 BetterPhoto Member |
Clear Negatives Hello....Please help... I have put two rolls through a Nikon EM lately, both black and white. Ilford 125, and Ilford 50. The first roll I developed, or a lab developed, (just wanting to see if everything was working), had about five blank or clear negatives. I got the pan 50 back today which I shot with a 25a filter an I got about 6 pictures, and 30 clear negatives! What's weird is that some of the images were taken at the same place at the same time. Say three pictures of the same thing, 1 came out fine, the others...nothing. I checked the shutter, and the shutter seems to work fine I fired it about 50 times while looking at it, at different speeds. The mirror is picking up, I checked with the lens on and off. I took a flashlight and check the around the door, no appernt light leaks. I was thinking it was the light meter, but it was never that off. I know that the film was advancing, because of the frames that did come out. Any ideas!!! I know that you would think shutter, as I do, but it has worked fine, and it is really, really smooth. Yes, even on this cheap EM. I am leaving for Tibet in 7 days, so I am a little worried. Not worth paying to fix it, and dont have the money for anything else at the moment. (poor college student) Have a digital 300D backup though. Any ideas would be great. I did change lenses a couple of times during shooting, but that never affected any images on my '59 Canon rangefinder!! Don't know...Please help. Could it be the lab? Thanks, Russell S. Peagler
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Jon Close |
Clear negatives are very underexposed. They received little or no light. Either the shutter/aperture combination did not let in enough light, or the shutter failed to open. The EM is designed to operate in Aperture Priority mode (manually set the aperture on the lens and the camera selects the shutter speed). Is it possible that clear frames were shot with the shutter dial set to M90 instead of AUTO? That setting fixes the shutter speed at 1/90 (for use with flash) which may have been too fast for the aperture setting selected.
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Jon Close |
P.S. Also check that you set the ISO dial on the EM to match the film speed. If the ISO 50 film were shot at a higher ISO, then that might account for the underexposed negatives. Also, ISO 50 is pretty slow film. When you add a 25A filter, that cuts the light entering the lens by another 2 stops, requiring even longer shutter speeds. The longest shutter speed the EM can set in AUTO is 1 second. It's possible that, at ISO 50 and with the 25A filter and the aperture selected, the scenes you were shooting required much longer than 1 second exposures.
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Jon Close |
Oops, slight correction. The 25A has a filter factor of 8, which is 3 stops.
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Christopher A. Vedros |
Just to add a bit to Jon's assessment . . . If the lab had made a mistake in processing the film, it most likely would have affected the entire roll. The fact that some frames came out and others were clear mean that there was a very large difference in how the frames were exposed. Chris
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BetterPhoto Member |
Hello, Thanks for your comments. They are much appreciated. I really don't know to tell you the truth. The ISO dial was surely set correctly. I agree that the all of the negatives would have been ruined if it was the lab, was just throwing it out there. I also agree that ISo50 is really slow, especially when combined with a 25a filter. However, shooting at the same location, at basically the same thing. Some photos came out some didn't. Weird. I actually checked before I put the filter on to make sure that the meter was going to stop dwon, and it did. Is it accurate? I dont know. The only thing that I can think of is the light meter. That it worked on some and didnt on others. However,(I've been saying that a lot) I don't specifically remeber a overtly long shutter. I know there is a 1 sec max shutter on the EM, but that is the type of thing you would notice. So, it's really getting on my nerves, trying to figure this thing out. So, definitely changing the lens while film is in the camera wouldn't have anything to do with it? I am guessing not. The only thing I noticed was that the batteries designated for this camera are sr44 I believe, and there are lr44 batteries in there. The meter is fuctioning, but how well I don't know. Any thoughts. Sorry for taking up all of you alls time. RSP
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Christopher A. Vedros |
