please retest. If limit still exists it looks like you could/should not use this feature for astro.

And MLV/RAW quality is the same as stills with crop mode used and MLV/RAW is working for your cam, too.

[realflow100]

I did try it without interval timer first. and it didnt work or do anything. i tried changing exposure length and many various settings
Theres no instructions i could find anywhere for using silent mode with full resolution option
It just doesnt do anything when i press the shutter button half way or fully. or hold it down half way or hold it down fully.
it always flips the mirror and shutter and takes a normal photo or does nothing

[realflow100]

Now all that happens when i try to take a picture is the display turns off. i see a blue light for a moment then i see a red light and it goes out and stays like that until i press the shutter a second time
then my live view turns back on

What am i doing wrong?? I dont understand

And 0.8 seconds is useless for astrophotography. most people are using several minute long exposures at least.
or up to 30 seconds untracked with a camera lens.

[Walter Schulz]

1) Activate silent.mo in Modules tab. Please do not load other modules.
2) Restart cam
3) Access Shoot tab
4) Select Silent Pictures and turn it ON
5) Enter Silent Pictures submenu and select Silent Mode "Full-Res"

If you press Half-Shutter cam should enter Liveview + take a silent pic which will be stored as *.DNG in your default directory (DCIM/100CANON for example).

[realflow100]

I tried. i did that exactly and it doesnt work.
Nothing happens if i half press the shutter. my camera simply auto-focuses if im not in live view. and does nothing in live view.
and if i disable autofocus. still nothing happens.

if im in manual mode and press the shutter button half way it says "hold on" at the top left for a split second. then the LCD turns off. and i see a blue LED on the live view button for a second. then nothing happens until i press the shutter button again

it never saves a file or anything in any of the folders on the SD card

if i do simple mode. it says it takes a picture but i dont find any files in the folder it says it puts them in!!

[Walter Schulz]

Change trigger mode to "Leave menu" and retry.

But I think you have another problem and it is locating those DNGs ...
You have checked the card inserted in cardreader?
You will be unable to locate DNG files with Canon's programs using USB or via playback.
You may be able to use ML's File Manager (if loaded) for browsing DNG files.

[realflow100]

I dont have a cardreader i always use USB because its more convenient
and thats annoying why wouldn't they show up? thats so dumb
i guess i can't ever get those files because they dont show up in USB

I'm using windows file explorer not canons software by the way.

its not worth it anyways I give up. 0.8 seconds is not anywhere remotely near enough for astrophotography

[histor]

You can still fix the mirror up without any software (just discussed here). I used Π-shaped piece of black velvet textured cardboard for that. So you can use USB for remote control and download CR2 files while shooting.

[Skinny]

I don't know about 500D, but I had... up to 16 seconds with silent pictures on 550D, if I remember correctly.

You can get an SD card reader for $1

[realflow100]

That doesnt work. it gives an error if you pin the mirror with something.
and I dont have a way to buy an SD card reader right now.
This camera is not the 5D its the EOS 500D/rebel T1i