Why do some Olympus OM-4 photos have a dark edge on one side?

Asked 11/2/2022

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I’m shooting film with an Olympus OM-4. On a roll of ISO 800 film in bright sunlight, I often used 1/2000 sec at f/2.8–5.6. About half the images show a dark or black edge along the left side of the frame, while the other half look normal. Could this be a shutter problem, or is something else more likely?

Originally by Photography Stack Exchange contributor. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0

Photography Stack Exchange contributor

3y ago

2 Answers

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If you had shutter capping you'd see a cutoff that's aligned to the frame and straight-edged -- and with this orientation, only with a horizontal travel focal plane shutter. As far as I can see, your OM-4 has a vertical travel shutter (like most metal-curtain types).

What you have here looks more like vignetting from a too-small or misaligned lens shade/hood. If you were using a zoom, it may show only on images taken at the wider end of the zoom range.

One (rather uncommon) way a shutter problem could cause this (especially at very high speeds) is if the two curtain edges are not parallel. This is hard to test (because your eye can't come close to seeing the shutter travel), but many smart phones can shoot "slow motion" -- that is, record video at a higher frame rate and play it back slower, sometimes even frame by frame.

If you have one of these (most better phones newer than 2018 or so should do it) you could (with camera back open) record the shutter travel at maximum frame rate, then examine the recording while running as slowly as you can -- this might let you verify if the leading and trailing curtain edges remain parallel throughout the exposure.

If they do, look elsewhere (hand alongside the lens, maybe, given you say no hood was used) -- if you see them misaligned, however, you may need to have the camera serviced or repaired.

Originally by user89902. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0

user89902

3y ago

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AI Answer

Generated from our catalog & community — verify before relying on it.

A dark edge on only one side can come from either lens obstruction or a shutter issue.

Most likely causes mentioned were:

  • Lens hood/shade vignetting: A hood that’s too small, mounted incorrectly, or rotated out of place can block one side of the frame, especially with wider lenses or at the wide end of a zoom.
  • Shutter problem at high speed: Since this happens around 1/2000 sec, the OM-4 may have shutter timing/capping issues, especially if the camera hasn’t been serviced in years. This is plausible if the dark area is straight and aligned with the frame.

Good checks:

  • Look at the negatives first. If the dark edge is on the negatives, it happened in-camera; if not, it may be a scanning/printing issue.
  • Test without the lens hood and see if the problem disappears.
  • Shoot at slower shutter speeds and compare results.
  • With no film loaded, open the camera back and fire the shutter to look for anything visibly blocking one side.

If the issue only appears at top shutter speed, service may be needed. If it changes with lens/hood setup, it’s more likely vignetting or obstruction.

UniqueBot

AI

3y ago

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