RE: Horizon 202 horizontal banding........... and vertical

[Jim DUNN <jimmyd@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

I have come across horizonatally-oriented defects...

On my Horizon 202 with the new faster 1/500 of a second speed, there
were horizontal "streaks" of slightly greater or lesser exposure across
the entire image.  It could clearly be seen in the blue sky, and it
occured at 1/500, and to a much lesser degree at 1/250 of a sec.  It
could not be seen at 1/125 or /60 sec.

I was using slide film which is very exposure sensitive.  Also, it could
not be seen on anything other than bright blue shy.

How did this happen?  The machining of the slit was so poor, with a loop
you could see variations on the fixed side of the slit!!  On the Horizon
202 the slit is 6mm for 1/60, 3mm for 1/125, 1.5mm for 1/250 and 0.75mm
for 1/500 exposures.  It does not take much variation on one of the
surfaces to make an impact on a 0.75mm slit!

Suggestion for anyone testing a new panoramic camera -- take a picture
of a deep blue sky and look for horizonal defects.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>


On the subject of banding on the horizon 202, I have just recently returned
from a trip to Arizona and almost all my films shot on the 202 have banding.
They have vertical bands of light and dark about 3 or 4mm in width across
the total frame, on closer inspection I noticed that the frames also had
horizontal bands of light and dark approximately 1.5 mm in depth running the
height of the frame.

All the banding shows up in areas of the frame with even blue colour i.e.
the sky. It was only after I read the above post that it occurred to me I
had been shooting at 1/250 in Arizona because of the very bright weather
conditions. In Scotland we very seldom get weather that allows me to shoot
at 1/250 at f11 or f16, I normally use Velvia or occasionally Provia.

The banding is only obvious in the areas of even tone, I found it impossible
to spot in other frames. without the blue sky.

I am going to do some tests shooting background paper (blue  :) ) in the
studio, different shutter speeds and exposures to see if the banding shows
up.

If anyone is interested I will post my findings to the list.

I have to say that apart from this recent problem, I have found the 202 to
be an excellent camera with a sharp lens.


Best wishes


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Jimmy Dunn
Scottish Stock Photography
Tel: 01324 822 000
Fax: 01324 826 948
E-mail: jimmyd@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx
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