M5 Light Leak

[Pál_K]

I'd be worried about tape coming loose and interfering with the shutter.

Although the real solution is probably disassembly and re(?)-installing a light baffle in the rangefinder compartment, a quicker less expensive solution might be a very small droplet of "liquid tape" applied via toothpick.

 

[Mark C]

There are also some seals in M's that can leak a tiny bit when you change lenses. Until I discovered Sherry I just thought it was part of the package. I always shield the body very thoroughly until the lens was ready to go on. These seals were generally not part of the package with mass market repair operations (when there were such things) for CLAs, but the Leica specialist all do it, or should. I still do this since all of my M's haven't been serviced. Plus the curtain saving habit of carrying the camera lens in when the sun is shining.


Good luck with your M5. They are a fun, quirky, camera.

 

[Huss]

There are also some seals in M's that can leak a tiny bit when you change lenses. Until I discovered Sherry I just thought it was part of the package. I always shield the body very thoroughly until the lens was ready to go on. These seals were generally not part of the package with mass market repair operations (when there were such things) for CLAs, but the Leica specialist all do it, or should. I still do this since all of my M's haven't been serviced. Plus the curtain saving habit of carrying the camera lens in when the sun is shining.


Good luck with your M5. They are a fun, quirky, camera.

I hadn't changed the lens. Plus I can see where the light leak is coming from!

I sent pics to DAG a few minutes ago, and he already replied to send it in. And make sure I include the pics!

 

[Huss]

I'd be worried about tape coming loose and interfering with the shutter.

Although the real solution is probably disassembly and re(?)-installing a light baffle in the rangefinder compartment, a quicker less expensive solution might be a very small droplet of "liquid tape" applied via toothpick.

Indeed, that was what I was thinking. Once that tape gets stuck into the shutter, I'd have a light leak and shutter problem!

 

[dourbalistar]

I hadn't changed the lens. Plus I can see where the light leak is coming from!

I sent pics to DAG a few minutes ago, and he already replied to send it in. And make sure I include the pics!

Thanks for tracking that down, Huss! Once I finish the roll that's in the camera right now, I'll have to do the flashlight test to see if mine leaks in the same place. Did you get a quote and/or an approximate repair time from DAG? Like j.scooter, I get it infrequently (though I suppose it could get worse suddenly like yours did) and I hesitate to send it in. I do have some shutter bounce on mine as well at 1/1000, so I may just bite the bullet and get a full CLA.

 

[hap]

I'd be worried about tape coming loose and interfering with the shutter.

Although the real solution is probably disassembly and re(?)-installing a light baffle in the rangefinder compartment, a quicker less expensive solution might be a very small droplet of "liquid tape" applied via toothpick.

Yep, a little dab of black "FLEXSEAL"

 

[Deleted member 65559]

I hadn't changed the lens. Plus I can see where the light leak is coming from!

I sent pics to DAG a few minutes ago, and he already replied to send it in. And make sure I include the pics!

Huss, Nice work figuring out where the light leak was. DAG is definitely the man. He's been super helpful to me. I'm sure your M5 will be up & running in no time.

 

[Huss]

It is interesting that all the light leaks referenced in this thread are of identical size/shape and position on the image. I don’t think it is too great an assumption to think they all are from the same cause.

 

[MJ Buckpitt]

Huss, You are welcome.

Light leaks are really difficult to fix. Some are fixed by pushing black thread or cord into the area and then adding a dab of flexiseal.

A test to see if the fix has worked is to load the camera with film and with the lens cap on shine the flashlight through the RF window. Select your go-to shutter speed & take a few shots.

Let us know how you get on.

 

[Huss]

Thanks for tracking that down, Huss! Once I finish the roll that's in the camera right now, I'll have to do the flashlight test to see if mine leaks in the same place. Did you get a quote and/or an approximate repair time from DAG? Like j.scooter, I get it infrequently (though I suppose it could get worse suddenly like yours did) and I hesitate to send it in. I do have some shutter bounce on mine as well at 1/1000, so I may just bite the bullet and get a full CLA.

No quote and no time frame.

I'll let you know what happens!

 

[j.scooter]

Was able to find where the leak is coming from. It is coming in from the viewfinder window, seems to be near the front near the lens mount

 

[Huss]

Was able to find where the leak is coming from. It is coming in from the viewfinder window, seems to be near the front near the lens mount

The image coming through the lens is reversed and back to front. So what appears on the bottom left originates from the top right. I checked this by taking the camera back off and viewing the image coming through the lens using the B setting.

Dourbalister, the OP and mine all are in the same spot, which means the leak is coming from the top right. This is confirmed by the fact that we all posted landscape/horizontal format images so our cameras all had the same orientation.

As your example is shot vertically, it could depend on how you held your camera - there are two ways to shoot vertically! Shutter button at the top , or shutter button at the bottom. Do you have any images shot horizontally so we can compare to our light leak images? If you do, and they are in the same spot, then the leak is from the top right corner, not the top left corner.

