What causes an intermittent white band along the top edge of slide film frames?
Asked 6/4/2018
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I’m shooting slide film in a Canon EOS-1V, and some frames show a white band along the top edge of the image while others are completely normal. The band is visible on the actual slides, so it isn’t a scanning issue, and it doesn’t rub off, so it isn’t a processing stain. Because it appears irregularly, I’m unsure whether this is a light leak, a shutter problem, or something else. What is the most likely cause, and how can I fix or test it?
Originally by user74600. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
user74600
8y ago
2 Answers
2
I also don't think it is the shutter, because if it was, wouldn't the white stripe be more parallel to the border?
Shutter issues don't always manifest themselves with light bands exactly parallel to the edge of the frame. If the second curtain is sticking slightly on one side of the bottom of the film plane (top of the inverted image) before closing, it could be at a slight angle before it finally closes.
That's what this looks like to me.
If the affected images are fairly long exposures, it's also possible that you have light leaking through the viewfinder and around the edge of the mirror which should be totally cover the focusing screen in the top of the light box. But that doesn't usually result in such a specific effect on the very edge of the frame. It's usually more of an overall fogging of the entire frame or more complex patterns caused by the leaking light bouncing around the various edges inside the camera's light box and off the back of the glass in the lens.
Originally by user15871. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
user15871
8y ago
0
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The most likely cause is a shutter issue, specifically a shutter curtain that is occasionally sticking or lagging slightly. A shutter fault does not have to produce a band perfectly parallel to the frame edge; if one side of the curtain closes later than the other, the overexposed band can appear slightly angled, like in your slides.
A less likely possibility is light entering through the viewfinder during longer exposures, but that usually causes a broader area of flare/overexposure rather than a narrow band right at the edge.
What to do:
- Have the camera’s shutter inspected/serviced, since intermittent curtain timing problems can worsen.
- Note whether it happens more at certain shutter speeds; that can help confirm a shutter timing fault.
- If you suspect long-exposure shots, cover the viewfinder during testing to rule out finder light leak.
Because the mark is on the slide itself and only affects some frames, this points to an in-camera exposure problem rather than scanning or lab handling.
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