Copal 0 - setting in between speeds?

[jim_simmons]

I've searched the archive and only came up with one thing close to

my question, and that was about an older shutter in an Ilex. Issue:

I've got a 150mm Symmar S with a Copal 0 shutter. Speeds are

accurate, but if I find the sweet spot between 1/30 and 1/60 (trying

to shift exposure a half-stop), the shutter goes off for anywhere

from a 1/10 to even longer. Can't repeat in between other speeds.

More of an issue than a problem. I can avoid in between speeds if

need be. Question: is this normal behavior for a Copal 0? anything

worth worrying about?

[jbq]

Don't try to set a shutter speed "between speeds".

[ed_prest]

Leaf shutters adjust the timing chains using two cams to select a gear train to use and the starting distance (time) to run. Shutter will run but the timing wont be very repeatable - you might get speed a or b or maybe something more or less random inbetween value. Use the f stops for in between adjustments.

[johndc]

most mechanical leaf shutters are not continous.

 

if you _really_ feel you need to have control that precise and you don't want to adjust your aperture, then you need to get some 0.1 neutral density filters.

[jnanian]

jim -

 

if you have a betax shutter, you can set inbetween speeds ( there are even markings

inbetween the marked shutter speeds), but shutters that have 'stops' or

'clicks' where the shutter speeds are you can not do this. i would avoid doing this with

your copal shutter :)

[michael_briggs2]

<p>From the instruction booklet from Copal Company Ltd for a Copal No. 1 Shutter: "<i>When changing the shutter speed, set the shutter speed accurately on the click stop. If the shutter speed is set in between the click stops, the shutter mechanism sometimes will not function properly.</i>"</p>

[jim_simmons]

Thanks, everybody. This makes it all pretty clear. I buy my gear used, so I did't even think about there being an instruction book for a LF lens. I guess all my years of shooting my Leicas at mid-speeds made me think it was doable on all cameras. Duh.