James R Blann Posted October 16, 2018 Share Posted October 16, 2018 Hi all, I found some unexpected light artefacts on some recent 16mm rushes that I can't find the cause of. Any clues? Image attached. Everything was shot 25fps (UK), 180 shutter, only straight ND filters. Shot with 35mm Master Primes. Possibly a slightly out of phase shutter? The weird thing is it came and went without any adjustments. Any thoughts welcome, cheers! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robin Phillips Posted October 16, 2018 Share Posted October 16, 2018 They do kinda look like an out of phased shutter... how were you powering the camera? new/healthy battery cells? any weird sounds from the motor? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
James R Blann Posted October 16, 2018 Author Share Posted October 16, 2018 Usually on a block, this shot definitely was. Didn't notice anything strange... Sound all synchs up fine too. Something along those lines does seem plausible though... maybe we had a dodgy block. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Member Dom Jaeger Posted October 16, 2018 Premium Member Share Posted October 16, 2018 Yes, definitely looks like the shutter timing was a bit out, all the highlights are smearing up. The shutter exposed the film early, while it was still being moved into position. What camera was it? As far as Im aware all 16mm cameras, even the 416, have the mirror shutter drive mechanically linked to the movement, so a low battery cant cause a timing shift. If the rest of the footage is fine, all I can think is that something in the shutter coupling must be loose. If its a rental camera, have the rental house taken a look? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
James R Blann Posted October 17, 2018 Author Share Posted October 17, 2018 It was a 416. Any chance that the wrong kind of battery could cause this? Incorrect voltage (too high even) or something? Yeah i'll mention it to the rental company. Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Member Dom Jaeger Posted October 17, 2018 Premium Member Share Posted October 17, 2018 I don't think so. As I mentioned before, the shutter and the movement (pulldown claw and registration pin mechanism) in a 416 are mechanically linked, so an electronic issue can't cause them to go out of phase, it has to be a mechanical fault. It's strange that the issue came and went though. Ultimately I think only the rental company can tell you what might have happened. Out of interest, have you looked at the film itself, in case there are perhaps damaged perfs in the section that has the smearing? That's the only other thing I can think of. I don't think it could be a scanning issue, but don't know enough about that side of things to say for sure. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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