I was thrilled, but then...

[armphoto]

Well, I just got my roll of film back. I shot the whole roll on Fed 3 with 53mm N61 f/2.8 black and silver lens. The part of the world where I am, I can only find Kodak ColorPlus 200. I was thrilled today to get the developed and scanned film back, but then I found something weird going on with some of the shots. The lens appears to be sharp, but on some shots, two bright spots are visible left of center and up a little. Here are those shots. Does anyone know what this could be? I looked at the lens and there's indeed two white spots on the inside element; one slightly bigger than the other. Is this fungus? And if so can I clean it off the glass?
Also, there seems to be a dark horizontal film strip on the top, and bottom most visible on the 3rd pic. Could this be from scanning? Too bad I can only upload 195kb max per pic.

 

[ruby.monkey]

Looks like pinholes in one of the shutter curtains.

 

[armphoto]

Here are a few keepers

Here are a few keepers

I forgot to mention this is my first time shooting film 🙂:angel:

 

[leica M2 fan]

It looks to me that it is a tiny pinhole in the curtain but you say that there are two white spots on one of the lens elements. This is puzzling.

 

[armphoto]

It looks to me that it is a tiny pinhole in the curtain but you say that there are two white spots on one of the lens elements. This is puzzling.

I doubt it's from the shutter curtains. The newly purchased Fed 3 appears to be in perfect condition as far as the curtains go and in general. The only reason these 2 bright spots are not visible in some of the other shots is because the spots coincide and land on bright areas in the photo.

 

[David Hughes]

Hi,

My money's on a shutter blind and a pinhole or two. Pinholes can be minute as the "shutter speed" is the time the lens cap was off.

The black edge looks like the scanner, or perhaps the film was twisted slightly but that would be more consistent, perhaps.

Regards, David

 

[mike rosenlof]

I still suspect shutter curtain. I have one (or at least one) camera with a pinhole in the fabric shutter. I can't find it by inspection. I know approximately where it is from the position on the negs, but can't see it.

Another (unlikely, I think) possibility is flare from a reflective point inside the camera. Something like sunlight from outside the frame bouncing off a bright metal spot in the bottom of the camera in front of the film plane.

good luck tracking this down!

 

[JP Owens]

Get a flashlight, a dark closet, and shine the light at the shutter, look in the other end. You can slowly advance the wind knob to get a look at the entire shutter curtain.

 

[armphoto]

Get a flashlight, a dark closet, and shine the light at the shutter, look in the other end. You can slowly advance the wind knob to get a look at the entire shutter curtain.

Thanks for the reply. I tried the flashlight trick you suggested, but it didn't show anything.

 

[Ko.Fe.]

Pinholes in curtains usually gives more consistent defects. I could only see it at couple of frames here.
Recently, we have similar post at russian speaking RF forum and it wasn't from curtains, but lens, it seems. Something inside of the lens.
I think OP should be able to get another FSU LTM lens on local bazaar to try it.

 

[armphoto]

Thanks for the reply. I tried the flashlight trick you suggested, but it didn't show anything.

How about this one shot? Where is this "faded" sort of look coming from? Is this from scanning?

 

[armphoto]

Pinholes in curtains usually gives more consistent defects. I could only see it at couple of frames here.
Recently, we have similar post at russian speaking RF forum and it wasn't from curtains, but lens, it seems. Something inside of the lens.
I think OP should be able to get another FSU LTM lens on local bazaar to try it.

Thanks for the reply. Indeed, there are a few guys that sell FSU cameras at my local bazaar on the weekends, but they wont sell just the lens. They want to sell me that camera as well.

 

[oftheherd]

How about this one shot? Where is this "faded" sort of look coming from? Is this from scanning?

Others may be able to offer something else, but it looks like over exposure to me.

 

[armphoto]

Others may be able to offer something else, but it looks like over exposure to me.

Thanks! Appreciate your reply.

 

[zuikologist]

Are the spots visible on the negative? If not, then there is an issue with the scanner.

 

[BillBingham2]

OK, so let's give it a try this way (read, new test approach to follow).

Purchase a low cost roll of film, at least 12 exposures.

Load it in the camera.
Put the lens cap on and keep it there until just before the first exposure.
Find a subject like you have, adjust the focus, adjust the exposure, take the lens cap off and expose two frames.
Put the lens cap back on.
Wind the film to the next frame.
Sit down somewhere that you can be for say 20 minutes.
Open up your apperature to the largest setting (e.g. f 2.0).
Turn so you are facing the opposite direction of the sun. Take you lens cap off and allow the lens to face the same way you are.
Wait five minutes and put the lens cap back on. Press your shutter release and wind the film.
Take your lens cap off the camera and turn towards the sun.
After 5 minutes of having your lens pointed towards (not directly at the sun) put the lens cap back on, fire a frame, wind your film.
Take your len cap back off and point your lens at the sun for 10 minutes.
Put the lens cap back on, fire a frame, wind the film.

Use the rest of the roll as you would any others to keeping you lens cap off between frames, walk around, take good pictures.

With each picture, on a page of a little note book write down the time at which you take the picture. There should be different durations between your frames.

Once you are done and get the filme back take a look at the first frames (the ones exposed with the lens cap on) to give you an idea of how bad the hole are (how big they are and can you live with putting the lens cap on between exposures.

Share the results as you have today.

Good luck and let us know how you make out.

These tests will tell us if it's the shutter.

We will need to run different tests to see about the lens. Let's start with the shutter first.

B2 (;->

 

[Ko.Fe.]

Thanks for the reply. Indeed, there are a few guys that sell FSU cameras at my local bazaar on the weekends, but they wont sell just the lens. They want to sell me that camera as well.

Have you tried local classifieds?

 

[sreed2006]

Take your len cap back off and point your lens at the sun for 10 minutes.
Put the lens cap back on, fire a frame, wind the film.

No no nooooooo.

 

[Wulfthari]

No no nooooooo.

That's a good way to burn an hole in the curtain!

However, nice pics, IMO there might be a problem with the curtains, probably it's visible just at low speeds, keep on trying.

 

[Pablito]

How about this one shot? Where is this "faded" sort of look coming from? Is this from scanning?

UNDERexposure.