White Hits

[Davideo]

Have been testing out a 1950 Mansfield holiday II Regular 8mm camera and shot a roll of Cine X B&W film. Came out good with the usual fullscreen white flashes in between scenes. But I noticed in the middle of a scene there is sometimes a white flash line that pops up. What causes this?

David

[Davideo]

To clarify, it's not a straight white line. It's more like the shape of an envelope flap.

[Davideo]

I think I have a clue. An old Kodak movie manual from the 1930s states that "If spool sides are even slightly bent, light will enter between side of disks and film, causing film to become light struck throughout sections of complete film."

I looked at the take-up reel and noticed is not completely flat and even. So this may be the culprit?

[Davideo]

More tips I got were to load the film in total darkness and turn the spring wind level in full before each shot. Now doing another test roll with these changes.

[Davideo]

Just got my 2nd test roll back today which was loaded in total darkness. The white hits are still there. Any ideas please?

[richard p. t.]

g'day david,
its hard to diagnose such a thing, but here is a suggestion. You mention that between each take the shutter stays open - ie that there is a fully blown out frame of film. Well remembering that regular 8 is a 'double run' film, its quite possible that if you saw the roll of processed film before it was slit, you might see that the mysterious white marks in fact line up with the 'between-sceen-blow-outs'. i am not saying this is necessarily the case, but it is a strong possibility given you have ruled out some others by your test.
It is probably the case that when the camera was new the shutter would stop in the closed position. This would be normal if you asked me. it is quite possible that the mechanism has 'slipped' in some way such that the timing is no longer correct.
good luck with it,
richard

[Davideo]

It's not the typical 8mm white flashes between each shot. What is happening is in the middle of some shots there is a white envelope flap shaped flash. I'll be shooting a scene consistently and all of a sudden there's this white line that pops up for one frame.

[richard p. t.]

Yes I get it. And I am suggesting that what is causing this random white envelope shaped flash is a between sceen (ie camera stop shutter open) flash on the other side (other half) of the double run 8mm film.
rt

[MIKI-814]

Yes I get it. And I am suggesting that what is causing this random white envelope shaped flash is a between sceen (ie camera stop shutter open) flash on the other side (other half) of the double run 8mm film.
rt

I agree, sometimes I suffer from this with my Bolex B8 and Fomapan R100.

[rweilert]

In my Bolex H8, I had a similar problem: random flashes from the side of the film. After some time, I found out that the flashes were stronger when the film had paused for a longer period, i. e. I hadn't used the camera for a couple of days but not returned it in its case.

So I suspected a small gap in the lock. I don't remember clearly how I found out, but I think I inserted a piece of photographic paper from my darkroom and placed the camera in full sunlight for some time. After developing, I could see where light came in.

I glued some black insulating tape over it and have been flashfree since then

Rolf

[Davideo]

So I suspected a small gap in the lock.

That's a good clue. Will try your trick on my next test roll.

David

[Davideo]

I taped the lock with black tape and shot another test roll. That didn't work. So I'm retiring the Mansfield camera.

[Davideo]

I bought a second Mansfield Holiday II which is the exact same model as my older Mansfield. It was cheap on eBay and in excellent condition. I wanted to do a technical process of elimination. I assumed that my older Mansfield was just worn out and had age related problems.

I shot a test roll with this new unit. The exact same problems were exhibited on the test roll...white streaks, etc. Worse of all, the cover fell off during shooting around the middle of the roll. I had to tape it shut thereafter.

Regardless of that mishap, the white lined streaks are common with this camera. I don't encounter that with my simple Kodak Brownie camera from 1950.

I like this camera because it has a built in light meter which many Regular 8mm cameras don't possess. Using an external light meter is a royal pain when I want to grab the camera for spur of the moment things like my cats sparring with each other with their paws. (I have cameras for pro shoots and I have others just for quick shots which is what I use the Mansfield for as I can leave it in my car ready to go).

Bottom line- Mansfield Holiday II belongs in a camera museum or the closet full of camera goodies.

[ekoe]

Hello David.

Film Loaders on professional film sets will tape the magazine door shut, not only to keep it from falling open or being opened by someone in a rush, but to also avoid light leaks. It can happen with any camera.

Super 8 is pretty fail safe in this regard because of the cartridge, but certainly Regular 8 will be subject to light leaks, particularly because of wear or warping of the film door.

So, I wouldn't advise retiring your Mansfield, but simply lightproofing the door with gaffer's tape (or whatever you prefer) between loads. On a couple of occasions in film school I used bumper stickers because I couldn't afford gaffer's tape.