Topic: Strange exposure problem on Leica IIIf

[AJShepherd]

Today I developed two rolls of HP5+ I shot a few weeks ago in my Leica IIIf. The first roll looked absolutely fine, but on the second roll disaster seemed to have struck as for the first 16 or so frames only a third of the frame was exposed as in the shot below.
But from the 17th frame onwards all the frames look OK.

Wondering what kind of shutter problem could have caused that, as the part of the frame that is exposed looks correctly exposed, just two thirds of it isn't exposed at all! Also how it'd been working fine on the first roll, then not worked properly for half a roll before going back into action later! Temporary clog or film loading issue?

[02Pilot]

Probably a slow first curtain; nothing to do with film loading. The second curtain is catching up to it, thus reducing exposure across the frame. If it's intermittent it's most likely either dirt or lack of lubrication, the latter if it's only occurring at certain speeds. Temperatures can also affect it. The camera needs to be CLA'd, but I doubt anything is actually broken.

[AJShepherd]

This was the first time I'd used it for quite a while, so wonder if it'd gummed up a bit. I've tried firing it several times at all shutter speeds in case it was one of the slower shutter speeds misfiring.

Worth getting a CLA though, so while I've found a bunch places that can get this done in the UK, if anyone has a recommendation that'd be useful to avoid taking a plunge or overspending.

[Francois]

Could also be some junk in the track. Possibly a piece of film from a broken sprocket.