Bum

[thanatos]

Just put a test film through my latest acquisition, a Zorki 3, and it has got a dreadful light leak. Prolly not worth the money for a CLA. I might have a go at servicing it myself, as suggested elsewhere by comp-wiz. 😡

At a push, the Jupiter-8 will look nice on my IIIf. 😎

 

[nzeeman]

what kind of light leak? do u have examples?

 

[FrankS]

J8's can be great lenses.

 

[fraley]

I've found glueing thin yarn or thread in the case seams will take care of most light leaks from the back, along with keeping the camera in a case if you have one. If it's color film and the leak is yellow or orange, it's coming from the sides or back of the camera. Also if it spreads past the frame onto the sprocket area of the film. If it's a white mark it's coming through the shutter most likely.

 

[thanatos]

Thanks for the quick responses, guys. I'll scan some prints later to show - but it's a bit of both. Red/orange flare on the bottom of the pic (so from top of back, I guess) and occasional white flares in the centre-right of the pic.

 

[Ash]

well get the yach string stuff for around the door, and paint a thin layer of black acryllic over the shutter... run another test roll an see whether that sorts it out 🙂

 

[comp_wiz101]

I had a back that leaked in mine - light leaks floating out of frame, etc. so I glued some yarn into the slots between the back and the door with some silicone glue. Now I just need to run another test roll through it. I also painted some of the shiny spots inside with a touch of acrylic.

 

[thanatos]

A scan of an example of the possible leak...

Ignore the expensive French bread.

 

[Ash]

I had that on an old SLR camera, apparently the hinge area to the side was no longer light-tight where the back closes. Best pad up each light seal with that string stuff then

 

[thanatos]

String, string 'tis a wonderful thing.
Keeps the naughty light out and the darkness in.

😀

 

[Ash]

I quite prefer rope 😀

 

[GeorgesGiralt]

Hi !
Could you explain to a poor French why one has to use yarn to lightproof Zorki's instead of the black foam found elsewhere ?
For black foam, there is a self adhesive thin and quite hard foam sold by the spool at air conditioning stores. It is used to isolate gas tubes and pipes connectors.
Last but not least, very good French bread is expensive. Materials are expensive, and you need a lot of workmanship to make it. The problem is that you don't know if it is good bread before tasting it..... 2 GBP is a bit on the high side for me !
HAve a nice day

 

[Bryce]

That bread looks delicious! I'd pay 2 pounds for some, just not the stuff at the right...
Actually on topic, is this yarn idea something I might try on my FED 3? I've patched the shutter, but I'm still getting leaks. Kinda gave up, since it also won't focus accurately close in...
And lastly, why do light leaks from the shutter or back end up a different color? I'd never heard that before. Very handy thing to know!

 

[thanatos]

The bread was delicious. We bought 2 loaves of onion bread and one wholegrain for a fiver. I'd say it was worth about 4 quid. 😉

There's a travelling 'Continental Market' that comes to Yorkshire every August. Schnitzels, praline, bread, fruit & veg, sweets, that sort of thing. It travels around different towns causing gridlock wherever they pitch up...

 

[oscroft]

I had that on an old SLR camera, apparently the hinge area to the side was no longer light-tight where the back closes. Best pad up each light seal with that string stuff then

Me too. I had a light leak that looked very similar to that with my OM1 when I first got it, and it was cured by replacing the light seals at the two ends of the back.

 

[reagan]

Prolly not worth the money for a CLA.

Your call, but IMHO, if you plan on holding on to it and shooting it for awhile, the Zorki.3 is quite unique and fun to use. I have a OlegCLA planned for my Zorki.3 as a winter project.

You also might try (DIY, brushing, blowing, rubbing, lubing, fire it, fire it, fire it) just getting that shutter to operate as smoothly as possible. I occasionally have a similar frame as the one you posted that comes out of one of my Zorki.4s. I'm pretty sure it's a somewhat sticky travel in the one of the shutter curtains, but I just don't use it enough to worry much about it.

Keep tinkering with the Three. You'll really like it once you have it going your way.

Enjoy!