Sign of a failing shutter?

[ryan_warner]

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<p >Just wanted to get another opinion before I take it to the shop. I only get the arcing white line at shutter speeds faster then 1/1250sec. Let me know what you think?</p>

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[evan_goulet]

<p>I'd vote yes</p>

[btmuir]

<p>I've heard about this but never witnessed it.</p>

<p>What camera body?</p>

[sarah_fox]

<p>Definitely failing. CLASSIC pattern.</p>

[ryan_warner]

<p>30D Camera body. I'm not sure what the shutter count is. I was reading up on how you findout, but it's not like knowing the count will help since everyone agrees that its a shutter issue.</p>

[jamie_robertson2]

<p>I've never had a shutter fail but all my cameras have had low shutter counts. The shutter on my friend's Pentax MZ-50 failed after less than 500 shutter actuations so anything's possible. It certainly sounds like it could be a shutter problem with your camera but I can't begin to attempt to explain why it leaves that overexposed arc on your photos.</p>

[frank_dzambic]

<p>What arcing white line? I've looked and looked at the picture you posted and the only thing I see is a brighter area in the sky near the middle of the picture. If that's what you're referring to it's not shutter failure. Shutter failure would show a horizontal band, not a vertical one. The shutter curtains move up and down, not left to right.</p>

[shambrick007]

<p>Frank, google 30D shutter failures...you'll see...</p>

[frank_dzambic]

<p>Ok, I did. I found this:<br /> http://photos.bahneman.com/tricks/article.php/canon_shutter_failure</p>

<p>So, maybe it is shutter failure, but it's unlike any I've ever experienced. Mine have always resulted in photos with a bright horizontal band somewhere in the frame, along with constant ERR 99's. Guess you learn something every day though technically (semantically?) it's more of a damaged shutter curtain than a shutter failure.</p>

[jamie_robertson2]

<p>Interesting stuff, I understand it now.</p>

<p>A chunk missing from a shutter blade can cause overexposure as the hole in the shutter drags across the frame meaning more light is hitting the sensor where the damaged area travels. In longer exposures this is vastly compensated for by the shutter remaining fully open for a longer period of time.</p>

<p>At high shutter speeds the shutter hardly stays open at all which means the majority of the exposure is created as the shutter blades are actually moving across the frame, hence the increased visibility of the phenomenon.</p>

<p>Unlike film SLRs, a shutter in a DSLR cannot be examined easily.</p>