Weirdness out of the FED-2

[schmoo]

First of all, I'd just like to say thanks to this forum for providing so much info during the weeks I was shopping around for a FSU rangefinder. I've been lurking around here for a while and recently just joined, but there's a lot of good stuff on here and lots of inspiration. 😉

A few weeks ago I purchased a FED-2 and since then, have run about 4 rolls of film through it. Three out of the four had frames like this:

I don't do my own developing but I'm pretty sure it's the camera since I used different film and different labs. Is this a curtain issue, or something like the back plate on the camera touching the film?

This FED has already been sent back to Yuri at Fedka to fix the shutter speed dial and I would hate to bug him again. But has anyone ever seen anything like this, or maybe someone more experienced with film/rangefinders has some ideas on what's causing that hairy line?

 

[wolves3012]

I can't see a way that the camera could cause this! You say three out of four rolls - was the fourth roll fine? If so, that suggests it's not the camera. To get an intermittent fault on three rolls whilst a fourth is fine isn't very likely.

 

[schmoo]

I had forgotten about another roll I shot in that time, so actually the final count is three out of five rolls showed this issue. And they were all different types of film, some expired and some fresh, processed at two different labs. The only constant is the camera. I just don't understand and it's driving me nuts!

 

[Stuart John]

There is likely a problem with the shutter. The FED2 may need to be cleaned and lubed. Maybe send it back to be repaired.

 

[n5jrn]

It looks to me like a shutter issue. Both your sample shots were shot in daylight, so if you were using ASA400 film that means a higher than flash-sync shutter speed, and it looks very much like both curtains are stalling in one spot and causing a slit of overexposure.

Though it's odd that one curtain is a straight line and the other is a fuzzy one. Perhaps one of the curtains has some light-sealing felt on it. You could always take the lens off, set the shutter to T (or to B and use a locking cable release of the FED2 doesn't have a T setting), and examine the curtain edges to see if one is like that. If so, I would say that definitively points to it being a shutter issue.

 

[fidget]

A while ago we discussed the idea of what a test film should be. Not simply a series of shots at random and unrecorded settings, that roll is for when you are confident that it works!
This camera must have several issues, maybe some of which might be eliminated when serviced, some perhaps not. If you wish to progress as it is you could sacrifice a film on test shots.
The sort of thing that I mean is say a few shots with the lens covered, but between shots the body exposed to strong light to try to "record" body leaks. Then a few shots with all body joints taped up at recorded speeds (1/500 will be the one to give dramatic results). Some normal shots made and the film wound on with the lens covered (many leak between the curtains in bright light when wound on, this looks to me like what could have happened here).
Be inventive and record what you did and allow "gap" frames between groups.

Better yet, many problems can be identified on an empty camera and good light and a good torch.....

 

[wolves3012]

Better yet, many problems can be identified on an empty camera and good light and a good torch.....

+1 on that one. Leaks, curtain problems and curtain pinholes for starters.

 

[t6un]

It's always easier to tell looking at the negatives, not the final scans.
If the ghosts end where the image frame ends, the culprit must be the shutter.
If they extend toward the edges of film, the light leak has to come from elsewhere. Frequent cause is the seal around the self-timer lever.

 

[pschauss]

All of my FED-2's had a light leak along the side seam where the back joins the body. The side with the takeup spool is usually the problem here because you get light fogging the unprotected film on the spool. A light leak on the other side is less of a problem because the film there is inside of the cartridge.

If the vertical bright line on your negative goes all of the way into the sproket, this is probably where it is coming from. I tried, unsuccessfully to seal these leaks with a thin piece of yarn but ended up just using a piece of black tape over the joint.

 

[Jani_from_Finland]

Simple, Shutter needs attention.

 

[schmoo]

Thanks for all the help, guys. I am very new to this style of camera and so the whole curtain thing is new to me. I don't know why I didn't think to check it on bulb mode to see if the patterns match, but that is a great idea. So is finding the light leaks and sealing with tape!

And yes ,the light leak goes all the way through the sprocket part of the negative, which is why I thought at first it was a lab error, but switching labs proved it's not.

I was very close to just exchanging or returning the camera altogether but I love this thing and don't want to give up so fast.

 

[stevebrot]

Film canister...


Steve

 

[Livesteamer]

Hang in there. Many consider the Fed 2 one of the best FSU cameras. If you can get it sorted out or traded out for a good one it can be a wonderful user. Our member Paulfish has done some lovely work with one. He does better than many of us with more expensive equipment. Good Luck. Joe

 

[stevebrot]

Hang in there. Many consider the Fed 2 one of the best FSU cameras. If you can get it sorted out or traded out for a good one it can be a wonderful user. Our member Paulfish has done some lovely work with one. He does better than many of us with more expensive equipment. Good Luck. Joe

I concur on both the camera and on Paul's work. Here are a few of mine...

http://www.flickr.com/search/?w=28796087@N02&q=FED-2&m=text

​

Steve

 

[schmoo]

Thank you, all! I did so much reading about the different FED models to pick one, but somehow I had overlooked the fact that they are prone to light leaks.

Now that I think back on it, the two rolls of film that i shot that didn't have this issue were the two shot on rainy days. Unfortunately, the rainy season appears to have ended in the SF bay area....

I'll try and run a couple of test rolls through with the lens cap on and with a bright light to test for leaks. Or I may just exchange it for a different one, if I can.

Muchos gracias, everyone! I'm grateful there are so many experienced FED users here who know these foibles.

 

[stevebrot]

My FED-2 has a light leak somewhere near the flash sync or rangefinder window and is only a problem in direct sun at certain angles. According to your description above, the bright line extends beyond the image frame. As such, it must be in the seals for the camera back or with the film cassette itself. Is there any chance that someone might have attempted to remove the back before rewinding the film? There is also the outside chance that both sides of the film back were not securely latched. (...has happened to me before...)


Steve

 

[David Hughes]

Hmmm, wider at the top than the bottom and presumably two different cassettes holding the film. Sounds like a leak from the side join between cover and body. Perhaps slightly bent or bowed? As it fades out at the bottom of the frames. Has every frame got them or only random?

Regards, David

 

[bobby_novatron]

Yeah -- don't give up on the Fed 2 ... I own a green late 1950's model, and I love it. It works perfectly and I really enjoy using it.

I hope you figure out your issues with yours -- once you get it working (or replace it with one that doesn't have a problem) I'm sure you'll have a blast with it.

 

[wolves3012]

I should phrase my suggestions more carefully, I meant that I can't see how the shutter could cause this. On reading the other replies and looking again, I can see a light-leak being the possible cause. Since it's a vertical line, that makes the prime suspect the vertical edge on the side of the camera, right-hand side being the most likely. I'd leave that edge in bright light with a film loaded, wind on a couple of frames and tape up the edge, then repeat. Maybe try the same with the left side too, although the film cartridge ought to protect that side.

 

[Coldkennels]

Hate to hi-jack a thread, but this got me thinking about my Fed 2.

See, every so often I get strange marks on my colour shots, and I had written it off as lens glare. But going through my scans, I realised they appeared in a fairly consistent location. Not particularly often, mind - I counted maybe 9 shots with this mark in the 8 colour rolls I've shot since February - but it still made me wonder what's causing it. I guess the straightness of it suggests leak more than anything, right?

(And for the record, I shoot with a hood - a collapsible rubber one - and use lens caps whenever I'm not expecting to find a shot in the next 5 minutes.)