What is the least that can burn hole in shutter?

Sparrow said:
... I wonder how anyone ever takes photos with the sun in the frame then? there doesn't seem to be a shortage of sunsets yet
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There's a fair difference between a sunset/sunrise and "normal daytime" in terms of the power of the sun. At those times the sun's rays pass obliquely through thick atmosphere. In addition, as I pointed out, focussing at infinity will focus the image at the film plane, not on the curtains. Sunrise/sunset also tend not to be taken with a lens set at large aperture. "Normal daytime" shots are also unlikely to be at large apertures.
 
wolves3012 said:
There's a fair difference between a sunset/sunrise and "normal daytime" in terms of the power of the sun. At those times the sun's rays pass obliquely through thick atmosphere. In addition, as I pointed out, focussing at infinity will focus the image at the film plane, not on the curtains. Sunrise/sunset also tend not to be taken with a lens set at large aperture. "Normal daytime" shots are also unlikely to be at large apertures.
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Ah ... so what you're saying is it doesn't happen in the real world, unless one does it on purpose? ... as an experiment
 
Hi,

But who would be taking pictures in bright sunlight at f/2 bearing in mind that a lot of people on this forum swear by films that we all know are 400ASA?

Anyway, I'm pleased to see that some of us have bothered to check things.

As for Barnack, I'm glad he wasn't a proper engineer; if he was then he'd know it wouldn't be possible and would never have started work on his camera. And look who invented colour film in the USA: two musicians.

Anyway, I still see the Contax as over designed; in my little world simplicity is the hallmark of good engineering.

OK. Rant over. I'll take a tablet and lie down for a while...

Regards, David
 
I made the mistake once of doing a flare test comparison between my 50 Summicron and Summilux at around f/2 with the sun within the edge of the frame. It was about 2 hours past sunrise at 8:30 AM on a clear day. Because The sun was in the same position for each lens for about 10 seconds, there was a small hole burned in the cloth shutter. Moral is that exposure to a clear sun in any part of the frame will burn a hole in a relatively short time especially if you are shooting at a large aperture. If you don't use a cap, leaving the aperture set to f/8 or f/11 will certainly help protect the shutter from burns.
 
Clancycoop said:
This sounds like a myth to me, thought up by the same type who worry about leaving the shutter cocked, or say that you must tape your red dot or get robbed.
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It's not a myth. One of my M3 bodies earlier last year:

hole2-XL.jpg


Still not sure when it happened, and easily fixed. But it happens. When I looked at the curtains, there were several burn marks all over the place, and one burned through.

bob338 said:
Conversely, I tried to burn holes in an M4 I was sending off for overhaul and it could not be done! I left it wide open on a tripod, focused at infinity, for about 15 minutes pointing directly into the sun at around noon in the middle of winter.

Bob
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That's the thing: the curtains is way in front of the film plane. So it won't happen when the lens is at infinity, but at closer focus.
 
I did a test with a 50mm Summicron wide open. I held the lens in front of my hand and towards the sun and burned my palm.

I believe it now. The lens acted just like a magnifying glass.
 
Jockos said:
Using a collapsible lens collapsed should prevent burning right? Since the focal plane is adjusted.
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Using a collapsible lens collapsed, tends to lead to very blurred pictures. Presumably you meant leaving a collapsible lens collapsed when not in use. The anwer is yes, the image is far too de-focussed when the lens is collapsed.
 
In primary school with a prescription of +4 or +5 I cold set fire to paper, leaves or wood within a few seconds with my glasses. The one instance I know of the Leica shutter being holed was when the camera sat in my colleague's lap at an outdoor function. Instead of being flat on a table it fluked an angle straight at the sun. Whether the Leica fondler was fiddling with the aperture or not I do not know. This risk to cloth shutters is not a myth, but if you never knew of it or considered it a myth you are likely to get away with it.
 
I think it might vary from lens to lens. I have experimented with my VC 35 1.4 where I took the lens off, and in bright mid-day sun I tried to make a hotspot on my hand. I found that the distance the curtain would be from the lens, it was impossible. But when I pulled my hand back further away, it was very easy to be burnt. So, I think this lens is on the safe side. Plus, I once was driving into the bright sun, and my camera was slung around the passenger seat set at 1.4 for a while before I realized. No damage. Even still, I always try to set it at f16, just to be sure...
 
Not to revive an old topic, but this just happened to me. I'm not exactly sure when as I was shooting the same roll all week, but somewhere after about shot 8 a hole appeared in the shutter and ruined the rest of the roll and the one I shot just after it.

I had a collapsable 'cron on it, uncollapsed, and possibly sitting on my coffee table or on a table outside. So yeah, it's real and can happen on accident. Sucks.
 
fortunately sun-burned pinholes are easy fixes in photoshop using the clone stamp or spot healing tools. don't get too worked up about it.

repairing the holes is a pretty easy affair as well, though when you do your next cla you'll probably want to replace the curtains for good measure/peace of mind
 
Well, I took my Summarit 1.5 out on the patio a couple of months ago...smoked an ant's arse in seconds! Distance from the back of the lens was not recorded but it sure happened fast in February sun.😀
 
I never use lens caps and I never heard about the curtain burning thing until like 2 years ago and all it did was terrify me all the time. I just lived in constant fear.

What I hear is that having the lens wide open and having it focused at infinity is like a sure thing to burn a hole right through your curtain, film, the camera and you.

The only thing that let me sleep at night was selling my M7. But then anxiety, fear and paranoia just gave way to depression. You can't win.
 
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