A little Elmar 90/4 help, if you please ...

[TheHub]

Hello,

I picked up a slightly cloudy 1933 Elmar 90/4 (uncoated) yesterday, shot it into some inside lights to test it, and found it to be okay.

Today I went out shooting with it, but have encountered some problems. I've attached two problem photos that came up on the roll. The camera was a IIIb and has no light leak problems - indeed photos on the same roll taken with another lens are perfectly fine.

So what am I looking at here? I didn't use a hood (shame shame) but I believe the sun was to my back which means I wouldn't need one anyway, right?

 

[maddoc]

If it would be a reflection (internal) or something other caused by the lens, that bright area should be of different shape and intensity in the two different photos. I think that there was some light leak in the film canister or similar ... Also, with the sun in the back you should hardly observe flare.

 

[TheHub]

Hmmm ... this was shot straight into the light and there was no problem 😕 I wonder what's going on ... ?

 

[Ade-oh]

It looks like a light leak to me, not lens related (although maybe it happened when you changed the lens?).

 

[aad]

Looks to be coming from the shutter-were these after putting on the lens, or wafter carrying a while with the cap off?

 

[TheHub]

Come to think of it, they may have been after changing lenses 😱 that would explain the shape of the leaks wouldn't it?

I suppose a change of shutter curtains is in order. The ones now may be the originals from 1938.

Thanks for the help 🙂

 

[John Shriver]

You just have to shade any screwmount Leica rather carefully from the sun when changing lenses. That leak would just be around the sides or ends of the shutter curtains.

Of course, if it hasn't had a CLA in 20 years, it needs one. But the shutter curtains may be just fine.

 

[ferider]

I don't think it's a leak, it is indeed flare from the lens and the sun to your right. The black non-flared vertical area on the right is "shadow" from the rim of the lens.

I've seen it similarly. A hood will eliminate most of the problem.

Roland.

 

[Ade-oh]

I don't think it's a leak, it is indeed flare from the lens and the sun to your right. The black non-flared vertical area on the right is "shadow" from the rim of the lens.

I've seen it similarly. A hood will eliminate most of the problem.

Roland.

If you look at the second shot, the shadows of the trees indicate that the sun is behind and to the left, which I think makes it unlikely to be lens flare.

 

[ZorkiKat]

Another vote for light breaching from the edges of the curtains. The shape of the 'veiling' fog on the upper right part of the 2nd photo suggests this shape- following the shape of the curtains themselves.

The older Barnacks (Leica and clones) which used only metal plates on the upper and lower parts of the frame to shield the shutter are prone to such leaks- changing lenses in bright sunlight will cause this sort of fogging.

There's not much you can do about it except to avoid direct light when changing lenses.

Changing the shutter won't help since even a new one will still let light through the unprotected edges. What a repair/CLA can do is alter the position of the light shields a bit. A slight nudge to the left or right, a bit forward or back may help improve the shielding. The lower shield is held in place by the same screws which clamp the release spring at the bottom of the plate. The lower shield can sometimes move, and often the breach happens on the side next to the spring loaded rollers.

Some Barnacks tend to leak more than others- often the reason is how the lower shield is put in place.