Troubleshooting an issue

[sbakar]

Hi,

I recently bought a Nikon FM and I am using it with a pre-AI Nikkor-H 50 mm f/2 lens. I shot a test roll of Fuji Superia 800, and had the film developed and printed at a local commercial place. I have uploaded the digital positives here:

February2010 pictures by sbakar - Photobucket

Apart from the blur from not using a tripod (not a problem), there is another more concerning problem. On every 3-4th photo, there is an area of overexposure on the right half of the frame, with a substantial bright strip that runs vertically. This is also present on the negatives, and the overexposure seems to extend beyond the frame.

The best picture to see this on is:
http://i300.photobucket.com/albums/nn19/sbakar/February2010/F1000009.jpg

What is going on here? Could this be a problem with the shutter? The FM's shutter runs vertically, so I don't see how it could be due to a lagging shutter. Given that many of these issues are pattern recognition things, can someone let me know if they see something obvious that's going on?

In the mean time, I will shoot another roll and see what happens.

Thanks.

SNB

 

[the Virginian]

The best picture to see this on is:
http://i300.photobucket.com/albums/nn19/sbakar/February2010/F1000009.jpg

This link says the pic has been deleted or moved. Is this it?

 

[compur]

Hi,

I recently bought a Nikon FM and I am using it with a pre-AI Nikkor-H 50 mm f/2 lens. I shot a test roll of Fuji Superia 800, and had the film developed and printed at a local commercial place. I have uploaded the digital positives here:

February2010 pictures by sbakar - Photobucket

Apart from the blur from not using a tripod (not a problem), there is another more concerning problem. On every 3-4th photo, there is an area of overexposure on the right half of the frame, with a substantial bright strip that runs vertically. This is also present on the negatives, and the overexposure seems to extend beyond the frame.

The best picture to see this on is:
http://i300.photobucket.com/albums/nn19/sbakar/February2010/F1000009.jpg

What is going on here? Could this be a problem with the shutter? The FM's shutter runs vertically, so I don't see how it could be due to a lagging shutter. Given that many of these issues are pattern recognition things, can someone let me know if they see something obvious that's going on?

In the mean time, I will shoot another roll and see what happens.

Thanks.

SNB

Looks like a light leak coming in on the latch side of the film door (left
side as you stand behind the camera which would be closest to the right
edge of the reversed image).

Either the film door wasn't fully closed and/or you need the light seals
replaced (common with Japanese cameras of this vintage).

The reason it didn't happen on every frame is that the effect of a faint
light leak takes time to build up on the film. So, shots taken in more
rapid succession wouldn't show the flaw but shots taken after a longer
period of non-motion would show it more.

 

[sbakar]

The best picture to see this on is:
http://i300.photobucket.com/albums/nn19/sbakar/February2010/F1000009.jpg

This link says the pic has been deleted or moved. Is this it?

Yes, that is the correct picture. I have fixed the link in the original post. Thanks for taking the trouble to find it!

 

[sbakar]

Hi,

I recently bought a Nikon FM and I am using it with a pre-AI Nikkor-H 50 mm f/2 lens. I shot a test roll of Fuji Superia 800, and had the film developed and printed at a local commercial place. I have uploaded the digital positives here:

February2010 pictures by sbakar - Photobucket

Apart from the blur from not using a tripod (not a problem), there is another more concerning problem. On every 3-4th photo, there is an area of overexposure on the right half of the frame, with a substantial bright strip that runs vertically. This is also present on the negatives, and the overexposure seems to extend beyond the frame.

The best picture to see this on is:
http://i300.photobucket.com/albums/nn19/sbakar/February2010/F1000009.jpg

What is going on here? Could this be a problem with the shutter? The FM's shutter runs vertically, so I don't see how it could be due to a lagging shutter. Given that many of these issues are pattern recognition things, can someone let me know if they see something obvious that's going on?

In the mean time, I will shoot another roll and see what happens.

Thanks.

SNB

Looks like a light leak coming in on the latch side of the film door (left
side as you stand behind the camera which would be closest to the right
edge of the reversed image).

Either the film door wasn't fully closed and/or you need the light seals
replaced (common with Japanese cameras of this vintage).

The reason it didn't happen on every frame is that the effect of a faint
light leak takes time to build up on the film. So, shots taken in more
rapid succession wouldn't show the flaw but shots taken after a longer
period of non-motion would show it more.

Thanks for the reply! Come to think of it, your explanation makes perfect sense because this effect happened most often, and the strongest, in pictures that I took after a few minutes of waiting, and only in the bright sunlight. The evening shots (on page 2 of the album) don`t show any of this.

The clincher is that there are essentially no light seals in the groove around the door! In fact, I remember thinking about this to myself when loading the film, that the seals are not there or compressed beyond belief, and that there was some play in the fully closed position (i.e. the door perceptibly moves forward and back in the closed position). Presumably the door should snap closed with no further movement. I will look into replacing the seals soon.

SNB