Light entry

[Asha]

Light entry is an issue for many of my cameras simply due to their age.

Usually it is easy to trace the fault (red window, bellows etc)

I have just devd a film and looking at the negs (drying at the mo) there looks like there is a band of light through each shot.

I have had similar before with a different camera ( see pic for example) but have never managed to figure where the problem lies...is it stray light passing back through the viewfinder or an entry through the camera body?

Any ideas anyone??

Shot at 2012-04-06

 

[robhooley167]

Because its such a straight line and it doesnt seem to be too severe, it could be the shutter either sticking or having a hole in it. This is assuming however that it's a horizontal shutter. TBY had similar looking problems with one of his cameras when there was a hole in the shutter cloth. If it's a vertical shutter then disregard everything i've said :nuts:

 

[freecom2]

Yeah, shutter drag. That looks like it was a very well lit scene, so you were probably on the fastest shutter speed or near to the fastest shutter speed. An old camera over time will lose the tight mechanical factory tolerances, and slow and fast shutter speeds are liable to be victims to that. Dry fire it with the back open and see if you can tell - you should see only a quick flash of light, but anything that deviates slightly could be the culprit (of course, we don't see fast enough to discern a problem with a shutter accurately at 1/500s or 1/1000s).

 

[Asha]

Mmm .....probably not an awful lot I ca do about it.
I know the shutters on some of my gear are much slower than their original speeds dictate ( they are old and tired!), but the they are generally consistant in that they will fire at for eg 1/50 when they were originally 1/100 so the shots usually come out ok as I can compensate at the time of shooting..
This particular drag problem whch leaves a distinct light entry mark is a little more frustrating but at least I now understand why it's happening.
Many thanks for explaining.

 

[Ronan]

I'd have to agree that this looks like the shutter is sticking as it travels. My Kiev 88 used to do the same thing above 1/125 and occasionally still does ( Sometimes this can be as simple as a bit of gunk lodged in the shutter's path but it can be caused by pretty much any of the moving parts in the shutter mech if they're not healthy. A good CLA should sort most of these things so maybe it's time to crack out the screwdrivers, hammers and oil-can.