Long exposures at night

[Iron Flatline]

A quick question about long exposures at night: do I really need to cover the viewfinder? Is light getting into my shot that way?

 

[hobbes28]

A quick question about long exposures at night: do I really need to cover the viewfinder? Is light getting into my shot that way?

Nope, because the line of sight for light is seperated when the mirror us up.

 

[ksmattfish]

The problem is that the light can get to the meter through the viewfinder, so if you are using any sort of auto exposure mode it can affect it.

 

[DocFrankenstein]

A quick question about long exposures at night: do I really need to cover the viewfinder? Is light getting into my shot that way?

Depends on the camera. If you're using manual film cameras, then there's less need for it.

If you're using canon's EOS the mirror lets through 40% of the light, so you do need to cover it. I'd imagine nikon's AF cameras are similar.