De_Corday
Eternal Student
Thanks. Yeah mine has that anti-rattle strip too. The fabric tape on mine was invisible until I took the door off. Almost looks like the top edge of it is under the top plate.
Guess that M light leak
- Thread starter Brian Legge
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De_Corday
Eternal Student
FYI, leak is still there... Can anyone with an M6 take the rear door off and post pictures of the hinge area?
De_Corday
Eternal Student
OK. Truly flummoxed now. Took the camera into my dark room with a flashlight. Searched for a leak from every possible location. Nothing. run a test roll -- leak is still there. It doesn't seem to be the back plate, its not the bottom plate, not the top plate, not the RF, not the VF, not the strap lugs...
when I wind the film back through, here's what I get:
when I wind the film back through, here's what I get:
R
rick oleson
Guest
Try taking the camera into a dark room with a strobe. With the back and baseplate secured, no lens on the camera and the shutter open, hold the front of the strobe tight into the lens mount and fire it off with the test button while looking closely at the edges of the back door. You may see a flash of light bleeding past the edge of the back door as the strobe fires. This will find many leaks that are not detectable with even the brightest flashlight.
De_Corday
Eternal Student
Great idea, Rick, thank you.
Just tried that. So far, still no location for the leak. I did put some gaff tape under the extreme right-hand side of the hinge (just above where the mark shows up on the negative) in a move of desperation and I haven't run a test roll since then... that's tomorrow's job.
Maybe my patch job worked? I don't want to peel the tape off for risk of damaging the fabric base that's supposed to be there.
I'm leaving on an assignment Sunday and want to throw the M6 in the bag with my trusty D700... Might not be the smartest move at this point. I'll see what the test roll shows tomorrow.
Just tried that. So far, still no location for the leak. I did put some gaff tape under the extreme right-hand side of the hinge (just above where the mark shows up on the negative) in a move of desperation and I haven't run a test roll since then... that's tomorrow's job.
Maybe my patch job worked? I don't want to peel the tape off for risk of damaging the fabric base that's supposed to be there.
I'm leaving on an assignment Sunday and want to throw the M6 in the bag with my trusty D700... Might not be the smartest move at this point. I'll see what the test roll shows tomorrow.
michaelwj
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Assuming the door is closing properly, could it be coming in from the top of the camera somewhere? Are all the screws tight? The shutter dial and button guard not loose? Try shinning the light from the top of the camera and see? It goes over the sprokets so it's not coming from through the lens (unless something is missing from near the meter diode inside?)
De_Corday
Eternal Student
Checked those, and just re-checked them. The sprocket call is a good one -- I suspected the shutter release or the right-side strap lug, but both seem light-tight.
It's worth noting that the leak is intermittent... it comes at the beginning of a series of frames, after the camera has been sitting in the sun for a while. So I'm assuming it's a very small leak.
It's worth noting that the leak is intermittent... it comes at the beginning of a series of frames, after the camera has been sitting in the sun for a while. So I'm assuming it's a very small leak.
De_Corday
Eternal Student
Sorry guys... I'm an idiot. I wound my film in upside down. The leak is a perfect match for the left-hand side of the film pressure plate.
I'm going to add tape above that part of the hinge and try again... but I still see no leakage in the darkroom.
I'm going to add tape above that part of the hinge and try again... but I still see no leakage in the darkroom.
michaelwj
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Now we've got the viewfinder and the rewind knob, strap lug and the rubber protector (which if missing will be it).
De_Corday
Eternal Student
Rubber protector is good and in place. VF and rewind knob also pass the flashlight test (Rewind knob was tricky so I stuck the light up in the body where the film would go and observed from the outside)
Since the pressure plate tucks up under the rear opening when the door is closed, the leak could still conceivably be from the door hinge, right?
Since the pressure plate tucks up under the rear opening when the door is closed, the leak could still conceivably be from the door hinge, right?
michaelwj
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So the light is coming from the top of the door, near the left hinge. Put some tape and see if it returns I suppose?
De_Corday
Eternal Student
That's my first task tomorrow. Then burn through some film, soup it, and decide whether the camera gets a spot in the bag on assignment.
Thank you all for your help -- truly.
If the tape helps, the tape stays. What's the "official" fix for this? new rear door? Or is the M6 supposed to have tape there?
Thank you all for your help -- truly.
If the tape helps, the tape stays. What's the "official" fix for this? new rear door? Or is the M6 supposed to have tape there?
De_Corday
Eternal Student
GOOD NEWS --
put a piece of gaff tape under the hinge, running the whole length of the door, and this morning I hit the street. Wore the camera with the lens facing in for maximum sun exposure. The result:
Aside from that stray sprocket-hole-sized mark on the second frame from the top, no stray light. No stray light in the frames.
M6 goes back in the bag.
Who would you all recommend to fix this properly when I get back? Leica NJ? DAG? YY?
put a piece of gaff tape under the hinge, running the whole length of the door, and this morning I hit the street. Wore the camera with the lens facing in for maximum sun exposure. The result:
Aside from that stray sprocket-hole-sized mark on the second frame from the top, no stray light. No stray light in the frames.
M6 goes back in the bag.
Who would you all recommend to fix this properly when I get back? Leica NJ? DAG? YY?
R
rick oleson
Guest
Remember that in use, the film is moving a lot in the camera, so while the leak mark might line up perfectly with some detail of the camera body, the leak didn't necessarily occur when the film was in THAT position. This is the reason for the one-exposure leak test that I described above (on the 16th I think)
De_Corday
Eternal Student
Noted. My "find the leak" roll was a one-shot roll. That's a great trick, btw, thank you for sharing.
