Leica iii light leak

darinwc · Mar 14, 2021

First roll fine with my Leica.
Unfortunately there appears to be a light leak.
1 it is not in every frame. About a third of the images.
2 it is in almost the exact same location.
3 it is in the lower right of the frame.. that would make it in the upper right of the camera.
Does not appear to be a pinhole, or a shirt bounce. Could light leak in from the viewfinder?

davela · Mar 14, 2021

What is the physical condition of the shutter curtains? The Leica III is a very old camera and many have seriously deteriorated curtains.

awty · Mar 14, 2021

darinwc said:
View attachment 269435 Could light leak in from the viewfinder?

Probably, not sure how to fix that one, but looks like its coming from that area, be some detailed fix on the internet.
Easy to check shutter curtains by taking the case off and shining a light through it.
I just got my iiif back from replacing the curtains, just loaded a roll of d3200, so any leaks will certainly show up on that.

Pieter12 · Mar 14, 2021

For what it's worth I am aware of a few M5s that have a similar intermittent light leak, but in the lower left corner. On the M5, it seems to come from the rangefinder window so your diagnosis of a leak from the viewfinder might well be correct.

Ko.Fe. · Mar 14, 2021

Common mistake is too look at the scans. While you have to look at entire negative.

outwest · Mar 15, 2021

And to determine if it was exposed while in taking position or on the feed or takeup side. It's fun. Seems I remember reading something about a leak around the slow speed dial.

cullah · Mar 15, 2021

Hi,
I just had my m6ttl for a similar lightleak.Mine was sent to Leica and came back the other day. They put a new bottom on the camera to fix things . So far, so good
l

Don_ih · Mar 15, 2021

There's almost no way for there to be any light leak from the top of the camera. I assume you don't have a screw missing in the front - that could cause a light leak. The shutter curtain is a likely culprit - it may be leaking at the top. Something could be a little bent - say if someone stuck their finger in there to play around (a lot can happen over 80 years). It doesn't look like a case of a deteriorated curtain. Check to see that the curtains are closing properly.

darinwc · Mar 16, 2021

I will run another test roll through... But that sounds likely to be the problem. If light is going up and over the curtain, perhaps that would make that repeating shape.

Don_ih · Mar 16, 2021

At any rate, you will likely need the camera serviced. If you don't need the curtain replaced, the repair will be cheaper - but whoever does it will still have to take the camera almost fully apart. It could be a problem with the track the curtain runs in or the mechanism might need cleaning and lubricaion. There could be a sun burn hole in the curtain - you would be able to see that. It takes no time for the curtain to get a hole when the aperture's open wide and the lens is facing the sun. I have a Leica IIIb that someone must've had on a shelf watching the sunrise or sunset - the shutter curtain had a very nice arc burned through it. i got that curtain replaced by Youxin Ye.

agfarapid · Mar 16, 2021

Are you bulk loading? Your cassettes might be the issue.

outwest · Mar 17, 2021

So show us the entire negative. Does the leak extend past the frame?

flx · Jan 17, 2022

Hi !

I joined this forum because when I searched for "leica III light leak" this post and the image included was the first result and stroke me as my Leica IIIg just decided to display the exact same pattern on my pictures

Did you ended up finding what was the source of the light leak?

Also as it was ask here a photo of the negative, you can see the pattern spread on multiple pictures.

It is some time very strong and burn completely the image and sometime it is very light and almost invisible on the pictures (and sometime not here at all for many pictures).

I have the feeling that the presence and strongness depends of how long I let the camera in the sun before the next picture. Often very strong on the last picture of the day where then the camera sat until I was motivated to take pictures next day and very strong on multiple pictures when I was hiking in the sun with the camera hanging.

Mr Flibble · Jan 17, 2022

A 'white' leak on the positive, would suggest the leak is exposing the emulsion side of the film.

My first suspects would be the strap lug (if your camera has them) on the take-up spool side, or the screws around the top cover that bolts it to the shell.

Second guess would be the slow-speeds dial

flx · Jan 17, 2022

I had not thought about the strap lug before but it could make sense with the pattern and how I carry the camera. When walking I always have it hanging diagonally on my torso, strap over right shoulder, so most of the weight on the right lug. That may also explains why this did not show in my test films before to use it in an actual travel.

flx · Jan 17, 2022

Another thing that let me think it happens on the spool, if you look at my photo or the photo from @darinwc you can see 2 levels of light leak, like if the second one went through a first layer, a lot lighter and diffused.
But mostly if you look at my negative pic, on the 20A, you can see the printing of the light leak through the sprockets of another layer of film.

gone · Jan 17, 2022

Could it be light leakage from the viewfinder, or those little deals that screw in to cover the RF holes? Either from inside it, or out? It appears the light leak is from that area.

hashtagquack · Jan 17, 2022

I've got the same leak in my iiiG although not quite as pronounced as this. I havent had a chance to properly investigate but my initial investigation showed a tiny piece of vulcanite missing near the slow speed dial. When exposed to direct light it casted a little light into the take up spool region of the camera, which matches the marks seen on the film. i.e the spool clip. What is the condition of your vulcanite? Maybe open up the bottom plate and shine a torch around the camera to see if you can localise the region which is causing the issue. Would love to see where yours is as it gives me somewhere else to check on mine

flx · Jan 17, 2022

Thanks for the answers everyone.

momus said:
Could it be light leakage from the viewfinder, or those little deals that screw in to cover the RF holes? Either from inside it, or out? It appears the light leak is from that area.

