What causes this light leak?

[fraley]

Can anyone suggest the cause of a Zorki 4 light leak? Please see samples one and two. They were taken minutes apart from each other. The surrounding frames, also taken at the same time, are free of the vertical band in the lower right qaudrant.

The second shutter curtain has a similar mark in the right position to line up with the light leak. I've applied black fabric paint to the reverse side of the curtain. I'm thinking of applying another coat.

I'm wondering if it could be a leak where the two curtains join? So that as I'm winding on, light comes through. But then it seems it would not be consistently in one place.

I also have tried winding on, and leaving the camera that way with the lens cap off before tripping the shutter, but I'm having trouble reproducing the problem.

I took a test roll yesterday and it was fine :bang: But it was noon and the sample pictures were taken with the sun much lower in the sky. I'm thinking the angle of the sun has something to do with it. The problem with that theory is, sample three was taken on an overcast day 😡

Any guesses as to the cause?

 

[Ash]

When I had that problem it was where the hinge held the back of the camera closed, by your right hand. But I wouldn't know with a Z4, since the back isn't hinged is it?

Try using a never-ready case, and see if you still get it, but chances are you need a patch on your curtain, the first one, since this leak would happen before the photo is taken.

 

[fidget]

Do the marks extend into the film rebate?
A possible cause (if not) is a gap between the curtains as the film is wound on. Try a few deliberate rewinds with the lens exposed to light, and a couple with the lens covered. That should eliminate/confirm this as a cause.

 

[lnemeth]

This looks the shutter curtain but it is worth trying to locate the exact source.
Normally when I want to find out where the light comes from, I load a cheap film in the camera and cover all sides of the camera except the one I want to test. Then I use my little light table and take 1 shot with the cap on (blank) then an extremely overexposed one (e.g. the light table switched on with aperture fully open and short shutter speed). Then I place the camera with the side I want to test on the lighttable for a while. Then an overexposed shot and a blank shot. Repeat with other sides of the camera doing the same process. Of course you need to remember the sequence of the sides or put it down. You will see easily which direction the light leaks from or will have enough evidence to find it out. This painful process is needed so that you can exactly locate the light leak frames.
One piece of advice if the source is not found is to keep the everready case on all the time. That will prevent most of the light leak problems. And that is cheaper than a repair.
Regards

 

[fidget]

I use a similar method to Inemeth, when trying a "new" camera, include a few blank frames in the first roll. I sometimes leave the camera in a bright place for a few minutes on one frame and maybe a couple of hours on another. This way you can be sure that any marks you can see on these frame come from leaks and not through the shutter.

 

[colyn]

My Fed 3 did that.
The problem was the curtains weren't capping properly.
The way to test it is to go into a dark room and with a small flashlight pointed into the cameras throat slowly advance the shutter while watching for light between the curtain edges. You may have to turn the camera to a slight angle to see it.

😱

 

[fraley]

Thanks everyone!

Colyn, I did as you suggested. The first turn of the advance knob did result in a gap between curtain edges that let light in -- matching the leak on the film. I aligned the metal strips of each curtain directly over each other, and pinched them together, then raised them up and down a little.

I took a test roll, making sure to twist one turn of the advance knob and pan the lens around a bit. No light leaks! I think I may have fixed it.

 

[colyn]

Thanks everyone!

Colyn, I did as you suggested. The first turn of the advance knob did result in a gap between curtain edges that let light in -- matching the leak on the film. I aligned the metal strips of each curtain directly over each other, and pinched them together, then raised them up and down a little.

I took a test roll, making sure to twist one turn of the advance knob and pan the lens around a bit. No light leaks! I think I may have fixed it.

I have 2 Fed 3's. The first was easy to fix by doing as you did. The other I had to remove the closing curtain and reglue it after moving it slightly. Whoever replaced the curtains did it right except they did not align the closing curtain with the scribe mark they made before removing the old curtain.

Lots of luck with it...