hi ive just developed 3 rolls of film(ilford fp4) on the 1st roll 1 of the exposures didnt come out
then on the others two rolls several(7-8) didnt come out..just blank spaces on the roll (iused flash on these)could this be that the flash unit is taking to much battery power or is the curtain/mirror mechanism on its way out? anyone heard of this problem is it worth sending for repair or has it had its day..
ps new battery in camera and flash unit

tia
phil.rainford@virgin.net

By ezio bonsignore on Monday, May 27, 2002 - 10:14 pm:

Assuming that the flash does indeed produce light, then your problem seems to be based on a default synchronisation between the curtain and the flash. Did you remember to set the shutter at "X"? If both the camera and flash were set properly, then you should ascertain whether the problem lies with the camera or rather the flash unit. If you have access to another flash, try it. If not, try to shoot some pictures with your flash in total darkness and by setting the shutter on "B".

By Manuel on Wednesday, May 29, 2002 - 05:21 pm:

To digress a little bit,let me tell you of an incident several months ago.I gave a friend a flash to use with his K1000.No problem.He later bought a Minolta X700,and the camera would seized up whenever he used the flash.Turning it off restored everything to normal.When he brought it over,I discovered (realized)that the flash I gave him had two pins and was dedicated to some camera make.(I obtained the flash when I bought a camera at a garage sale and didn't even want the flash).Of course it didn't matter on the K1000,being a mechanical camera,without any electronic sophistication.
Now,not being familiar with what type of flash you have,what mode you had the AE-1P in,perhaps something similar happened,or maybe you had the shutter speed too high for synchronisation,maybe you had it in P mode and the flash was dedicated to some other camera make,etc,etc.Look at your flash,how many pins does it have,also be aware that other flash units have high trigger voltages and can damage you AE-1P.Hope this helps.