Shutter Issue

Brandon Nazari · July 7, 2013

I recently received some 16mm footage that I shot back from cinelicious, the Super 8 I shot turned out great however I had issue with the 16. The film appears streaked and they told me that it was most likely caused by a faulty shutter. Does this look to be the issue. I shot with my ikonoskop and I have not had this issue yet in the past. I will take it to a local repair shop to see just wanted some feedback to see if others have had this issue.

https://vimeo.com/69821203

David Mullen ASC · July 7, 2013

Could be a shutter timing error. Usually the streaks just smear upwards from the object, not all the way across, but I suppose it may be possible that the film is advancing before the shutter is closed both at the head and the tail of the exposure. Or perhaps the film has somehow lost its loop and isn't really stopping in the gate, but usually then you just get a lot of smear with no discernible image.

Dom Jaeger · July 8, 2013

Looks like the shutter wasn't spinning at all. If the timing was out, as David mentions, you'd get smearing either up or down (depending on whether the film was being exposed as it was transported into the frame or out of it).

The Ikonoskop is non-reflex if I recall, so you might not notice if the shutter wasn't spinning.

If the camera seems OK I would examine the neg to make sure the issue is on the film and not a transfer problem.

David Cunningham · July 8, 2013

Looks like a film advance timing issue to me. It looks like the film either starts to move before the shutter closes or is still moving when it opens. The shutter would have to be spinning or you'd get one giant smear down the whole strip of film... not to mention massive over exposure.

Dom Jaeger · July 8, 2013

Looks like a film advance timing issue to me. It looks like the film either starts to move before the shutter closes or is still moving when it opens. The shutter would have to be spinning or you'd get one giant smear down the whole strip of film... not to mention massive over exposure.

Well, to repeat what's been said, if the shutter timing is out you get a smear from the point source either up (if the film is being exposed as it is transported into frame) or down (if the film is being exposed as it is transported out of frame). The image is upside down if that helps to visualise things. I can't picture a timing issue that causes both ends of the transport phase to be exposed. It could be something odd like the shutter spinning way too fast I suppose, which might be possible with cameras that have a separate motor to drive the shutter.

If the shutter isn't spinning at all, the film is still being positioned and held steady for about half the cycle, but will smear both up and down as it gets transported in and out of frame. Total exposure will only be one stop over (double the time), assuming a 180 degree shutter.

Dom Jaeger · July 8, 2013

Actually, thinking about it further, if the timing was out far enough it's possible that the preceding or following frame would get smeared as well, on the other side. I'm used to seeing small timing errors which happen if a belt slips a tooth or something and the smearing is far stronger on one side. Looking at the footage again there is a small break in the smear just above the point source which could be the shutter closing just near the end of the transport cycle. That would put the timing very far out, and underexpose the stable image quite a bit I imagine.

Pavan Deep · July 8, 2013

I have an Ikonoskop SP 16 and have had this issue, it is shutter timing, it's out of sync. Did you remove the front plate? That can throw the shutter out of sync. PM I have a diagram of what the shutter should position b.e.

Pav