Topic: Is this the film back or camera body?

[original_ann]

What does this mean when there is a light band through the (almost) center of the frame???  I will have to go back through my library, but I think this only appears to be happening with one of my film backs, one that I sent to Hasselblad for a regular checkup less than a year ago - but I can't figure out why.   

[Sorry, image deleted during forum software upgrade. Please re-upload if so inclined.]

[original_ann]

the majority of the images on a roll will be fine - it's just like one or two taken in unison on which I've started seeing this from summer shooting.

[Francois]

Could it be inconsistent shutter speed?
(Hope not 'cause getting a 'blad fixed probably costs...)

for a totally OT question: is that your sister?

[Pete_R]

Assuming you don't have one of the very early focal plane shutter cameras (1600F and 1000F according to  Camerapedia) then I'm guessing this is to do with the body shutter closing before the exposure (made by the lens shutter) has finished. I'm no Hasselblad expert but I did find reference to this problem with slower shutter speeds where you have to keep your finger on the shutter release for the duration of the exposure to keep the body shutter open.

Could the occasions when this happened be linked to the shutter speed you were using?

If you do have one of the early cameras with focal plane shutters then maybe it is a shutter problem but I've never seen a light band in the middle of a frame caused by a focal plane shutter. Usually it would be at the edge of the frame.

Can't imagine how this could be a back problem.

[Francois]

It might just be that something dropped in the gears while the exposure was being made and slowed the shutter down for part of the exposure.

Don't forget that the image gets "printed" upside down in the camera, so the shutter was potentially slow towards the end of the exposure...

As for which shutter speeds could be the culprit, I have no idea so anything is possible.

[Pete_R]

If the number of tags for 503CW on original_ann's Flickr site is relevant, that's the camera we're talking about. In which case, the shutter is a leaf one and won't be causing this. But the camera's body shutter, or Auxilliary Shutter as Hasselblad call it, is in two halfs which meet in the middle of the frame so I'm sure the cause is the body shutter closing early.

What could cause that, I don't know.

[gregor]

the posted shot implies it's the body, as Peter notes: some drag is happening for an inconsistent exposure. What's puzzling though is that it's with one back only.  You have tried another back and didn't have run into this?

[original_ann]

Yes 503cw.  I was thinking this had to be the body, but because I always shoot at least 2 backs if not 3 or 4 simultaneously, and it's only happening in the back in which I keep color neg film loaded, I thought well,... maybe it's the filmback. 

I will call Hasselblad this week.  Maybe they'll take care of it for free (ahahahah!).  I had sent EVERYTHING to them to be checked out, calibrated and adjusted about a year ago. 

[gregor]

if it's only one back that leaves a lot of room for doubt that it's the body.  Have you checked all the points where it is sealed on the back?  I'm not sure about the hassy 503 backs, but my bronica sq-a back had 8 places where it was sealed. I was getting a similar streak to yours - more pronounced or less pronounced depending on how wide camera settings. 

Once I knew where they were (via a link on APUG), it was a very quick and easy fix.

[LT]

Gregor - can you pass on the link re the sqa backs? I'm having a problem with one of mine. I dropped it a while ago and have had an annoying leak that I can't get rid of since.

[original_ann]

gregor - Thanks.  It's really very odd, this only seems to happen 1 or 2 images on a roll, I think always in succession? It JUST started late this summer, so I'll need to go through my library, mark all the ones with this issue and then compare what lens was attached, my exposure settings and confirm that it was color neg film (so that I can be sure it was just one back). 

I'll then give Hasselblad a holler and give them all the known facts and see what they have to say.

[gregor]

Leon - here's the APUG link:

http://www.pbase.com/dw_thomas/sqgear

an the link in the discussion (note the last 4 images for the seal points on the back):

http://www.pbase.com/dw_thomas/sqgear

[original_ann]

Problem identified in case anyone else ever runs into this issue:
The two aux. shutters in the rear of the camera body are not completely closing after every exposure.  Oddly, they never close and remain open about as much as you see on the print above - - I've given it a good stress test.  Crapola. 

Called David Odess (former Hass Technician) and he said it would be $195+$7 for each curtain$32 for spring. 

Called Hasselblad USA and they say $192 + about $30 for the spring.   When I mentioned that I'd had everything serviced by them in June'08 they said they'd take that into consideration and reduce the price further. 

Sorry David... you claim to be MUCH cheaper than going directly to Hasselblad.  But that just turns out to be false in this case....   

[original_ann]

Happy to say I packed my camera body up and shipped her off 2 days before Christmas and should have her back within a week!  I hate having her out of my sight!