Skip to main content

What went wrong?

One side of every frame is darker than the other

Camera

What you're seeing

A gradient across each frame: one side, top or bottom is lighter or darker than the other, on most frames. It is strongest on frames shot at the fastest speeds.

Check this first

Check this first

Check which shutter speeds the affected frames were shot at, and whether flash was used.

Likely causes, most common first

  1. 01

    Uneven focal-plane shutter curtain travel (capping)

    Common
    How to tell
    No flash. The gradient is soft, runs in the direction the shutter curtains travel, and gets worse at the fastest speeds. Slow-speed frames look even.
    Test it
    Photograph an evenly lit plain surface, such as a clear blue sky, at every speed from 1/60 to the fastest. Develop and compare: a gradient that grows as the speed rises is a shutter fault. Using a 50mm or longer lens avoids confusing it with lens falloff.
    The fix
    Use slower speeds until the camera has been serviced (curtain tensions adjusted).

    Sources Andrew Davidhazy, Rochester Institute of Technology, Calibrating your shutters; Nikon Inc. (USA), Photographing Still Life Subjects using Flash

  2. 02

    Flash used above the sync speed

    Common
    How to tell
    Only flash frames. A dark band with a fairly hard edge along one side, not a smooth gradient.
    Test it
    Shoot a plain wall with flash at the sync speed and one step faster. Only the faster frame should show the band.
    The fix
    Use the sync speed or slower.

    Source Nikon Inc. (USA), Photographing Still Life Subjects using Flash

  3. 03

    Light leak

    Occasional
    How to tell
    Brighter, often irregular patch that can spill past the frame edge into the rebate, and does not change with shutter speed.
    Test it
    Load a scrap roll and leave the camera in sun with the lens cap on for an hour. Any fog shows a leak.
    The fix
    See 'There are streaks or flares of light on my photos'.

    Source Eastman Kodak Company, Baggage X-ray Scanning Effects on Film (TIB 5201, updated 8 April 2003)

Avoiding it next time

  • Test an old camera's fast speeds on a cheap roll before an important shoot.

Go deeper