Vertical focal plane shutter (Dynax 7)

[weatherman]

I have a question;

My almost brand new Dynax 7 is leaking light(I think). Very little of it and

obvious in some darker shots(always at the left bottom corner). I'm thinking

most probably I have damaged the curtains while I'm loading rolls. Looking at

the curtain with naked eye I can not see anything wrong. Is there a way of

inpecting shutter segments to see if there is any light leakage? (No a torch

doesn't show any transmission). I know I'm not allowed o touch them. And finally

I'm curious, is there any light sealant between metal segments? Othervise the

curtain design looks too fragile to me.

Many thanks in advance

E.

[William Kahn]

Can you post a sample?

[weatherman]

These for example:

http://www.photo.net/photodb/photo?photo_id=4223110

http://www.photo.net/photodb/photo?photo_id=4223106

http://www.photo.net/photodb/photo?photo_id=4223105

http://www.photo.net/photodb/photo?photo_id=4223112

 

thx

[William Kahn]

I think it's a light leak. Does it extend beyond the frame to the left, or does it cut off sharply at the frame edge? If it extends beyond the frame, it's possibly from the camera back. But, given the well-defined edges, and the fact that the bottom edge of the film does not appear to be affected, I think you're right about the shutter curtain. It's a damned sensitive mechanism, and I try not to get anywhere near it on my Maxxum 7 (same camera, USA version). I don't know if there's light sealant in there, but I kind of doubt it.......

[weatherman]

Gosh! That is bad news! I can not spend any money for repairs as I also have the digital 5D...

Then I can always cut off the buttom and think about light leak when I compose. I guess it is not too bad for the time being it still is a usable body.

[weatherman]

William, yes it is only inside the frame so looks like shutter blade is messed up already. I don't remember touching it. Ever since I've put slides in it I realised this. Negatives show less of this problem. Hmm I wonder if I can make a claim(still under warranty).

[William Kahn]

It does seem like a very "slow" leak, since details are still somewhat visible through it - just compose the shot to anticipate cropping the bottom edge :) Seriously, if it's still under warranty, you should get it repaired soon. Good luck....

[weatherman]

Hey you know what I found the problem I think! :)

Bottom left corner paint is scraped off (my guitar nails might be the culprit :(

Metal is shining through there (using a torch)! So I think that explains why this problem does not show up when shot in cloudy days. No strong reflection no white stripe!

 

Now question is how can I paint that tiny area? Not that I can not live with it though..

[weatherman]

(I mean I can live with it! ;) phew

[William Kahn]

Ersagun, probably should have mentioned this before, but... remember that the image is inverted and reversed at the film plane in the camera, so the leak would have to be near the top right corner of the shutter curtain.

[weatherman]

That it is difficult to notice really,especially when you are suspicious about blade leak.

I have painted the open metal with alcohol based black pen. I'll finish a rool and let's see what happens.

Thanks a lot for the responses

[matt hedgecoe]

Excuse my ignorance, but why is the supposed light leak registering as a bright green stripe on the film? Surely if daylight was leaking into the camera it would appear as a virtually white stripe?

 

Additionally, the position and shape of it doesn't seem to match the profile of the shutter blades at that location (top right when viewed from the back of the camera).

 

I noticed that it is in the area of film that is normally 'written' onto by the date/time imprinting unit.

 

Could that be a possible culprit?

[John Seaman]

This does not look like a leak through the shutter to me.

 

I had an Olympus with very obviously damaged (bent)shutter blades. It did leak, but only on shots against strong light - many shots were OK. The leak could be seen as a white glow over part of the image. I think the mirror acts as a light baffle and cuts out most of the light, except for very strong sources.

[weatherman]

I have another dynax 7 that I know does not leak anything(has another problem though:-( ). I compared two cameras and both shutters are in perfect condition and look identical to me. That is how I saw that problem one has lost some paint near film frame.

Neither do I think that it is shutter now. It is too close to bottom to be shutter matter. Besides I now remember I had frames painted at the bottom with a russian camera before and it had the black paint at the edge scraped off as well(old camera). I had glued a black cloth piece on bare metal and all was fine later. I believe I'm having similar problem now which is easiy to fix to me...

[weatherman]

Just got the roll back and still same greenish stripe!!! This is a real puzzle for me now. Some of the new frames show more pronounced and longer and whiter(rather than green) stripe. I wonder if this is really the shutter thing. I'll send it in for repairs if it gets worse..