Russell, There's no need to apologize for asking questions. Those of us here that answer questions like this do it because we like to do it. Changing lenses while film is in the camera shouldn't affect the film because the shutter stays closed to block the light from the film. If there was a light leak, you would get dark areas on the negatives from overexposure, not clear negatives like yours. The LR44 is an equivalent replacement for the SR44. The only difference is the LR is alkaline, the SR is silver oxide. Of course, it wouldn't hurt to try a fresh set of batteries. It's hard to predict how a camera will respond to low battery voltage. You said you test fired the camera and could see that the shutter was working, but could you tell if it was timed correctly? That's pretty tough to see. Before you change the batteries, try another test. Try test firing the camera with the back open and the lens cap on. Then try it again with the lens cap off and the camera pointed at a bright light. If the longest shutter speed on Auto is 1 second, you should be able to see the difference between the two. Try this again after changing the batteries. Let us know what you find. Chris
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George Anderson |
The electronics to the shutter may be going, or the resistor wiper track may be dirty. Both can cause intermittent failure. The EM was one of Nikon's first 'consumer-level' cameras. It was good enough when new and in use has outlasted many of its competitors, but it was never designed to last 26 years. Since your trip is important, better ditch the EM and, if you are keeping your lenses, pick up another Nikon in good condition, perhaps a couple steps up the ladder. Since you're not exactly going to Cleveland, and probably will be buying secondhand, I would suggest a rugged mechanical body like the FM or FM2.
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BetterPhoto Member |
Thanks again for the super fast responses. Chris. Those batteries are fresh! Two rolls of film shot on them. Brand new, from Japanese Mega electronics store, so I am pretty much sure they are fresh. What's weird, is that I checked the camera for light leaks and couldn't find any at all. That's the first thing that popped into my mind. I checked the sutter speed my ear and sight, and it seems on. To make things worse, it seems extrodinarily smooth for a cheap EM. Very clean shutter. I can't figure it out. I actually tested it again after I wrote the last response. I keep telling myself there has to be some definite answer, but... I can't find it. George, thank you all, Scott
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Kerry L. Walker |
If the negatives are entirely clear, there was no exposure at all. Sounds like the shutter did not open. Open the back of the camera and fire it 30 or 40 times at different shutter speeds to see if the shutter is opening every time (with the lens cap off so you can see the light through the shutter and lens). You really can't tell very well simply by the sound. If the shutter is sticking, you need to see about a repair.
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BetterPhoto Member |
Hello Kerry, I also opened the camera and fired a lot and everytime it worked like a charm. I am going to test it again to make sure though. RSP
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George Anderson |
"I would think it was the shutter, but like I wrote, it seems great, very smooth and crisp, and on on the timing" The fact that the shutter is smooth won't tell you anything except that mechanically it is working - at least some of the time. But it is electronically-controlled and powered, so if you do have an intermittent circuit break, bad resistor or contact, that can prevent the shutter from opening. When that occurs can be completely unpredictable, so you won't know if your photos all come out until you finish your trip and develop everything. A working, used Nikon FM is all of $72 from KEH.com. If you are broke, then perhaps take the rangefinder. Some of those older Canon Ps are getting pretty valuable ($350-$500), though....
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BetterPhoto Member |
Thank you all for your help! I had no idea about KEH.com, seems like a cool store. I saw the one for $72.00, not bad...not bad at all! I don't know if I can get it here in Japan on time. If not I might just take my digital :( THey do have a FM3A for sale here in japan for $100. I really want an old F, but I will have to wait for that purchase. I would like a nice Medium Format also. ha ha (want want want) am I still a child? Thank you all again for your help. Hopefully one way or the other I will return from Tibet with some great pictures. RSP
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BetterPhoto Member |
It's the meter I am taking it. After another inspection, it seems to stop working after around 1/4, 1/2 to 1sec the shutter is just snapping away at what sems to be around 1/6. Don't know why. But this has to be the problem right? George you were talking about a fm or fm2. Are the FA's FE's just as good? How about the FTN nikkormats? I know they are not at the same level, but would they give me a solid manual focus camera? With gratitude, RSP
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