Re: Potential shutter speed problems

[P3D Michael Kersenbrock <michaelk@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

> Funnily enough I was thinking of a similar technique for testing shutter 
> synchronisation by taking a stereo shot of a revolving record (does anyone else 
> still have a record deck.. or am I showing my age) with a white line painted 
> across it. You could then compare the two shots to see if the line was in the 
> same degree of rotation in both shots.

One also can get at least some sense of synchronization when one does the
classic electronic-flash test.  You know... you look though the back of
the camera (with the back open) with the flash facing a white sheet that the
camera also faces.  You then kindof "free-view" to see that the flash is
visible through both sides at once (I don't think any of my cameras ever
failed this test at any shutter speed :-).

However, I've noticed that one can gain a little more information by doing
this at the top shutter speed and the lens wide open.  Sometimes when the flash
goes off the shutter isn't *quite* fully open on one side (or the other).  You
can see this by looking at one of the openings and getting one's retina imprinted. For
the typical use with the lens stopped down (and shutter/iris close together or
the same thing) that won't make any difference even with flash -- but it is
interesting.  Of course even if it's a little off in this regard, it still
shows that the shutters are really closely aligned for non-flash purposes.  :-)

Mike K.


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