IIIc Light Leak Inquiry

[lacavol]

I bought another IIIc, couldn't pass on the deal. It has a problem with a light leak that looks like it's coming past the bottom plate. It has no vulcanite, just bare metal but I have recovered before. It also has a lot of the paint flaked off on the inside of the bottom cover. The light leak shows up orange on Superia. I am now trying the bottom cover from another IIIc , I swapped them, to see if the leak changes cameras with the bottom cover. I was curious if anyone knows what that fuzzy feeling paint on the inside of the bottom cover is and where I can get some. It's absence may be the problem and just to make it look better. The orange streak shows up in the left sky of the pictures.

 

[xxloverxx]

Can't say for the IIIc, but my Zorki-C baseplate has 1 of 3 tiny screws missing around the tripod screw area. Without the screw, there's just a direct hole into the camera. Try checking that.

I'm just going to cover mine up with tape on both sides…

 

[john neal]

The paint is probably just a flat black - like blackboard paint.

It's possible that the light leak is one of the lower body screws on the front - if the screw is a less than perfect fit in the body, or there is some crud under the head - maybe a piece of the missing vulcanite?

 

[ktran]

You can also try sealing the bottom with some black electrical tape, to isolate the problem.

 

[lacavol]

Thanks for all the helpful tips. I've got an old outdated HP5 24 exposure roll in to be developed to see where I am. I took shots, at different speeds with another bottom plate on it. I also exposed it to intense light with the shutter both set and tripped with the lens off. I wrote down all the tests as I sometimes need GPS to find my way home. I should know by Tue or Wed.