Mechanical shutter operation

[marmle]

I am familiar with the basic operation of various shutters but I am curious how some of the older mechanical shutter mechanisms achieved precise timings. I have been looking for diagrams and pictures with some kind of explaination of their operation, but they don't really go into the details of what is behind the actual movement of the shutter.

 

[Soocom1]

Depends on the camera.
Most operate off of a clockwork system of gears.
some use a pre-set spring tension system.
Regardless of how, the usual result is based almost entirely on physics and is quite accurate in most instances to around 1/100th of the advertised speed.

 

[wfooshee]

I have a working 1952 Voigtlander Vitessa rangefinder, and it's fun to set shutter speeds of half a second or longer, and hear the gears spinning and whirring. It may have been accurate once, but all of its speeds are on the long side of correct, any more.

 

[dxqcanada]

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