Is your shutter working properly…?
Check the shutter-speed electronically.
How to check the speed of the shutter from your classic camera.
If you want to use your classic camera and would like to know whether the speed of the shutter is reliable or not.
You can check that very easily.
1) To do this you’ll need the program "CoolEdit2000"
2) Cut off your microphone from the microphone-wire connected to your computer.
3) Connect the phototransistor i.e. BPW40 to the wire.
4) Take a piece of board (6 x 20 cm) drill a hole in it, just big enough to hold the phototransistor and mount the phototransistor in the hole.
5) Cover the board with black velvet or leather or anything else as far as it is black. (leave the opening for the phototransistor free).
6) Place the shutter above the phototransistor and a strong light above it. (see left photo below)
7) Start "CoolEdit2000 ", hit "FILE" then "NEW", say OK to the waveform, cock the shutter, hit "RECORD" and fire the shutter.
8) STOP the recording and zoom on the wave .
9) The counter tells you the real speed of the shutter.
This test board is very useful not only to test the shutter speed, but also the ignition-contact of the shutter wit M-F-or X synchronisation.
Selected Shutter speed 1/50 sec to test.
Recorded shutter-speed 0,015 = 1/66 second. Not bad at all.
If the test results of your shutter are not satisfying, you might try to solve the problem by dismantling the shutter, clean and lubricate it and put it together again. Just to encourage you, I put a picture down here of a so called "Erzatzteilliste". In English, a spare part list of the famous Prontor Press Shutter 1973. To be frank, there are 2 more of them to assemble one shutter, but this is the nicest and most interesting one. If you might have any doubts about your craftsmanship, try any simple shutter e.g. the early Kodak Junior shutter, before doing this one.
This list with spare parts was not marketed, but used as a display for technician and other intern use.
The Alfred Gautier company in the German Black Woods or "Schwarzwald" was merged to the Carl Zeiss company in the thirties of the last century and by that, Zeiss eliminated any competition in shutter manufacturing in Germany.
