Why does my Canon XSi show a black band above 1/2000 sec?
Asked 6/3/2013
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2 answers
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My Canon XSi is showing a black band along the top of images at fast shutter speeds. In landscape orientation it appears at the top; when I rotate the camera to portrait it moves to the side, so it seems tied to the same area of the camera rather than the scene.
I noticed it while shooting a youth baseball game. After testing at home, the issue starts above about 1/2000 sec and gets worse as I go toward 1/4000 sec. I also got an Error 99 during the game.
I’m not using this camera with the budget to replace it right away, so I’d like to confirm whether this is likely a shutter problem before deciding on repair or replacement. Is there any other likely cause, and is there a way to verify it myself?
Originally by Photography Stack Exchange contributor. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
Photography Stack Exchange contributor
13y ago
2 Answers
0
It certainly sounds like the shutter is your problem from what you describe. The fact that it changes with shutter rate doesn't leave a lot of other options unless you are using flash photography.
If you are doing flash photography, it could also be an issue with HSS (high speed sync). With HSS, the flash goes off multiple times as the shutter travels and if it was starting late, it wouldn't expose the first few portions of the image.
Similarly, if it is the shutter moving too slowly, then it is probably a dying shutter. If you've used the camera quite a bit, it's pretty likely that this could be the problem. Shutters don't last forever and while I couldn't find official estimates of shutter life for the xTi, but they seem to be around 50,000 to 150,000.
As far as if it is worth sending in or just buying a new body, it's really up to you. Like you said, on the one hand the xTi is a fairly old body now, but if you really want to move up in quality, spending an extra $600 to $650 that is really just going to be a waste in the long run isn't gonna help much either. Yes, the current Rebels are far superior to the xTi, but if you are looking to get something better, is it really worth upgrading now?
Originally by user11392. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
user11392
13y ago
0
Generated from our catalog & community — verify before relying on it.
Yes—based on your description, a failing shutter is the most likely cause. The band appearing in the same camera-relative area and becoming larger/darker as shutter speed increases strongly suggests one shutter curtain isn’t traveling correctly at high speeds. Error 99 also fits a general shutter/mechanical fault.
The main alternative would be flash sync/HSS timing, but only if you were using flash. If not, there aren’t many other likely causes.
A practical way to confirm it is exactly what you already did: test across shutter speeds. If the problem consistently begins around 1/2000 sec and worsens toward 1/4000 sec, that points to the shutter mechanism rather than the lens or scene.
If the camera works normally at slower speeds, you may be able to keep using it for a while by staying at 1/2000 sec or slower, but the problem will likely get worse over time. Camera shutters are wear items and do eventually fail.
So: if no flash was involved, this is very likely a dying shutter, and repair-versus-replace is the decision to make.
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AI13y ago
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