It could and it was my first idea but the fact that I can see sprockets inprinted on the negative means for me that there are multiple layers where the light leak touch the film:

hashtagquack said:
I've got the same leak in my iiiG although not quite as pronounced as this. I havent had a chance to properly investigate but my initial investigation showed a tiny piece of vulcanite missing near the slow speed dial. When exposed to direct light it casted a little light into the take up spool region of the camera, which matches the marks seen on the film. i.e the spool clip. What is the condition of your vulcanite? Maybe open up the bottom plate and shine a torch around the camera to see if you can localise the region which is causing the issue. Would love to see where yours is as it gives me somewhere else to check on mine

I tried again to do it insisting on the low speed dial but haven't succeed to see anything inside. Even tried to move thing and press on them but nothing conclusive... Sometime it's bit hard because I think I see some light but trying to localize it I find in comes from the open plate...

Vulcanite is not in great shape, has small cracks and crumble a little but I wasn't thinking to replace it because it was only aesthetic for me and only small things. I bought this IIIg to use it and not be afraid to scratch it.
On my IIIc I replaced the vulcanite by a leatherette because giant pieces were ungluing and I was afraid that the vulcanite would stay in my hand while the camera kiss the ground. But never had a light leak issue.

Here are the defect I can see on the vulcanite:

My next recourse was to drop it to the well known Parisian shop specialized in old Leica for them to try to fix it (and cla while at it but I don't think it needs it, it's already a lot smoother than my IIIc) but if the fix is to change the vulcanite I can do it myself and order a leatherette from Japan...

Note that on the 3 films I shot with it during my travel the frequency and quantity of appearance of the light leak varies a lot so something must trigger it. Maybe an angle to the sun or pressing on something...
Of course on the test film I did before it did not happened at all...

BAC1967 · Jan 17, 2022

There are some light baffles in the camera that could be out of place or missing from a past CLA or someone tinkering with it. Look at the 5th drawing on the web site below, those are the baffles I’m talking about. The one to the left of the lens could possibly cause the leak if it’s out of place.

http://rick_oleson.tripod.com/index-154.html

flx · Jan 18, 2022

Wo very interesting, thanks @BAC1967 !
To my eye they seem to their place but as I don't know how they should be positioned hard to say what is normal or not. At least they don't move.

My feeling about this camera was that it had not served a lot during its life, probably stored most of its life (probably not in perfect condition, so the vulcanite crumbling). Seller was a pro selling all kind of random stuff and had it listed as "Leica DBP", wasn't aware of what it was... So at least this camera was out of the enthusiast circuit for some time. So not sure this IIIg have seen a cla in its life.
For comparison my IIIc has been extensively used (was probably a journalist camera from 1941 to 1957) and you feel the difference when using it, all dials surface are a lot smoother on the skin while mechanism are not as smooth, chrome display some polish or even total wear, etc.

flx · Jan 18, 2022

In the meantime I tried a little reconstitution to try to understand where that could come from.

So on the 2 positions possible, the first one:

I don't believe this is where it happens, because it could mean the light leak propagate inside, outside and on the window of the frame.

Next position when advancing film:

With the consideration that at this place where I have the diagonal light leak on my photo is exactly the place the film is crossing the camera from the back to the front.

Which after a lot of tries to get this picture would give that as an alignment:

Wouldn't this diagonal light leak be casted in shape by the shadow of this?

I hope I never need to rescan this piece of film

hashtagquack · Jan 18, 2022

Well after another look, it appears the curvature of the take up spool clip doesnt actually match the curve of the light leak so there goes my initial theory. Also I did try my torch test again and typically, the missing vulcanite around the slow speed dial does not appear to leak light now. I did spot a leak however as indicated in this photo but still not confident that this area is the reason... As for your suggestion, I cant say for sure but Im glad to see someone is trying to get to the bottom of this. I await other Leica experts to weigh in with their suggestions.

eli griggs · Feb 6, 2022

Try a laser pointer over small area searches.

Robbie Bedell · Feb 20, 2022

I have had light leaks in two of my IIIg cameras. I solved both by wrapping several wraps of thin black yarn behind the slow speed dial, wrapped between the chrome and the vulcanite. In both instances the leak completly vanished.

Leica iii light leak

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