michael_peters1 Posted June 9, 2004 Share Posted June 9, 2004 Been a nice week for me - I bought some "new to me" toys. An Elan II (with instruction manual, original box, camera strap), A BP-50 grip - I will likely leave it home often though because to me it really is only useful when shooting portrait and it makes the camera bigger (space in a backpack is at premium), An ML-3 ring flash, and GR-20 grip for my EOS 650 (so it can live on my macro stand with a shutter release - the stock 650 grip doesn't allow for remote release). At any rate - the Elan II is used from mail order, Elan II's don't exist at local used shops - so mail order is the only option. First thing I did was put it in manual mode, fire it at 2 seconds - sounded perfect. Fired at 1/2000 second and 1/4000 second - sounded WAY slower. But I don't know how an Elan II is suppose to sound, maybe the mirror is just slower? I can't hear a difference between 1/125 and 1/4000 - should I be able to? The body itself looks like it is in excellent condition, it is extremely clean inside and out, I would give it an EX+ rating - but that shutter thing worries me, but maybe it's suppose to sound the way it does? I might pop a roll of film through tomorrow to test it that way, but I might not be able to until next week- thoughts would be appreciated. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
simonpg Posted June 9, 2004 Share Posted June 9, 2004 My suggestion with ANY new purchase of new and second hand gear is to run a roll of film through and thoroughly test it. If you are still unsure, take it to a technician to give it a general check up. A small price to pay to be sure your money was well spent. It is always worth factoring in such a test to the cost you expect to pay for second hand equipment. Then if there is a problem you have a technician's report to put in front of the reseller to get it fixed under warranty. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jimstrutz Posted June 9, 2004 Share Posted June 9, 2004 The way I do a quick shutter test is to point the camera at something bright, or at least light, open the back and look toward the lens as you trip the shutter. I put my eye right close to the shutter as it opens & closes. You can leave the lens on or take it off, it won't matter, it doesn't need to be focused. Start the shutter at about 1 second and after each firing, advance the shutter speed. There may be times that you are unsure if the shutter was faster or not, so just step it back & repeat it. As the speeds get faster, you won't be able to see the speed difference, but you should be able to see the "brightness" difference. Any large irregularities are quite noticable. Unlike some cameras, the Elan II will fire with the back open and with the lens removed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
monoxide Posted June 9, 2004 Share Posted June 9, 2004 On my Elan7 they do sound the same starting at 1/125th and faster because what you hear is the mirror which is pretty slow, you don't hear the shutter. And the mirror isn't meant to be fast. But run a roll of film through it anyway and test all the shutter speeds. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yakim_peled1 Posted June 9, 2004 Share Posted June 9, 2004 >> I can't hear a difference between 1/125 and 1/4000 I can't either. HTH. Happy shooting , Yakim. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
richard_christie Posted June 9, 2004 Share Posted June 9, 2004 Here is my understanding: The flash sync speed of 1/125" is the time it takes the shutter(s) to travel between the top and bottom of the film area. There is an opening shutter followed by a closing shutter. At speeds slower than this the entire area remains open for 1/125" less than the shutter speed (which is the only time a flash pop can go off and light the entire film). At higher speeds the closing shutter chases the opening shutter up the film are so that each part of the film only sees light for the period of the stated shutter speed. Obviously, this means the top and bottom of your picture are seeing the world at 1/125" different time - I wonder if anyone has used this to create some interesting distortion effects? Perhaps you can see why people like the flash sync speed to be faster? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jean_berthe Posted June 9, 2004 Share Posted June 9, 2004 One of our local photo store has a device which can tell shutter speed (leaf, horizontal and vertical plane) and lens f/ stop ration. They don't charge much for this service. I was able to evaluate a used body/lens once and found out that the body's speed was off above 1/250" and lens was off(sticky) at f/16 and smaller. They saved me a few hundred bucks in bad used gear (they also confirmed that my old Minolta Himatic 7II was "bang on" with non-mercury batteries). Good luck Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
geoff_doane Posted June 9, 2004 Share Posted June 9, 2004 I think Richard has the right explanation for why the shutter doesn't sound different above 1/125 S. BTW, with the back open, the shutter doesn't stay open for long exposures (at least my Elan II doesn't). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kevin_krumwiede2 Posted June 12, 2004 Share Posted June 12, 2004 <i>I wonder if anyone has used this to create some interesting distortion effects?</i> This is why we perceive something leaning forward as moving fast. The lean is from the travel of the shutter slit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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