Issues taking pictures indoors, please help!

[xihuitl]

I recently took a few pictures of friends and family that gathered indoors. Here is the equipment that I used.

Body: Vivitar V3800N
Lens: Vivitar 50:1 (The one that came with the camera)
Flash: Quantaray QB-350A (set on manual and aimed at +60 to bounce of white ceiling
Film: Kodak Gold ISO 200
Shutter: 125 (max per body)
Aperture: set per recommendation per distance

Not sure what else I can say about the setup, but here's the images. The top of each image (more in some than others) is completely black.

(Link to album in photobucket)

 

[JerryPH]

Shutter speed too high. It should have been set to 1/60th perhaps.

 

[c.cloudwalker]

Shutter speed too high. It should have been set to 1/60th perhaps.

My first thought too but this camera has a sync speed of 125 or slower. Maybe the shutter speeds are off...

 

[musicaleCA]

The shutter speeds must be off. It's definitely the shutter getting the the way of the light from the flash though. Jerry's probably right, and the shutter needs to be much slower. *scratches head*

 

[xihuitl]

The shutter speeds must be off. It's definitely the shutter getting the the way of the light from the flash though. Jerry's probably right, and the shutter needs to be much slower. *scratches head*

What's odd is that there were some pictures that turned out fine. I know for a fact I didn't change the shutter speed. I'll take what has been said, and shoot my next roll with slower shutter. Question is, since the camera is supposed to sync at 125, how is that going to affect the exposure levels?

Is it possible I have a mis-calibrated camera on my hands? Or one that is inconsistent with shutter?

 

[c.cloudwalker]

Is it possible that it is something as stupid as your battery is getting close to dead?

 

[Bravotwofive]

I would conclude from a similar experience the shutter is dragging open.

 

[redtippmann]

90% sure its the shutter. dtown tv had something like this on there podcast and yes if you lower the shutter it should not happen. And if you get a high enough film speed you might not need a flash!