Pentax 67 prism seals

[Steinberg2010]

Are they necessary? Curious as I bought a body from KEH with a prism finder. The prism has clearly had the seals removed. My understanding is you can shoot without the finder so the seals at the base of the prism are presumably not strictly necessary? Trying to figure out if it's worth running a test roll at this point to check the body functions or whether I should wait until I get a chance to replace the prism seals...

~S

 

[charjohncarter]

I can't give you a good answer, but both my metered prism and my waist level finder have seals. I can't really imagine that it would make much difference, as the mirror is sealed when it swings up.

 

[randy stewart]

Prism seals

Prism seals

I suppose it depends on what you deem necessary. Without seals, the prism should mount and lock into place, therefore it should function. The seals exist to limit moisture and dust entering the body. They also cushion the prism or finder so that there is no chance of loose play between body and finder. I bought one finder with bad seals, which I replaced with small strips of thin form designed for resealing light traps in camera backs.

 

[Steinberg2010]

Gotcha - I ran a roll through it last night to see how it handles and it seems that there's no leakage around frame edges so I'm guessing it's fine. It's definitely rattly so I'm going to order a set to take the slop out!

Thanks,
~S

 

[Doug]

Same here... In 2001 after 30 years of use, my pre-MLU 6x7 needed new foam. There was no noticeable functional problem, just the distress of the loose and rattling prism!