50/1.4 -aggressive flare?

[Jacob]

Great with a forum for these great cameras at the all ready great RFF!

From time to time I excercise my fathers S2 with the 50/1.4. The images are excellent, super sharp but still warm and plesant in a way. The only problem is sudden aggressive light spots on some images. It look like if I have made a mark with a marker pen on the negative. It can't be a light leak since they are irregular and in different places. I do use a shade that looks long enough for the lens. Someone told me it is the shiny inside surfaces of the lens that causes the effect and that I should paint the rear metal parts of the lens black. I feel somewhat reluctant to put paint on the legendary lens, even though it wont be seen when in use. By the way, it puzzles me that the same spots occurred when I tried a modern multicoated CV 21/4 on the camera! Has anyone encountered the same problems? Should I try to cure it with some paint or would I ruin the lens?

Jacob

 

[oftheherd]

Can you post a couple of examples?

 

[Nikon Bob]

It would be interesting to see examples. I have used an S2 with the 50 F1.4 and no hood with nothing similar to what you have described happening. I have also used a CV 21 on a Leica for about two rolls and not had that happen, but two rolls is not very much use. Hope someone has some ideas.

Bob

 

[tajart]

i'm not a camera technician and i don't know the s2, but last year on another forum there was flare discussion about older summicrons on m2 bodies- as i recall, there was a reference to something like a strip or shield in the body that sometimes needs replacing. if my memory serves me well, hmm, its early and i've only had one cafe latte so far, the problem in the discussion was about a parallel band of flare...all this to say, if flare is happening w different lenses it sounds like something in the body.

 

[tajart]

what is the shutter curtain material? the sudden aggressive light spots, sound similar to something that happend on a IIIf i had purchased that had a wrinkled and brittle shutter curtain. my pics had a multitude of random starry highlights on the pictures, kind of fun once or twice, but new curtains and a cla put this camera back into full service.

 

[Sonnar Brian]

I would check the shutter curtains as well. It sounds like a possible hole. The 5cm f1.4 will flare, but you will know it.

Nikon 5cm F1.4: Photon Torpedo Brings Down Tree!

 

[Doug]

Agreed on the shutter... I used an S2 years ago that had sat in the camera shop window, and thus developed a half dozen or so pinholes in the shutter curtain. But these holes are in fixed spots, so should make spots in about the same pattern on each neg. But I seem to have discarded those negs, so I cannot look to be sure...

 

[Jacob]

Tank You for all the quick answers and thougts so far. While You are waiting for me to scan some examples I have to tell You that, when I look through my pictures, maybe the light spots are in about the same place, the upper right area. And the surface of the cloth curtain looks funny (like a stain of glue) in the lower left area... Can't see if any light goes through with my eyes though. I'll check the negs to see whether it seems like some time has passed before i took a "flared" pic so there would have been time for some light to reach the film.
If it is the shutter curtain, does anybody know the cost of replacing it? Or does it exist a Magic Super Sealing Liquid that works?

Jacob

 

[Sonnar Brian]

Unless the shutter is "way gone", it can be patched. I think our "repair forum" has a thread on it. Essex in New Jersey charges ~$180 for a Nikon S2 CLA and Shutter Curtain replacement. If the camera does not need the CLA, I would try patching it.

Made me Google...

http://www.nemeng.com/leica/025b.shtml

 

[Jacob]

Thanks for the link Brian! It made go to a "pro" photo store where they shook their heads when I asked for "cloth shutter sealer something". Then I went to the hardware store and bought a large tube of black acrylic elastic sealer for plumbing, about $8. I applied about 1/10000000 of the content on the shutter curtain with a tooth pick and let it dry for a few days. I have put a few rolls thru the camera since and there are no light spots, and I have deliberately stored it in the light without cap.
Once again, thank You all for the help!
Jacob

 

[Sonnar Brian]

Glad to here another Nikon RF joins the rank of shooters. I have a Leica M2 with a patched curtain, works great. It is amazing how 50 year old cloth curtains can keep going.

 

[Nikon Bob]

Jacob

If you have the camera with lens sitting in the light with no lens cap on you might want to be careful about that. There was talk on other threads of the lens acting like a magnifier and burning a hole in a cloth shutter. Glad you got your problem solved and are enjoying your camera.

Bob

 

[VinceC]

When I'm out in bright sunlight, I try to keep the aperatures on my RFs closed all the way down to 16 or 22 (or f/32 with the telephotos) and pointed away from the sun. My understanding is it takes at least several minutes to burn a hole in a shutter curtain, but there's no point in taking chances. The curtains on my S2 once had a pinhole burn that were repaired by a previous owner and today I have no problems with light leaks. I think the problem with burned shutters in rangefinders usually occurs when the camera are left facing skyward in cars.

On a sort of related topic, a few weeks ago my wife had just finished working at the computer in our study and was about to leave the room when she smelled a burning odor. She looked around and saw that the mouse pad was on fire! There was a magnifying glass sitting upright in a pencil holder on the desk, and the low autumn sun shining through our window caught the magnifying glass and projected a focused beam onto the mouse pad, setting it aflame! We were pretty surprised. If she had left the room 20 seconds sooner, the house probably would have burned down! (We have a lot of papers on our desk next to the computer). We now keep the magnifying glass safely tucked away in a dark desk drawer.