Kiev light seal problem

[JoeFriday]

I just got back a second roll of film from my sweet little Kiev 4a.. and this time I noticed about a quarter of my shots have a light leak showing up on the bottom of the image.. I didn't notice that on my first roll, probably because it was black and white, and only a 12 exposure roll

is this a common Kiev problem? does a standard light seal job take care of it? I'll scan a photo or two if that helps diagnose the problem

 

[Pherdinand]

GHM, is that true for the earlier Kievs too, like kiev 4?
(I didn't see any light seal in that groove on my Kiev 4, but i tucked in some Goodman-strips as well. But the back fits veeery tight now.)

 

[varjag]

Brett, do they tend to show up in bottom right part and shaped like a right triangle?

 

[Mike Kovacs]

Can't say I've worked on a Kiev 5 but Contax II, Kiev II-4A all have a yarn light seal along the full length of the top of the body and they often come loose when you pull the shutter cover off.

There are also yarn seals on the inside of the top plate.

 

[JoeFriday]

Brett, do they tend to show up in bottom right part and shaped like a right triangle?

they're actually more toward the bottom left, but yes.. shaped like a very fuzzy triangle

neither of my Kievs have any of the original light seals intact.. I had to look very closely at the groove to see any of the original material.. but it should be an easy job to fix.. easier than my GSN, I expect

 

[Mike Kovacs]

That's because you need highly refined Siberian Yak's hair 😛

Jokes aside, I got some of the Poron polyurethane foam that Russ Pinchbeck recommends on the Kiev survival site. A tighter fit I think than the yarn but I do try to stick with the original yarn if its in good shape.

 

[ErnestoJL]

I used three black wool threads (max diam. 0.6 mm) glued with contact cement at three diff. places within the slot. It wasn´t perfect, however 20 y. before it was OK, and today is still in good condition.
Hope this helps if no foam seals are available.

 

[varjag]

they're actually more toward the bottom left, but yes.. shaped like a very fuzzy triangle

Then it may be either

a) A leak through the upper sprocket advance gear, in which case you'd have to take off the top casting to fix or replace the shim; there was a document at beststuff forum describing the process.

or

b) The light comes thru the space between film casting and main casting. There are two of them, at left and at right, tiny slits near the film spool and take up spool axis. Patch them with pieces of black electric tape.

To check for light leaks you can use a small LED flashlight - point it into VF window and watch the slits or the sprocket gear.

 

[JoeFriday]

thanks for the suggestions, Eugene.. I'll try to find that document on beststuff

 

[Mike Kovacs]

Yes, that one above the sprocket has tripped more than one person up!

 

[JoeFriday]

ok, I found this link on beststuff...

Kiev Light Seal Repairs (the link will download a Word doc)

and I saw your name there quite a bit, Mike.. I assume you got yours fixed?

 

[stephen_lumsden]

Hi

Thanks also for the tip. I think I also have the same prob on mine (see earlier post re: double exposures.)

rgds

Stephen

 

[Mike Kovacs]

Oh, I've worked on quite a few Kievs and prewar Contaxes now. Learned a lot on my first Kiev 4A and beststuff was a good resource, though it has very poor searching capabilities for digging-up the real gems in the archives.

 

[JoeFriday]

Hi

Thanks also for the tip. I think I also have the same prob on mine (see earlier post re: double exposures.)

Stephen, your photo has the same exact problem as mine are exhibiting.. same light leak in the lower left of the photo

 

[rpinchbeck]

I think that the document in question from Beststuff was the one I put there some time ago for Mike Kovacs. Funny thing enough, I started to rewrite this document a couple nights ago to put onto the Kiev Survival Site. I've learned a few new tricks since then but the main place to resolve a light leak is at the wimpy Yak string along the body seal.

If I don't finished this document tonight it will have to wait a week until I get back from holidays. Chances are that taking a week off form work will only require a month of inhuman overtime to catch up.

I'll post a quick note here if I get it done.

Cheers

Russ Pinchbeck

 

[rpinchbeck]

OK, I've neglected everything else in my life tonight and finished the Fixing Light Leaks document on the Kiev Survival Site. (Besides, there's nothing worth watching on TV.)

Go to the What's New section and you'll see it as the last entry.

Let me know if this was useful or if anything is unclear.

Cheers

Russ Pinchbeck

 

[varjag]

Excellent article Russ! I believe many Kiev users will find it immensely useful.

BTW, the link in the What's New section is absent: there is an empty bullet point after the Jupiter lens cap link but nothing else.

 

[pangkievrange]

I think that the document in question from Beststuff was the one I put there some time ago for Mike Kovacs. Funny thing enough, I started to rewrite this document a couple nights ago to put onto the Kiev Survival Site. I've learned a few new tricks since then but the main place to resolve a light leak is at the wimpy Yak string along the body seal.

If I don't finished this document tonight it will have to wait a week until I get back from holidays. Chances are that taking a week off form work will only require a month of inhuman overtime to catch up.

I'll post a quick note here if I get it done.

Cheers

Russ Pinchbeck

Russ,
I did most of what you posted in the kiev survival site. I used electric tape in some place for easy application. I totally blocked light from the view window. I inserted the tape under the gear head. The old kieves 2, 2a, and 3a do not have good light baffle.

pangkievrange

 

[JoeFriday]

very nice, Russ! the photos help a lot, given that I'm a bit nomenclature-challenged

 

[DaveP]

I had the exact light leak also. Look on the negative and see if its in the sprocket holes as well. Heres how I fixed mine. Take off the back of the shutter crate, then look at the upper sprocket shaft. There is a plastic washer there that one side is cut flat to clear the shutter crate. If that gets turned , it will leak light. I put the plastic washer in its correct position and added a piece of black tape across the opening also, no leaks since! Hope thats all it is, an easy fix.........