F100 shutter problem...maybe?

[ken davis]

Hi folks,

 

I am not sure if it's a camera issue, a lens issue, or the combination. I'm using

my beloved F100, MB15 battery grip, 500mm F4, and sometimes the TC14E

converter, and I've found that many of my shots are dark across the bottom

quarter of the frame.

 

I have not been able to track this down conistently. For instance, sometimes I

get great results with the 500, somethimes the frame is dark. Sometimes with

the teleconverter the frames are fine, sometimes not. I have not noticed it with

other lenses.

 

I am wondering if it's the shutter, and perhaps the shutter is out of sync on

certain speeds. Am I on the right track, and is this something that can be

fixed? Any ideas or suggestions are greatly appreciated.

 

Thanks,

 

Ken<div></div>

[joseph_smith3]

Ken, this is weird. Do you shoot in A mode or some other mode? Maybe there is a problem with the diaphgram on the 500mm? Or a linkage problem between the tc, lens or camera? I would try some shots w/o film in the camera and with different combinations of modes and lenses to see if your aperture settings are being registerd in the camera. I have to admit, if they are not being registered properly, the rresults would affect the whole frame and not just the bottom. If you have a good local repair man, I would take all of your equipment to him and let him advise you what to do. They usuaally know right qway what the problem is. Then he can advise you how and where to get it fixed. Joe Smith

[scott_linstead]

This kind of problem tends to happen when you try to use a higher shutter speed than the max sync of the camera. Clearly, you did not use flash here, so I think your idea of a shutter issue might be correct. :(

[erik_loza]

I like the effect in that shot... Seriously, though, you might have it checked out. Does

sound like a shutter sync problem. Any particular speed range this happens in? Good luck.

[james_lai]

It looks your shutter is tapering. That happens when the shutter curtains don't travel at the same speed so the 2nd curtain catches up to the 1st curtain, causing underexposure on the last part of the frame (a horizontal band with a vertical travel shutter such as yours). Your camera needs service.

[jv1]

If that's the result, I wouldn't mind having some camera issues every now and then ;) Interesting photo, very different from the usual bird-photographs you see in abundance every day.

[alex_lofquist]

I would be suspicious of a slow mirror that doesn't completely get out of the way before the shutter fires.

[alastairjamieson]

I'm not so sure that this is a shutter issue - if it were I'd expect a much more even band of darkness, parallel with the bottom of the frame. Any other ideas of what would produce such an uneven area of darkness? - hopefully not mold or some part of the lens interior (e.g. anti-relective lining) flapping around!