Problem with Minolta SRT200 - Half Black Prints

[johnwwyatt]

I recently started shooting film and picked up a Minolta SRT200 for next to nothing. The camera appears to work fine except the when I take pictures outside with bright sun, the bottom half of the print is black. Any odea what this could be caused by?

[Christopher Walrath]

OK. What kind of film? Flash? Shutter speed/ aperture? Lens type and make? Fresh batteries and clean contacts? Need more input. And visual examples would be bonus.

[Anscojohn]

Shutter problem, assuming that camera has a vertical running shutter. CLA should be in order.

[Christopher Walrath]

Nope, this one is horizontal curtain movement. That's why I would REALLY like to see an example. My first guess would be flash photography with a wide angle lens and no diffuser. We shall see.

[dynachrome]

The SRT cameras have horizontally running cloth shutters. When the bottom half of a photo was blank and you were using a camera with a vertically running shutter it usually meant you were using flash and had the shutter speed set at 1/250 rather than 1/125. In your case I suspect there is a mirror problem. When the camera is working properly the mirror flips up and is completely out of the way. The lens then closes down to the selected aperture and them a slit runs across the film plane. If the bottom of the print is dark then the top of the film is not getting exposed. It could be that your mirror is not flipping up all the way and is blocking light from the top half of the film.

[dynachrome]

Make that then.

[Christopher Walrath]

True, bottom half of the print, top half of the negative inside the camera. Could be a sticky mirror/ reflex system.

[Christopher Walrath]

Come on. We're dyin' here.

[Sirius Glass]

I had this problem years ago with a Minolta SR-7. The mirror is not swinging up and out of the way fast enough. Remember that the image is inverted in the camera so the mirror in the way at the top shows up [shows down?] in the bottom of the photograph. Time for a CLA [Clean, Lubricate and Adjust].

Steve

[Nicholas Lindan]

You say the problem is in bright sun.

If the problem only happens at fast shutter speeds - 1/500 and above, say - then the problem may be that the edge of the shutter curtain isn't vertical. This is usually a problem if someone has tried their first DIY shutter curtain replacement.

Otherwise the problem is in the mirror not rising out of the way. If it is a mirror problem it would manifest at all shutter speeds, though it may be less an effect at speeds lower than the flash synchronization speed if the problem is that the mirror isn't rising fast enough.

[johnwwyatt]

Wow, this site is amazing! Thank you everyone for the replies. Unfortunately I do not have the prints because I left them at the developer. I was using Fuji 200, no flash, shutter speed was 1/1000 or 1/500, MD Rokkor-X 45mm 1:2 lens, battery check was OK. Sounds like it was most likely the mirror not swinging up fast enough. I did have one shot into a light box at a lower shutter speed that was OK. Off to the camera shop for a CLA.

[Christopher Walrath]

CLA, son. CLA.

[Sirius Glass]

Otherwise the problem is in the mirror not rising out of the way. If it is a mirror problem it would manifest at all shutter speeds, though it may be less an effect at speeds lower than the flash synchronization speed if the problem is that the mirror isn't rising fast enough.

Some failure modes of the mirror is at the higher shutter speeds.

Steve

[Christopher Walrath]

One question. Does the blackness begin on one side of thr print and then gradually and slightly lower as it proceeds to the other side?

[johnwwyatt]

the blackness begins about 2/3 of the way down the photo and is across the whole print

[Christopher Walrath]

Still ascribe to the mirror/reflex action.

Oh, and welcome to APUG.