PLEASE tell me that this is "only" a light leak.

[Mike Kovacs]

Does it go outside the area masked by the film gate? If so, its not likely to be coming from the front.

 

[rut]

my mom was from okinawa...dad was army back in the late 60's. haven't been there since i was 12. want to take my little ones and do some shooting!


m.

 

[jaapv]

Until later in the M6 Classic production, Leica used strips of flocking in front and behind the shutter curtains (down in the crevice below the film area) as light seals. These it seems can sometimes get worn out and let light leak through. The current design is a v-folded piece of black mylar which is cheaper to make and install but more effective. DAG I know will replace the flocking seals with the latest kind, I don't know about other repair people who may reject the new seals as "cheapenings". My older Wwetzlar M6 has the flocking seals, if it ever needs an overhaul, even if the light doesn't leak, I'm going to have DAG put the new type in. That said neither my M4 nor my M3 leak light and they've got the original seals.

But they do tend to leak if somebody,maybe in the past, pushed his finger against the curtain, which can happen when the back is open.

 

[schmoozit]

Cool. I've been here 17 years now; almost half my life. My wife, pictured above, is Okinawan, and that's why/how I've come to stay so long. I came courtesy of the USMC, originally. My old man loved it here back in the 'Nam days. I guess you'd love anyplace you were before and after being there, though.

The place has changed. Let me know if you are able to make it.

 

[Ronald M]

Looks like a light shield problem. DAG fixed two early M6`s that had almost no film thru them and my M3. All looked similar to this.

Send the camera and sample negs to Don. Cost was $75 a few years back. You can also E- mail. DAG camera repair on google. Attach photo for his evaluation.

You can see the silver mylar around the shutter if you look carefully at an angle after he puts it in.

 

[wengis]

I had this kind of light leak on my M2. When I went to the Leica technican I was adviced to test the camera by holding it near a lamp bulb with the lens removed.
Doing this for maybee 10 seconds and then advancing the film in a totally dark room it was obvious that light was leaking in between the housing and the shutter curtain.
The streaks of lights could be clearly seen when film was developed.
The cost for replacing the seals (here in Sweden) was around $200. Will be less expensive in the US and UK, I guess...

 

[schmoozit]

Yeah, I think we've nailed this one down. This place is so helpful. I've gotta do more giving around here, and less taking.

Thanks all!