Canon P Light Leak (different scenarios)

[richowirawan]

Hi everyone. I just got a Canon P with the 50mm f1.8 and just developed and scanned my first two rolls on those - and I believe there is a light leak.

Now I might be wrong, but my understanding of light leak is that it will occur consistently in any exposure and in any kind of conditions - even if it's cloudy or indoor (based on my experience with another severely damaged curtain on a FED2).

The different thing with this P is: the leak is always occur in the same spot, but in some conditions there's absolutely no light leak (even in sunny condition, outdoor, aperture always wide open and I'm not a fan of putting the lens cap on every time).

Attached in this link ( https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1oE5f9jHYPtQb0IARlvm1jo8a6mjODmJ-?usp=sharing ) is the examples of 5 different scenarios, from the best (no leak at all) to the worst leak.

Any idea where does this light leak comes from? It seems to me all the functions in this camera works perfectly fine though. Speeds are perfect, and the two curtains leaves no gaps between them whatsoever.

 

[nhchen]

The light leak could be caused by a slight gap in the curtains. In the 3 photos without the light leak there is definitely uneven exposure, the right side is darker than the left. This could mean that one of the curtains is catching up to the other one. There is likely dried grease or dirt slowing the mechanism down. I think your camera just needs to be serviced.

Regards
Nathan

 

[richowirawan]

So do you think a basic CLA job should fix the problem?

 

[Peter Jennings]

One way to tell a shutter issue from a light leak is if the leakage extends beyond the frame of the photograph. I agree that this looks more like a shutter problem. It seems like the overexposure is so severe that the second shutter curtain is not fully closing on some shots. It could be that it needs a CLA or it could be some loose debris obstructing the shutter. Take the lens off and open the back and operate the shutter several times. Look for shutter gaps or loose chips of film.

 

[nhchen]

So do you think a basic CLA job should fix the problem?

Yes I think a CLA should fix it. If you’re keen you could even try doing it yourself. Canon Ps are quite easy to open up to get access to the shutter, I’ve done it many times myself.
Nathan

 

[richowirawan]

One way to tell a shutter issue from a light leak is if the leakage extends beyond the frame of the photograph. I agree that this looks more like a shutter problem. It seems like the overexposure is so severe that the second shutter curtain is not fully closing on some shots. It could be that it needs a CLA or it could be some loose debris obstructing the shutter. Take the lens off and open the back and operate the shutter several times. Look for shutter gaps or loose chips of film.

I've tried this and I can't find any shutter gaps in any speed.. And also no indication of one of the curtain "not fully closing" in any speed, they always fully closed.

 

[richowirawan]

So after another attempt I try to be more careful : closing the lens cap after every shot etc. and it does minimalize the light leak. And finally I notice a very tiny gap between the two curtains - it seems like the first curtain is closing a lil bit further inside the left curtain housing.It's like every time I wind the shutter there is a little time when the first curtain is hitting another curtain, before the two of them moving together...do you think it's normal or those two should be tight all the time?