Nikkor 50mm 1.4 AI-S: Holly flare!

zanxion72

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Recently my son finished a roll of Kodak Portra 400 unitentionaly shot at EI 800 with his Nikon FA and the Nikkor AI-S 50mm 1.4. In many frames there is a large blob of light like this. What can this be? Is it flare? There are no light leaks in the camera back as there are no traces of it outside the frame. Is the 50mm 1.4 that bad? Could it be that he was shooting with the lens wide open?
He just started with film photography and he still hasn't the feel of using a film camera.

 

chriscrawfordphoto

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I hada Nikkor 50mm f1.4 AF lens for a long time; it has the same optics as the Ai-S. It never flared like that. Is your lens clean, no fingerprints on the front or rear elements, free of internal haze or fungus?
 
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zanxion72

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The sun was out of the frame, more like above his head. It shows up only in frames where there is strong light. The lens is clean, not a single speck of dust, no fingermarks, no haze. I haven't also noticed any pin holes on the titanium curtains. How can I tell if it is due to light reaching the film from the viewfinder?
Also, he is using a rubber hood that has a glossy metal ring for attaching it to the lens. Could that be a reflection of that surface causing a nasty flare like that?
 

shutterfinger

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With the burn out spot at the top center of the photo the light leak will be at the bottom center of the film plane. If the sun was in front of the lens but high in the sky then the lens hood mount ring is a probable cause. If the sun was at the rear of the camera but high in the sky the viewfinder eyepiece is likely.
In total darkness, no lens attached, mirror up shine a MiniMag or similar into the viewfinder eye piece at both 45 and 90 degrees to the eyepiece while viewing the camera from the lens mount. Pay close attention to the film plane opening.
Check the curtain for pin holes in total darkness by opening the shutter on B, holding the mirror up, releasing the shutter button, and looking at the curtain with the back open and a light shined in from the front then without releasing the mirror cock the shutter by advancing the wind lever to check the first curtain.
 
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zanxion72

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I have checked the curtains for pinholes and the viewfinder for leaks to the focal plane and this seems not to be the case. The hood might be the cause. Look at the metal ring how wide and reflective it seems (under room lamp):
 

ChristopherCoy

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Since the blob appears to be in the same spot, was there a possibility of light leak during loading onto reels or development?
 

Tel

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Just to complicate things further, there is a shadow on the midriff of the subject in the first photo that looks very much like a human face. Could this be the result of the shooter holding the camera away from his eye when firing the shutter? Lots of digital users do that, of course, and it might be instinctive in someone who's new to film cameras.
 

grain elevator

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The shadows in the second picture tell me that the sun was slightly behind him, so no direct sun on the shiny ring of the hood. I doubt it's that. I would think light leak from in front of the film, as shutterfinger suggests perhaps through the viewfinder. FA as a metal shutter, yes? These typically rely on the mirror blocking much of the light, a little light that sneaks in behind the mirror could get through between the metal blades.
 

benjiboy

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Buy a lens hood, he was shooting directly into the sun.I don't know any lens that wouldn't do this in these circumstances.
 
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grain elevator

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benjiboy said:
Buy a lens hood, he was shooting steight into the sun.
Click to expand...
Look at the shadows: he wasn't. Beside that, when really shooting straight into the sun (when it's in the frame), a lens hood doesn't help.
 
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zanxion72

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It was with a lens hood and the sun was above-left, not behind the shot.
The curtains are 100% light tight. Else there would had been marks on the negative in the space between the frames while advancing the film in sunlight with the lens uncovered. I tend to believe that this is a reflection of something shinny, perhaps from the sun reflecting from the lower metal part of the mount ring of the hood.
 

gone

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If it were me, I'd buy a fresh roll of film from another source and try it again. I doubt it's a lens hood issue. Just to be sure, ck the lens w/ a flashlight or other strong light source on one end and your eye on the other.
 
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zanxion72

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I just confirmed these:
Lens out, it is clean, just one speck of dust. No marks, no fog, all clean.
Opened the back and taped the mirror up. Advancing the lever and with a led light in front, no leaks through the curtains could be seen.
Led light behind the viewfinder, holding the mirror up. No light reaching the curtains.
I will try with a new roll as our friend momus suggested and see how it goes. I will ditch that hood too.
Pitty, it was his first film and got disapointed with the result. My chance of drawing my son into film photography seems gone.
 

RalphLambrecht

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he caught the sun at the edge of the frame.The Nikkor AIS 50mm f/1.4 is an excellent lens and dirt-cheap these days.
 

benjiboy

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zanxion72 said:
I have checked the curtains for pinholes and the viewfinder for leaks to the focal plane and this seems not to be the case. The hood might be the cause. Look at the metal ring how wide and reflective it seems (under room lamp):
View attachment 275968
Click to expand...
I think you might be right I suggest you get the correct Nikon lens hood for the lens, or paint the metal hood mount with matte black paint.
 

Kino

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+1 There are "reflections" in both examples if you look close enough. I suspect a combination of shooting with the eye away from the viewfinder and that reflective lens hood ring.

EDIT: wait; what model Nikon and what type viewfinder? That reflection certainly looks like someone composing through a waist level viewfinder.
 

ChristopherCoy

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Kino said:
EDIT: wait; what model Nikon and what type viewfinder? That reflection certainly looks like someone composing through a waist level viewfinder.
Click to expand...

FA. Eye level only.
 
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zanxion72

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I have tested the viewfinder for light leaking to the curtains and it seems not to be the case. Here is another proving that. I remember him taking it at noon time, with strong light reflected from the white building and its glass windows. No possibility of light leaking through the viewfinder, as he was in shadow with a fairly dim room at his back. His eye is always in the viewfinder.(the other reflections are of my phone while taking a photo of that glossy photo, sorry but my scanner is not at hand)
 

shutterfinger

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Mount the lens on the camera, lock the shutter open on B with a locking cable release then in total darkness open the back and shine the light around the lens mount from both the film plane and the exterior of the camera.
The leak will be a dim yellowish spot not bright white. Light from a closed door or curtain/shade on a window at night can allow enough ambient light to mask the light leak.
 

Nicholas Lindan

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Just to check - does the same flare show up on the negatives?

If the problem is in the camera then it should be visible - if the film can see it then the eye can see it. The source of the flare should show itself just looking through the back of the camera with the shutter open and the lens on the camera.
 
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