Why are my Kiev 60 120 film photos dark on one side?
Asked 1/7/2019
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I shot my first roll of 120 film in a Kiev 60, and 11 of the 12 frames came out underexposed only on the left side, with that side nearly black. I checked with the back open and the aperture seems to open correctly at all speeds, and I didn’t find anything obstructing the lens. What could cause one side of the frame to be consistently dark on medium-format film?
Originally by Photography Stack Exchange contributor. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
Photography Stack Exchange contributor
7y ago
2 Answers
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That's almost certainly a bad shutter. The shutter may need adjustment or replacement. For speeds above your X-sync (the speed where the shutter is at least temporarily totally open), the shutter curtains are launched with a slight delay to have a slit cross the path of the film. If the timing is wrong, you can end up with the two curtains being sent at inappropriate times relative to one another, and get effects like you describe.
I assume you weren't shooting with electronic flash. If you were, then you need to reduce your shutter speed to the X-sync speed (probably 1/30 sec. on your camera).
Note, too, that 120 film isn't 120mm. 120 is just a format describer made by Kodak (35mm film is 135 under this system) and the system was adopted by other manufacturers. 120 film is actually about 65mm wide.
Enjoy, and good luck!
Originally by user68581. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
user68581
7y ago
0
Generated from our catalog & community — verify before relying on it.
This pattern strongly suggests a shutter problem, not an aperture or lens issue. On the Kiev 60’s focal-plane shutter, the two shutter curtains must be timed correctly. If the curtain timing is off, part of the frame can be covered too long or too soon, causing one side of the image to be very dark.
This is especially likely at shutter speeds faster than the camera’s flash sync speed, where the shutter exposes the film through a moving slit rather than opening fully at once.
If you used flash, make sure the shutter speed was at or below the X-sync speed. If you weren’t using flash, the shutter likely needs adjustment, servicing, or replacement.
Also, “120 film” is the film type name; it is not 120mm wide.
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