Hello, I have been seeing a problem that was intermittent but now has become chronic. Occasionally, starting 2-3 months ago, I would take a dark and notice the camera shutter had not fully closed. There was a "trapezoid" of light in the camera. I would cycle a few time between lights and darks and the issue would clear. Now, over the past week, the shutter will not close at all, and occasionally only partially opens. Today I took off the filter wheel to use a blower to clear any dust from the font of the camera, but still the shutter will not close unless I manually touch the shutter. There is anywhere from 1-2 mm gap in the shutter blades on one side of the shutter. I am obviously hesitant to take the camera apart to explore the issue further. Is this an item I need to send in for service or is there a procedure I can safely try first?
We've discovered that some of the early units can have a slight interference with the shutter stop, depending on how the shutter stop is installed. Here's a simple step that may clear the problem: Remove the camera's front cover Manually open the shutter blades Slightly loosen the screw that holds the center shutter stop (see below), and push the stop towards the connector panel (as shown), and then retighten the screw Manually close the shutter blades so they're out of the way when you reinstall the camera's front cover Reinstall the front cover We've since made a small change to the shape of the end of the shutter, to make absolutely sure the corner can't catch before it is fully closed. If the above procedure doesn't completely clear the problem (it should), then we can send you replacement shutter blades and installation instructions.
I completed the suggested procedure on the stop. I noticed the shutters do not always hang near the closed position. Sometimes, one partially closes maybe 1/3 of way. I noticed when operating the shutter by hand that when the rear of the shutters near the motors are not overlapping, the shutters swing easily. However, when the shutters are overlapping, they seem tight and I can feel resistance. Should I loosen the "top" blade to raise it slightly and eliminate this resistance?
Doug, I was bold enough to loosen the shutter retaining screw while holding the shutter fully closed. I then re-tightened the screw. This seemed to free up the shutter to close without resistance. I powered up the camera and cycled things for several iterations and the shutter closed each time. So between the procedure you sent and the realignment of the shutters, it looks like my issue is resolved. I have a separate electronic question from observations I have made from my light frames, but I'll start a new thread. Thanks, Greg
Okay it sounds like you're good to go. I'll mark this as resolved. Feel free to post again if the problem recurs.
