BackdoorArts
Senior Member
This could be interesting to follow. If you have a Df, give this a shot and let us know what you discover.
Nikon Df Shutter Issue
Nikon Df Shutter Issue
Basically, in some situations where the shutter speed is above 1/250 and ISO is set to a high value (typically above ISO 3200 is where I saw it the most), the shutter seems to “drag” in images, blocking off a portion of the frame. The result is a very uneven image that can look like exposure inconsistency, but in reality it is not – it certainly has to do with shutter operation. This blockage or dragging can happen anywhere in the frame – top, middle or bottom and it is a rather nasty issue. While top and bottom exposure inconsistencies in an image can be fixed in post-processing, the ones in the middle are much more painful to deal with.
After looking at his example photos, I am having difficulty spotting the light-to-dark or dark-to-light parts of the photos. To me one image looks like it is either under- or over-exposed when compared with the other. The photos are definitely different from one another, but I'm having trouble spotting any gradient type of effect.
.UPDATE: Looks like the issue is related to lubricants used on the shutter. At below freezing temperatures, the shutter might get slow and cause below uneven exposure problems. Haven’t seen this issue on the D800/D800E/D600 cameras though, which I have used at much colder temperatures without any problems.