How Many of you Check the Shutter Speed of Your LF lens?

[photomc]

Just read another thread related to contrast of MC lens and was hit by Donald Millers response..that the shutter speeds of older lens may be off. Not the fact that the shutter speed may be off, but the fact that with many of my LF lens, I have NO idea how close they are to the stated speed. Yet this would seem quite important.

How many check the shutter speeds of your LF lens? And how do you check them? Only way I am aware of to do it at home is with the device sold by Calumet, are there other methods. With more modern lens/shutters not sure I worry about them so much, put do have a few older lens/shutter combos that have me wondering. Given that I have not shot anything above 1/15 would think that at least from 1/30 down would be of some importance....

Thanks in advance...maybe I should not worry about this.

 

[Robert Hall]

I dont check them, I never get to use them. How accurate can "B" be?

 

[roteague]

I haven't checked mine, but I did have one of my lenses CLA'd and the shutter speed was checked during that process - it was spot on. Another LF lens I have is new - hopefully, Schneider calibarated it before shipping.

FWIW, I prefer new or newer vintage age lenses (my oldest is mid-70's).

 

[Loose Gravel]

I check them periodically, especially if I'm about to calibrate some film or a process. I time them on my Metrolux 2, which has a built in shutter speed tester.

 

[John Bartley]

I have checked mine, but if they are anywhere near close, I don't worry about them. I have yet to send one away and I have only have to clean and lube two of them. I check mine with a microphone attached to my sound carb. I record the noise of the shutter. There is a definite noise peak when it clicks open and another when it clicks shut and I assume about 10% of the time that I record is pre-opening and post-closing mechanical noise.

Caveat - I'v only been at this a bit less than two years and I'm more of a "seat of the pants" type of hobbyist, so I don't get too paranoid about it.

cheers

 

[Ole]

I've checked some of mine. But since my most used shutter speed is 1/2 second, I just listen to the sound of the shutter when I trigger it a few times before pulling the dark slide...

 

[BradS]

I have checked mine, but if they are anywhere near close, I don't worry about them. I have yet to send one away and I have only have to clean and lube two of them. I check mine with a microphone attached to my sound carb. I record the noise of the shutter. There is a definite noise peak when it clicks open and another when it clicks shut and I assume about 10% of the time that I record is pre-opening and post-closing mechanical noise.

Ingenious! Thanks.

I never worry too much about it but, I also send every shutter out for a CLA when I buy it and again every few years or so. Usually, they come back with speeds documented or at least verbal confirmation from the repair technician that "all speeds are within spec...".

 

[Jeremy]

Mike, I've got one of those Calumet shutter testers. Let me know when you're free sometime and we'll have a shutter testing party

 

[Bob F.]

I have checked mine, but if they are anywhere near close, I don't worry about them. I have yet to send one away and I have only have to clean and lube two of them. I check mine with a microphone attached to my sound carb. I record the noise of the shutter. There is a definite noise peak when it clicks open and another when it clicks shut and I assume about 10% of the time that I record is pre-opening and post-closing mechanical noise.

Caveat - I'v only been at this a bit less than two years and I'm more of a "seat of the pants" type of hobbyist, so I don't get too paranoid about it.

cheers

Yup, me too... Attached is a fairly recent Compur 1 at 1/15th (actually measures closer to 1/16th...) using Cool Edit 2000. Depending on the shutter, it can measure up to around 1/125 but this is fine as I rarely shoot faster than 1/15th.

Cheers, Bob.

 

[Eric Rose]

gee for the first time ever I actually got above 1/15th of a sec this past weekend. Most everything I do is 1/2 sec or slower. Usually several sec's. But you know the hang-time on those darn cable releases .....

 

[Daniel Grenier]

I had my five lenses checked recently and none of them were 100 % on. On each, just a few speeds were actually close. The fast speeds 125th and 60th were off by as much as 45%. I don't really care what the speeds are, really, as long as I know what they are so I can compensate accordingly.

 

[JeffD]

Funny you should mention this. I just tested mine yesterday. I usually change the aperature to adjust for corrections, rather than get it serviced every year.

I use a Mantis densitometer, which has an accessory which can measure shutter speeds. It gives you the decimal readout up to 6 digits, then tells you roughly how far, in stops, you are off. I think it only reads in 1/3 stops, however. I have three shutters, for my 90, 150, and 210 lenses.

Here are my corrections that I have to make for each of my shutters....

