Can anyone tell me why my camera is doing this?

juliette.steen · Oct 26, 2010

I recently bought a Zenit B and have just been playing around with it. My first roll came out fine, but the most recent negatives came out with these marks on it (see attachments). Not every photo came out like this and only one photo came out with the crazy what-appears-to-be-light-leak spread across the majority of the photo.
What do you think? Light leaks? Dust?
I don't particularly hate this new 'effect' but I don't want these marks to be on every future photos I take with the camera.

Thanks heaps!

Hamster · Oct 26, 2010

SInce they are mostly at the top, and the pattern are similar in both frames, my first guess would be pinholes in the shutter curtain.

juliette.steen · Oct 26, 2010

So how were these pinholes created throughout the duration of the start to the end of the film? I don't understand how that can happen so quickly..

philosomatographer · Oct 26, 2010

Does a Zenit have a cloth shutter? If so, I also think these are some pretty serious pinholes in the shutter curtain.

My theory is that the moment the mirror swings out of the way (and the curtains are still stationary) the "holes" are burned, and then, as the curatins start to accelerate, we see the "smearing" for a short time, until they move too fast to have an appreciable effect on the film anymore.

juliette.steen · Oct 26, 2010

Yeah it has a cloth shutter. What you're saying sounds pretty correct.
What can I do now? Is there a way to fix the problem? Perhaps I should just buy another Zenit B...

Rol_Lei Nut · Oct 26, 2010

Though pinholes more typically appear in cloth shutters which are exposed to light (rangefinders, the second curtain of non-instant-return-mirror SLRs).

I've had pinholes in the past and they were usually "sharper". Anyway, *if* you can lift up the Zenit's mirror (carefully, gently!), look at both shutter curtains against the light. Even not lifting the mirror out of the way, you should be able to see something against very bright light.

My own candidate would be a more simple light leak... Are the film edges and sprocket holes also affected?

juliette.steen · Oct 26, 2010

I just checked, the film edges and sprocket holes are not affected at all. Hm.
I can't check if there are pinholes as there is currently a film in the camera, but will do so as soon as I finish it.
What do you suggest I do about it?

elekm · Oct 26, 2010

You should remove the film now. If those pinholes are still there, they will affect any photos that you've taken on this roll and any future photos.

The best way to check this is to get a flash light and go into a darkened room. Open the camera back and remove the lens, lift the mirror and shine the light through the lens mount. Any pinholes in the shutter will be immediately visible.

I'm using a Crayola fabric marker to fill shutter pinholes. I like this product because it works and the shutter curtain remains very pliable.

juliette.steen · Oct 26, 2010

Okay, thank you heaps
Where do you find these Crayola fabric markers? I live in Australia and have never heard of them.

bblhed · Oct 26, 2010

Crayola is a famous maker of the best quality Crayons here in the states, every child grows up knowing the name and adults still remember it when they have children, but enough history on the Crayola name. Crayola is owned by a company called Binny-Smith, that may or may not be exporting to Australia, or you may have a similar company there. Here is a link to the Crayola fabric marker web page http://www.crayola.com/products/list.cfm?categories=MARKERS you can find these types of things in craft shops.

2F/2F · Oct 26, 2010

Looks like light may be leaking around or through the bottom left part of the shutter, and in that corner spot on the upper left of the film gate. The more extreme example seems to follow the pattern of the less extreme example. Looks like there are four leaky spots, and the severity of the blobs depends on how long and in what light the camera sits between shots.

Ihmemies · Oct 26, 2010

My friend had same kind of effect in his russian camera. Try to get some solution which to apply to the shutter curtain in a thin layer... hopefully it fixes the problme. If not, buy a new camera, it's not like they're very expensive :-D

Hamster · Oct 26, 2010

I won't bother trying to repair the Zenit B unless you have very good reason for using this camera. Get a Pentax Spotmatic instead, they uses the same M42 lens as the Zenit and are reasonably cheap almost everywhere.

AgX · Oct 26, 2010

The longitudinal form of the artefacts in the right photo made me think they were caused by a leak in a moving shutter cloth passing a cone of strong light. But then they should only be seen in highlight areas.

Thus I guess they are produced as 2F/2F hinted at, statically by stray light in the mirror chamber entering through horizontal slit-like holes in the cutain cloth caused by one or two vertical threads ruptured.

elekm · Oct 26, 2010

I've used these to fill holes on a Pentacon F shutter curtain and a Nikon S shutter curtain. It works very well.

I've also used Liquid Electrical Tape and didn't like the results at all, because the shutter curtains became too stiff.

michaelbsc · Oct 10, 2011

elekm said:
I'm using a Crayola fabric marker to fill shutter pinholes. I like this product because it works and the shutter curtain remains very pliable.

I hate to resurrect such an old thread, but I figured it's better that the answer, if one turns up, be with the original thread in the archive.

I bought some of the Crayola Fabric Markers for this, and reading the instructions I note that it says one should iron the fabric, or if not possible then throw it in a cloths dryer for half an hour.

Well, obliviously I'm not going to put a rangefinder in a dryer for half an hour.

So what have others done to cure the marker material? Use a hair dryer? Just let it dry for a few days?

Seems to me from the description on the package that heat is almost required to get satisfactory setting of the material.

Thanks,
Michael

Markster · Oct 11, 2011

Heat lamp, blow dryer, or just stick it on a windowsill on a hot day (or stick it on the dash of your car if you're at home, so you won't have folks breaking in to take it).

It also could be some kind of lense issue, but seeing that the public opinion is light leak I'll hold off until you see what results you get with your fix.

michaelbsc · Oct 11, 2011

Markster said:
Heat lamp, blow dryer, or just stick it on a windowsill on a hot day (or stick it on the dash of your car if you're at home, so you won't have folks breaking in to take it).

It also could be some kind of lense issue, but seeing that the public opinion is light leak I'll hold off until you see what results you get with your fix.

Well,I'm not the OP, so I'm not sure what his original problem turned out to be. I found the thread because I absolutely do have a pinhole on the shutter curtain.

I guess, since the camera is probably 50-60 years old, that a little wear is allowed.

Can anyone tell me why my camera is doing this?

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