FED 2 - light leak issue

[domdel]

Hello to all,

I have been struggling for the last few months with a light leak on a Fed 2 bought on a flea market in Hungary. The camera is awesome, just love it (the feel, the look etc...) but this leak is so frustrating :bang:

I have performed a full CLA (actually disassembled and reassembled the whole camera several times), changed the curtains with new ones, checked the light baffles, put some black gaffer tape where I could imagine some issue, but still same result 🙁

The leak is generally appearing on the lower right side of the image (img #1 above) but it can be much wider (img #3)... I can't understand what's going on - maybe the camera body itself is at fault?

Thanks in advance for all the advices ! I'm close to desperate, love this camera and would like to use it 😱

Greetings from Switzerland,
Dominique

 

[Uncle Brian]

If the leak is always in the same place that's good news 🙂

If you put the film back into the camera and look hard it should be possible to see where the light might have come from.

Could be something like a hole/crack in the body, a missing screw or something random like a faulty tripod mount.

 

[tbhv55]

The leak is generally appearing on the lower right side of the image (img #1 above) but it can be much wider (img #3)...

To me, this would suggest something that varies with changing aperture, although I admit I can't quite picture what the problem would actually be. Were these shots taken into the sunlight? It lools almost like a weird kind of lens flare.

Are you able to test it wth a different lens - if only to exclude a faulty lens from consideration?

Edit: on second thoughts, it wouldn't be flare, unless all the shots were taken at the same angle to the sunlight. 😱

 

[domdel]

Thanks both for your answers and tips.

If you put the film back into the camera and look hard it should be possible to see where the light might have come from.

Could be something like a hole/crack in the body, a missing screw or something random like a faulty tripod mount.

Repositioning the film in the camera unfortunately doesn't trigger any epiphany, can't see anything evident like hole or crack. No screw missing either.

To me, this would suggest something that varies with changing aperture, although I admit I can't quite picture what the problem would actually be. Were these shots taken into the sunlight? It lools almost like a weird kind of lens flare.

Are you able to test it wth a different lens - if only to exclude a faulty lens from consideration?

Edit: on second thoughts, it wouldn't be flare, unless all the shots were taken at the same angle to the sunlight. 😱

I had been thinking as well to test with another lens - will give it a try indeed. The shots were taken at night or in the metro, so low available light in both cases.

 

[domdel]

Unfortunately testing with another lens (which I know is working fine) gave the exact same result 😡
I'm running out of ideas...🙁

 

[Joao]

Hello
I may be wrong but:
1) If the lightleak also covers the sprocket área, it does not come from the lens, but probably from the camera body – from somewhere behind the film rails.
2) If the lightleak is in the lower right side of the frame, then the light gets in from the upper side of the camera (inside the camera the images are upside down) ; I would search below the camera top plate…
Just my two cents
Good look
Joao

 

[farlymac]

Those old FEDs can spring leaks where it was not thought possible. Since it is coming from the top of the frame as viewed from the camera back (upside down image inside the camera), I would suspect the channel along the top plate of the camera that the back fits into. Get some black yarn and feed it into the channel before putting the back on. Also check the top edge of the back for any damage, and for straightness. Check the channel too, there may be a ding that lets the light in.


PF

 

[nzeeman]

its over the sprockets and lower right so leak is in top left where body meets back cover .. try to put black tape along whole connection line and see if it repeats. .

 

[domdel]

Thank you all for your comments and suggestions. I will try again with black tape over the connection between body and back (top back).

 

[domdel]

Hi everyone, it's been a while since my last attempt, but eventually I managed to test again, taping (with black gaffer tape) all joints of the back to the camera body. Absolutely no change, it's still leaking :-(
There isn't anything at all in the channel where the back cover meets the body.

I must say I'm close to desperate now, does anybody have any other idea?
Thanks again for your help!

 

[nzeeman]

then its unfortunately through top... maybe around shutter speed selector or something like that... maybe you can try to just cut one long strip of film-put inside along whole camera and keep it few days in some strong light and then develop and see where exactly is leak...

 

[Ko.Fe.]

It is time to remove top plate to see if something is wrong, missing,

https://stephenc7.tripod.com/cameras/fed2.htm

 

[domdel]

Allelujah! I have found the issue 😀

It was indeed an issue between the cover - actually there was a super small gap between the top cover and the body just below the rear eyepiece, so I believe what was happening is that light went through the viewfinder, and then somehow managed to be diffracted into the back through the gap, however unlikely a path that was...

I have put a thin (1 mm x 5 cm) gaffer tape piece there and it solved my issue - first film show pristine images 🙂

Thanks to everyone for all the advices and patience! 🙂😉

Cheers from Switzerland

 

[domdel]

The green line shows where I put the gaffer tape on the body...

 

[nzeeman]

awesome!!! cant wait to see results now when its all solved! (its in my opinion prettiest camera of all - wish it had slow speeds as well... 🙁 )

 

[davidnewtonguitars]

Happy, happy! Congrats!

 

[domdel]

Thanks guys 😀

So true, these cameras are just so sexy - love them! I have a few zorkis (two zorki-1, two zorki-4, one zorki-6), a fed 3, and my 2 fed-2 are among my preferred cameras ever.

Hereafter my latest tests:

Before the gaffer tape fix:


After:



Now I have to address my rangefinder issue - horizontal adjustment screw just decided to give up on me 😱🙂


So much fun and TLC ;-)