Is this the effect of a shutter problem?

[ChrisR]

On the last film I scanned, I noticed several shots had a vertical line separating areas of slightly different exposure, eg this from the Bristol meet:



There's a another shot with the separation in the same place, and yet another with the separation further to the right. There might be more that are not so easy to see because of being darker. Shutter speeds were quite slow as most shots were quite low light, but I don't take notes so don't know whether the one further to the right was slower (it does look moodier). All taken with my black and silver Pentax MX, which has a horizontally travelling cloth shutter (*). The camera was CLAd by Miles in 2013.

(*) I found a Photo.net article pointing out that the MX, supposedly a near-pro camera, was the only M series with a horizontal cloth shutter; all the rest have the vertical metal shutter. The writer couldn't understand the logic from Pentax on this.

 

[Kodiak Qc]

•
Question:
Do you have an horizontal or vertical shutter pane!
If vertical, it can't be the shutter!
In any case, easily corrected.

 

[Asha]

•
Question:
Do you have an horizontal or vertical shutter pane!

[QUOTE="ChrisR, post: 7160196, member: 52669] All taken with my black and silver Pentax MX, which has a horizontally travelling cloth shutter [/QUOTE]


!!!

 

[Kodiak Qc]

•
Thanks Asha… that should teach me to look at the posts when on the phone!

 

[Cannyekerslike]

Hi Chris,
I have read your post and see the camera has a horizontal travelling shutter. I would say that a CLA is on the cards. I had the same problem years ago, cannot remember the camera, getting old, but it was the shutter and a service fixed it.

It may have a Russian camera I had the problem with but not certain.

 

[Asha]

I've experienced vertical lines on frames that have been shot with à faulty horizontal cloth shutter ....basically the second curtain was dragging and thus allowing excessive light onto the film.

@ChrisR your exposure difference problèm appears quite subtle, nonetheless i would wager it being à shutter curtain issue.

Perhaps email à couple of exemples to Miles for his opinion.

 

[ChrisR]

Is there a good way to test it? Simply shoot a fairly blank wall at various (slow) shutter speeds?

 

[shapeshifter]

What about all the halos around the roofs and the things the seagul is sat on!

 

[joxby]

step 1

is the line on the neg....

if it isn't its a scan issue, if it is then 40 pages of speculation may commence

 

[ChrisR]

What about all the halos around the roofs and the things the seagul is sat on!

Ah, that was me, guv, overcooking the definition slider to try to bring back some sharpness that the scanner didn't seem to have captured! (I've just checked it in Aperture, and taking that block of adjustments out- or any adjustments- does not affect the visible line.)

 

[ChrisR]

step 1

is the line on the neg....

if it isn't its a scan issue, if it is then 40 pages of speculation may commence

I don't have a light box or a loupe, but holding it up to the light I'd say it IS visible on the negative. Thanks John. Let's avoid the 40 pages if we can

 

[joxby]

what is peculiar about your soup method, don't you use a funny tank or something

 

[RaglanSurf]

.... 40 pages of speculation may commence

Why should f&c be any different to the rest of the forum?

 

[ChrisR]

what is peculiar about your soup method, don't you use a funny tank or something

Well, I've never laughed at it, though sometimes sworn! Yes, I guess, it's an Agfa Rondinax, but it's very unlikely to have caused the line across the frame, as there is nearly continuos rotation along the long axis...

 

[excalibur2]

H'mm you don't say when you first noticed this difference in exposure i.e. if it produced this result after CLA then the fault was:- the camera wasn't checked properly? If two years later then you can't really complain to Miles..well I suppose you could try.

 

[ChrisR]

H'mm you don't say when you first noticed this difference in exposure i.e. if it produced this result after CLA then the fault was:- the camera wasn't checked properly? If two years later then you can't really complain to Miles..well I suppose you could try.

First noticed with this roll, Brian. Since then it's had nearly 40 rolls through it. Can't complain, really! (Though I did think about it )

 

[joxby]

the line is wonky, as in not 90 degrees to the film edge
it could indicate shutter dragging in the top rail
not being familiar with the rodinax id also point a finger at a possible light leak fogging that L/H side, it looks foggy rather than over exposed, but again its difficult to say once its been twiddled in ps..

 

[excalibur2]

Well 40 rolls after a CLA is not much, but maybe a Pro, before you bought it, used 5000 plus rolls....anyway sad news and what have you decided?. BTW you could try it again with some cheap film and say use Asda dev OR use a roll of your usual B\W film take say 12 shots and put the same film in another camera and use the film up and dev yourself.

 

[ChrisR]

Well 40 rolls after a CLA is not much, but maybe a Pro, before you bought it, used 5000 plus rolls....anyway sad news and what have you decided?. BTW you could try it again with some cheap film and say use Asda dev OR use a roll of your usual B\W film take say 12 shots and put the same film in another camera and use the film up and dev yourself.

I'm 2/3 of the way through a roll of Delta 100 just now, and since I wouldn't send it off to Miles with a film in it, I thought I'd wait till that's done and have a look before deciding. I've got my father's old Ikonta I could send at the same time, save extra postage...

Earlier this afternoon I took a shot at 1/30, 1/15, 1/8, 1/4 and 1/2 for interest. Still 12 shots to go so it may take me a bit in this gloomy weather.

the line is wonky, as in not 90 degrees to the film edge
it could indicate shutter dragging in the top rail
not being familiar with the rodinax id also point a finger at a possible light leak fogging that L/H side, it looks foggy rather than over exposed, but again its difficult to say once its been twiddled in ps..

That shot was slightly tilted in post, here's a "new version from original" with no adjustments...



I don't think there is a light light leak, either tank or camera; the weather was pretty bad though, so there was likely water on the filter, which might explain random fogginess!

 

[joxby]

so.....the thing we don't know is whether the line extends to the rebate or not.....

if it does, its not shutter drag..

 

[TheGreatSoprendo]

Exactly the same thing happened with my old Nikon F3 which has a similar horizontal cloth shutter. Almost certainly shutter lag I would say.