 

[Huss]

This is one of the top results from the Google search, hopefully there is some info that might be of use to you:
https://www.photo.net/discuss/threads/another-leica-m5-light-leak-puzzle-sorry.432887/

This is an interesting quote:

On the metal baffle nearest the film gate, there are two glued in felt "light trap" bars. One upper & one lower.
(See picture below showing lower bar)
Confirm that these two are secure throughout their full length of contact with the baffle.
With the shutter locked on the bulb setting (using a locking cable release), run a toothpick along this felt to see if it's loose in any way. The glue with age can fail. Sometimes causing the felt bar to fully detach and run right into the shutter mechanism etc.; causing among other things, light leak and a fully jammed camera.
The backs always have some minor play in them. Too tight a tolerance and you wouldn't be able to close the baseplate easily in certain temperature extremes. The felt/foam is provided so the back has a snug feel & a shock absorber for someone letting go of the door. Besides, light can't bend around and bounce without a reflective surface present. (Black crackle finish isn't considered reflective)

 

[j.scooter]

As your example is shot vertically, it could depend on how you held your camera - there are two ways to shoot vertically! Shutter button at the top , or shutter button at the bottom. Do you have any images shot horizontally so we can compare to our light leak images? If you do, and they are in the same spot, then the leak is from the top right corner, not the top left corner.

I shoot verticals shutter up.
Here is one horizontal

 

[Huss]

I shoot verticals shutter up.
Here is one horizontal

That pic shows the light leak is from the top right, not the top left.

 

[twvancamp]

Bumping to see if anyone has gotten a clear answer/solution to this issue.

After dozens of rolls with no issue, my M5 just produced this issue across five straight frames. No problems before or after. The frames were all in very bright light and had the exact same bottom left triangle that others found.

Since so many have run into the exact same artifact I have to assume there is a common cause.

 

[dourbalistar]

Bumping to see if anyone has gotten a clear answer/solution to this issue.

After dozens of rolls with no issue, my M5 just produced this issue across five straight frames. No problems before or after. The frames were all in very bright light and had the exact same bottom left triangle that others found.

Since so many have run into the exact same artifact I have to assume there is a common cause.

I don't think Huss will be back here on RFF to respond himself, but I've been conversing with him about it through another platform because I also have a similar light leak. Huss' leak originates from the little rangefinder window, and leaks into the film gate area behind the shutter curtain (see Post #35).

Huss sent his camera to DAG for repair, but the leaks persisted, albeit less frequently. He contacted Zacks Camera Repair, and it seems they service the M5, so he's going to give them a try. Leica Germany no longer services the M5. Depending on how Huss' repair goes, I may also send mine to Zacks.

 

[blan01]

I've shot countless rolls with my M5 in the last three years, the same light leak happened back in April, but only in 3 shots from that roll. I had no problem after that.

The only thing I did differently during that roll of film is that I left the camera on the shelf with no lens and body cap for a few days. No sure if this is the reason behind the weird light leak.

 

[Trask]

I too have had this problem (see attached photo), and sent my M5 to Sherry back in 2014. When I asked her the cause of the leak, she replied "The housing shell was cracked!" and intimated that it had been poorly worked on by a prior repairer. I'd purchased the camera used, and it looked very good from the outside, so I was surprised that the camera could have been mishandled to the point the housing shell was cracked.

She made a repair (not inexpensive), returned the camera, the problem continued so I returned it to her, and it came back fixed. I found a small errant dab of what looked like a black sealant on the camera exterior, so I presume that she'd used some sort of flexible caulking to eliminate the leak.

The one thing I did that I rather regret was to have her adjust the meter to operate on 1.5V, on the theory that I could find "silver alkaline" 625 batteries (her words in quotes). I wish I'd left it unchanged, so I could continue to use a diode-based adapter with 357 silver button batteries to get a final output of 1.35V. I'm going to try using the adapter/357 again to see what it gives, in the hopes that at least its voltage will not vary as much as the regular alkaline 625 batteries that die a quick death. if anyone has a fix on "silver alkaline" 625 batteries, please let me know.

 

[dourbalistar]

I've shot countless rolls with my M5 in the last three years, the same light leak happened back in April, but only in 3 shots from that roll. I had no problem after that.

The only thing I did differently during that roll of film is that I left the camera on the shelf with no lens and body cap for a few days. No sure if this is the reason behind the weird light leak.

Blan01, that leak is pretty well hidden in your example, and not too obtrusive! I'm able to clone some of mine out in post processing (not ideal, but better than nothing), but some leaks totally ruin an image for me. Mine is also intermittent, seems to appear more shooting in very bright conditions. If I'm not mistaken, Huss' was also mostly problem free until it started appearing suddenly. He had problems on about 15-20 frames per roll, but I think he does a lot of outdoor shooting in bright, sunny Southern California.

p.s. Such a serene photo of your son napping quietly! 😀