[Leica] Unusual band on some negatives from M3

[leica_r8 at hotmail.com (Aram Langhans)]

A friend has an M3 and sent me some photo that have a light (dark on 
negative) vertical band towards one edge.My first thought was light 
leak, but it does not appear on all negatives and also does not extend 
into the sprocket area of the film.It is also pretty even, not diffuse.I 
asked if he remembered if he was using a high shutter speed for those 
with the bands and he though he was at about 1/500 or 1/1000 for those.I 
am thinking shutter problem but what I do not know.At those speeds the 
shutter curtains form a narrow slit and maybe it is hesitating part way 
across causing this band?In my 50+ years of shooting, I have never heard 
or seen anything like that.I told him perhaps he should run another roll 
through the camera at different shutter speeds and see if he can see any 
correlation.I told him he might exercise the shutter a bit by running it 
through the speeds a bunch of times and see if that cures the problem. 
He is a new owner of this M3 and I suspect, knowing where it came from, 
it might have not been used for years before he got it. I have linked a 
few photos showing the band.Maybe someone here can shed some light on 
this problem?


band on photo 10-11-23scan010 (leica-users.org) 
<http://gallery.leica-users.org/v/Aram/misc/band+on+photo+10-11-23scan010.jpg.html>

Line on negative drew (leica-users.org) 
<http://gallery.leica-users.org/v/Aram/misc/Line+on+negative+drew.jpg.html>

-- 
Aram Langhans
(Semi) Retired Science Teacher
& Unemployed photographer
  
?The Human Genome Project has proved Darwin more right than Darwin himself 
would ever have dared dream.?   James D. Watson