Micro 4/3 Is my shutter about to give up?

[kae1]

Over the years I've had a stuck shutter on an EM1 Mki which needed a replacement and at the weekend I'm wondering whether my EM1 Mkii is sending me a warning. The following images were taken within minutes of each other - one that it is a bit of a surprise and the other what I was expecting.

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Apart from the other images in the first image burst all subsequent shots were OK, so it might have been a spec of dust(?) in the shutter which has cleared itself or, as my Mkii's shutter count is already well over the 200k manufacturer's "life", it might be a sign that the shutter has had enough. I was wondering whether now is the time to just use the camera with the electronic shutter or get the shutter replaced. Has anyone had similar previous experience or thoughts?

 

[Brian]

It's not stuck open, otherwise you would have an over-exposure. More like it fired twice on the same shot, but hard to tell.

I would be sure to carry a back-up camera in case there is a major failure. Probably time for a CLA, and check for shutter replacement.

 

[Rick-Australia]

Could the image stabilisation be playing up and you got this effect when it tried to correct?

 

[Woody Meristem]

Take a back-up camera and keep using this one to see what happens. I only use the electronic shutter on my cameras (except for flash photos) and seldom get a rolling shutter -- but I don't shoot motorsports.

 

[Richard]

It's not stuck open, otherwise you would have an over-exposure. More like it fired twice on the same shot, but hard to tell.

I see two distinct images superimposed. It's particularly clear around the rider's visor. My feeling is that it's something in the camera set-up rather than a fault, possibly image stabilisation at work as Rick mentioned above.

-R

 

[Brian]

Something strange- it is a huge shift, can the Vibration Reduction cover so much of the frame?

 

[Richard]

Perhaps the camera is doing its best to deal with what it perceives as vibration, but is actually deliberate panning during the exposure?

(Or is this some sort of inappropriate image-stacking?)

-R

 

[agentlossing]

Could the image stabilisation be playing up and you got this effect when it tried to correct?

This is my guess.

 

[fredlong]

I'm guessing that it's "hiccup" in the IS system. If IS is set to AUTO I.S. it tries to determine if the camera's being panned and will not stabilize in that dimension. It can be set to VERTICAL SHAKE I.S. and it will ignore horizontal movement.

 

[fredlong]

Something strange- it is a huge shift, can the Vibration Reduction cover so much of the frame?

Yes, I think it can because the camera is being panned fast AND the IS tried to correct it.

 

[Brian]

Yes, I think it can because the camera is being panned fast AND the IS tried to correct it.

That makes sense- and something I'll watch for in my Z5. So far- has never tried to "Unpan" my shots.
Had never thought that you would be fighting the vibration Reduction when panning with the subject.

 

[fredlong]

With Olympus you can tell it not to fight your panning. By default it auto detects the panning motion and doesn’t try to stabilize that motion. Probably. Most of the time. Hopefully.

 

[kae1]

First of all thank you all for taking the time to respond to my query.
I have just checked the IS setting on the camera and whilst I usually leave it set on Vertical Shake I'd changed it to Auto (as I'd been photographing all sorts over the winter).
It makes sense that it is IS related in so far as subsequent panning shots at the same setting were OK. Maybe this is a further example of how good Olympus' Auto IS is when only one burst had gone wonky!