Canon P - light leak

[Brian Legge]

I'm trying to track down the source of a light leak I saw in about 1 in 7 frames using a Canon P. Here is an example:

Basically, in the lower center part of the frame, I'm seeing what appears to be a light leak. At first I thought it was the curtains failing to travel at the correct speeds at a particular shutter speed but the effect isn't uniform across the frame. This leads me to think light leak. The issue is masked to the frame though.

Has anyone seen something like this? Any specifics I should investigate? Using a flashlight hasn't helped identify anything yet.

 

[John Shriver]

Did you possibly rewind the film with the shutter half-cocked and the lens cap off? I got leaks that way with a Canon 7s.

 

[Brian Legge]

I've done that with a Kiev before - killed a whole roll.

I only have 6 shots out of 36 with this issue. One was fired very quickly after the other, which is part of what confused me as that shot wasn't sitting anywhere in the camera for an extended period. Thats what puts me back towards issues with the curtains. That and the issue is masked to the exposure so it had to be something coming through the front.

I guess I just assumed that the issue would be more uniform if it was inconsistently traveling curtains.

 

[Nokton48]

Since it's in the center of the frame, could it be the curtains open, in a thin, central slit? Never had this issue myself, but just a WAG.