 

[Charles Webb]

Something Ole said that I feel gets forgotten in the field is when using older lenses, ( I do it with new ones as well ) is to trip the shutter several times pryor to pulling the slide and making the exposure. I have an old 500c Blad
that remembers what it is supposed to do only after tripping the 1 sec Speed with the self timer several times. Also a couple of Wollensaks in Studio Shutters that work much better after a few trips of the shutter. I don't recommend not having shutters cleaned, but I have been pretty successful getting my exposures by using the simple "tripping before exposing" method.

 

[BradS]

Something Ole said that I feel gets forgotten in the field is when using older lenses, ( I do it with new ones as well ) is to trip the shutter several times pryor to pulling the slide and making the exposure. I have an old 500c Blad
that remembers what it is supposed to do only after tripping the 1 sec Speed with the self timer several times. Also a couple of Wollensaks in Studio Shutters that work much better after a few trips of the shutter. I don't recommend not having shutters cleaned, but I have been pretty successful getting my exposures by using the simple "tripping before exposing" method.

I have integrated this into the mental check list of things I talk to myself about before pulling the darkslide. In addition to giving the shutter some excercise, it also seems to increase the probability that the shutter is closed after previewing.

 

[mmmichel]

I've checked mine, but only the slower speeds. Like others here, I use my computer's soundcard, but I use light instead of sound. I shine an infrared led into one side of the lens and have an infrared phototransistor on the other side hooked up to a very simple circuit (consisting of the transistor, one resistor, a mono headphone jack, and some wires) that cost me less than $20 at Radio Shack. I then check the results using MatLab's signal processing functions, but you could use any old wave editor software. If the shutters are off, I take the casing off and soak them in naptha, then let them dry and oil just the pivot points.
As others have mentioned, I rarely use the high speeds, but it's nice to know that I could, and this simple and inexpensive method seems to work really well. All speeds on all of my shutters are within a half stop of the stated speed.

 

[matt miller]

I have never had mine checked. Maybe that's my problem.

I have been pretty successful getting my exposures by using the simple "tripping before exposing" method.

I do this too. It just makes me feel better to hear it before the exposure.

 

[bobfowler]

I test my lenses every few months (I have a good digitral shutter tester). When times get sloppy, they go off to Carol Miller's shutter spa. I have two cameras and one Compur there now!

 

[photomc]

Well, no surprise with the different responses..but funny the one thing we ALL seem to do is exercise the shutter right before using it...Lee taught me that one, not quite a habit for me yet..haven't been at it long enough, but sure think about it more often than not. Also agree that the higher speeds don't get used much (hmmmmm, not sure I have used a shutter speed above 1/8 in a while and then it must have been either 1/15 or 1/30 which sounds pretty fast now that I think about it).

Thanks to everyone for the suggestion about testing with a mic and the sound card, may have to give that a try...see if I can find some freeware/shareware to use with the sound card (it's one of the intergrated one's that comes with pre-built system).

 

[Marv]

I have a couple of Turner and Reich convertables, one in a Betax 4 and one an Ilex 5. Both have been CLA'd and the 1/50 is actually 1/25 on both. The slower speeds1/10 to 1 second were dead on on both. According to my "lens guy" that is about par for the course and I have seen that reported else where. I generally don't get above 1/10, with many exposures in the minutes range so the high speeds aren't very important. My newer lenses all sound about the same at any given speed and exposures and negative densities are consistent so I don't get to concerned. It is interesting to note I had a 90mm Super Angulon in a Compur shutter that got slow at 1/5 and below and I could tell right away the speeds were wrong. I guess your ears get used to hearing the speed and after a while it is second nature to know that 1/5 sounds like 1/5.

 

[BradS]

.... I have two cameras and one Compur there now!

Oh...so you're the one who's got the queue all filled... I think the #1 Synchro-Compur I sent her must be behind your stuff. She spoils us...doesn't she?

 

[lee]

I have a MetroluxII timer that has a shutter checker built in. I use it when someone else is with me as it is a two person event.

lee\c

 

[scootermm]

I have yet to ever get my shutter speeds checked. should likely do it one day.

 

[raucousimages]

After reading Jack Dykinga's book I ckecked my lenses and made notes to any speeds that were off by more than 1/3 stop. The good news was that even if they were off they were consistant and I can live with that.

 

[bobfowler]

Oh...so you're the one who's got the queue all filled... I think the #1 Synchro-Compur I sent her must be behind your stuff. She spoils us...doesn't she?

Between Carol and my wife, it's a tough call who spoils me more!

Gotta love 'em both!

 

[panchromatic]

Something Ole said that I feel gets forgotten in the field is when using older lenses, ( I do it with new ones as well ) is to trip the shutter several times pryor to pulling the slide and making the exposure.

Its funny you mention that. I recently got my first LF camera and the lady I bought it off of told me to do that before I shoot an exposure.