Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 1999/09/20
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]Dear Lugers, Although I don't write to the Lug very often, I have been an avid reader for the past couple years (is that the "silent majority" politicians like to talk about? :>). Now I have a real camera problem and I think some of you may know what this is all about. I have noticed, intermittently, a darker area at the top of my pictures. It runs from one side to the other. It is approx. 1/4" wide (+- 6cm). When the picture was taken vertcally, this "line" is on the right-hand side. So it comes from the top side of the camera. This darker area does show the picture. It just looks as if this portion was under exposed. Which is probably impossible. If it had been on the vertical side of my pictures, I would have assumed this to be a speed problem. Unfortunately it is at the top. The first time I noticed this was last June. I had taken a fair amount of film in Cape Cod and although I usually shoot only b&w in my M4-P I had taken 2 films of Royal Gold 25 asa. I could see this darker area on pictures with sky or sea (blue background). I though it could have been the processing or, the hot humid weather we had there. Since then, I took several films with my M4-P (maybe 50). Last week, I got back slides from an Agfa Scala I shot of the Percé Rock in Gaspesia (Qc) in August. The darn thing was back there on some of the slides (with sky and sea again!). So, I decided to go through my contact prints of the last few months to check if this darker area could be seen elsewhere on some of my picts. Again, I discovered some of them had it .It was on 3 different contact prints, from films taken one after the other in and around Portland and Wells Beach in Maine, last April. Again, it was sky and sea pictures...but I don't think this is the reason :>. The pictures showing this were taken with several lenses (35mm Summicron, 50mm Summicron, 90mm Tele-Elmarit, 20mm Russar) so the lenses are not part of the problem. The camera was CLA in May 1998 by Kindermann here in Canada (they are the best as of my knowledge). I take great care of my camera. It's not my only camera and this has never occured to me with the other ones. Three different labs developed the pictures/slides/contacts. I suspect a curtain misalignment if this is possible. If not I don't have any idea. I will send back my M4-P to Kindermann, hoping they can find an answer to this. Any of you have an idea? Has this happened to some of you? Thanks for your feedback, Jacques Leonard designer =============== j.leonarddesigner@videotron.ca www.jlda-design.com