If a portion of the frame (you write "almost totally") is black when using flash incorrect flash sync speed usually is the culprit - trying to shoot at higher than the 1/100 sync speed of the MZ-5n. Is the camera set to automatic - both shutter speed and aperture? If the description above does not fit, the other reason might be just that the shooting distance has been much too long for the small maximum aperture of the zoom (or if you are using a manual small aperture) and relatively weak small flash and slow speed film. Just guessing. All the best! Raimo Personal photography homepage at http://www.uusikaupunki.fi/~raikorho
-----Alkuperäinen viesti----- Lähettäjä: Jerome Daryl Coombs-Reyes <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Vastaanottaja: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Päivä: 16. toukokuuta 2002 18:09 Aihe: Camera Problems. Please Help! >I let a full day pass, and am finally composed enough to write this email >I recently received 4 rolls of slide film back from Kodak (Fair Lawn), and >the results were atrocious (and its no longer just because of bad >technique!). Specifically, more than 1/2 of the frames are almost totally >blacked out. I've posted examples here: > >http://www.isye.gatech.edu/~jerome/temp/help.htm > >Since this was a casual outing with family, I wasn't as diligent with my >notes as I usually am, so unfortunately it's hard for me to pinpoint the >Exact camera settings for each shot. I can say however, that most, if not >all (I'm thinking all) of the blacked out shots were taken with flash. I >have no idea what's going on and would appreciate any comments / >suggestions to solving this problem. For those that choose to continue >reading on, the following paragraphs give more info that may be helpful in >assisting me. > >The equipment is a follows: >ZX-5n (bought about 6 months ago) >Pentax SMCP-FA 80-320mm f/4.5-5.6 (4 months old) >Pentax AF-330FTZ Electronic Zoom Flash (over a year old) >Film: usually Elite Chrome 100, sometimes E100s. > >The biggest concern for me is that this seems to be the worst kind of >problem: A non-systematic one. I've only shot a total of about 25 rolls >through this camera (most with same flash & lens), and the first 7 rolls >were fine. Roll # 8 (March, 2002) was the first memorable occurrence of >this, with about 25 of 36 slides coming back dark. It only happened once >in roll 9 (though I used flash again throughout). But then it stopped and >then picked up again. After I read up on some stuff, I dismissed it as a >user error. I figured that I had my flash on the wrong setting >(Contrast-Control-Sync?) But since then, I've been doubly conscious of the >flash setting and am pretty sure that I'm not making the same mistake. > >Another trend is that most (but again, not all) of the shots that this >happens on are either totally indoors or within some type of enclosure >(hence, not much ambient light) I don't see how that would make a >difference since its not _always_ the case, but I'm just trying to provide >as much info as possible. Settings are usually 6-segment metering, close >to wide open (I'm usually at the long end of the lens) on aperture >priority mode. > >FWIW, during all of the previous occurrences of this problem, I took good >notes and am certain that it was only happening during flash use. >However, in the recent batch I have darkened pictures where it _seems_ >like I didn't use flash (because of the animal eyes not being unnaturally >lit) but again, I don't have the notes to back this up, so I could be >wrong. These few uncertain shots are a small minority, so I'd still place >my money on it being flash related. Usually, the entire roll is similarly >affected but to make things a tad worse (perhaps), there is (at least) one >instance where though some shots are blacked out, I use flash at the >opposite end of the roll and things look just fine. > >BTW, there's never anything particularly extreme about my shooting >conditions (e.g., humidity, temperature) so that's likely not it either. > >I just bought new batteries today (first shot at rechargeables), and as >soon as they recharge and I can get a roll of print film to room >temperature, I'm going to burn through it quickly under different >scenarios and get it developed today. I almost hope to see black frames >(which would imply at least some systematic tendencies) but if I don't >I'll be triple perplexed. <after rereading this message, I'm starting to >doubt if it's even worth doing this?> > >I'm guessing that my best bet is to just send the whole kit to Pentax for >them to check out everything. Suggestions? Thanks in advance. > >PS I have 4 more rolls of birdie photos coming back in about a week for >which I _know_ I used flash about 80% of the time. I guess I may as well >start getting bummed out now, huh? This is so depressing. Until now, I've >never been particularly enthusiastic about a Pentax DSLR in the works (as >a beginner I'm content with film bodies for now, as I have much to >learn)... but the advantage of NOT having to wait a week or two to find >out that your photo trip was a total bust is starting to be clear to me, >to say the least. <sigh> - This message is from the Pentax-Discuss Mail List. To unsubscribe, go to http://www.pdml.net and follow the directions. Don't forget to visit the Pentax Users' Gallery at http://pug.komkon.org .
