RE: [Leica] Shutter Burn. Need Sunblock?

[Jim Laurel <jplaurel@microsoft.com>]

Hello all,
I have experienced shutter burn first hand.  In the mid-70s, I was actively
using my first camera given to me by my Dad...a Contax D.  Any of you who
are familiar with this camera know that it was the first production SLR ever
made and had a non-returning mirror.  So, when you took a photo, the mirror
would flap up and stay there, leaving the shutter curtain exposed directly
to the lens, just like an M camera.

Over the course of 2 years using this camera almost daily in the
Philippines, I began noticing fogging on my films, in the form of
pinhole-shaped white spots.  My repairman told me to always wind the camera
in bright conditions so as to keep the mirror in front of the shutter
curtain.  He then proceeded to cut up some shutter cloth from a defunct
Minolta SRT-101 and glue peices to my Contax shutter to patch up the
pinholes.  You can still see those patches on the shutter today!

If you're moving around (hiking, for instance), I don't think there's any
risk of shutter burn.  But if you set the camera down while outside in
bright sunlight, it's probably a good idea to put on a lens cap or stick the
camera in a pouch.

I have been meaning to get that Contax fixed for some time now...  I'll bet
it would produce some interesting results with Scala.  Lens is a 2.0/58mm
Zeiss Planar.

- --Jim Laurel

- -----Original Message-----
From: Dan Post [mailto:dwpost@email.msn.com]
Sent: Tuesday, May 11, 1999 9:50 AM
To: leica-users@mejac.palo-alto.ca.us
Subject: Re: [Leica] Shutter Burn. Need Sunblock?


Paul-
Good question, and one I thought about when taking my precious IIIa out in
the sun when I had no cap for my Summar.
I actually took my lens off the camera, took a piece of dark paper, and
using the lens, aperture wide open, like a magnifying glass, tried to burn a
hole in the paper. Didn't happen- couldn't get it to burn a hole in it! Now,
to be honest, I may have done something wrong, but the day was cloudless,
and the spot was as small on the paper as I could make it, and it didn't
burn.
I would say that taking reasonable precautions-not pointing the camera
directly at the sun- you should be able to avoid trouble. I have often
wondered if this was an 'urban legend' as I had never seen a hole burned in
a shutter curtain in all the Leicas and Canons I have had the pleasure to
handle and examine.
Anyone with first hand experience?
Dan
- -----Original Message-----
From: Paul Klingaman <pklingaman@hotmail.com>
To: leica-users@mejac.palo-alto.ca.us <leica-users@mejac.palo-alto.ca.us>
Date: Tuesday, May 11, 1999 10:44 AM
Subject: [Leica] Shutter Burn. Need Sunblock?


>Hello LUG,
>
>Now that the light around here(Boston) has intensified, and this will be my
>first summer with any M, I'm starting to get concerned about shutter burn.
>Should I be?  How serious an issue is this?  Does the aperture of the lens
>have any effect?  I don't use lens caps or filters, and I'd like to avoid
>the need to cup the lens with my hand while shooting.  My M6 has been a
>blessing for my situation.  I never find myself cursing the fact that I
left
>something at home.  The controls are so simple that I can concentrate on
>what's important: composition and exposure.  I'd like to maintain this
level
>of simplicity, but at the same time, don't want to be replacing my shutter
>curtain every year.  Thanks in advance for your gracious wisdom.
>
>Thanks,
>Paul Klingaman
>
>PS.  If anyone out there happens to have a 35mm summicron pre-ASPH they'd
>like to get rid of, I've been looking and would appreciate dealing with a
>LUGger.  Barrel cosmetics are of no concern, but good glass is a must.
>
>
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