My XA light seals are crumbling

Markok765 · Mar 15, 2009

But I don't see any light leaks on my photos, should I continue to use this camera?

Andy K · Mar 15, 2009

Get a seal kit from Interslice on e*ay. Replace the seals. It is easy.

Markok765 · Mar 15, 2009

Do they have XA specific kits or will I have to cut my own foam?

Carlb · Mar 15, 2009

The kits contain strips of material for the seals. You just cut them to length and either push them or stick them into place. It's dead easy to do - if I can do it without making a complete mess of things then I'm sure anyone can. John supplies very good instructions with his kits

Markok765 · Mar 15, 2009

They are all still there, but in bad condition. Would you say I can still use the XA while waiting for the light seals to come? I did a light test but I have to finish the film first to develop it. I'm going the interslice route.

BetterSense · Mar 15, 2009

Use it as long as it's not leaking. You can try to keep the camera out of direct sunlight and in a bag when your are not using it.

I also recommend interslice. I bought his small kit and have done a handful of cameras with it.

Excalibur2 · Mar 16, 2009

Well I was reading you can seal with strands of wool, and IIRC some camera manufacturers did use some sort of fibres. Well when you come to think of it, what did they use before "plastic" foam was invented.

http://photo.net/classic-cameras-forum/00SVtt

elekm · Mar 16, 2009

European camera makers designed their backs so that they would block light without the need for other materials.

Some camera makers used yarn as a light blocking material for the top deck.

In general, you'll rarely find a European camera with foam. Even today, you can count on one hand the number of German cameras that use foam to block light.

Japanese camera makers began to use foam in the 1960s.

The most difficult part of old foam is removing it. If it's beginning to crumble, I would stop using the camera until you can get it replaced. The reason is that you don't want any chunks or tiny pieces to get into the mechanisms.

Blighty · Mar 16, 2009

Markok765 said:
Do they have XA specific kits or will I have to cut my own foam?

Hiya Marko,
Just order the kit and do it yourself. Mr. Goodman provides instructions online for certain cameras - the XA series amongst them. It's a very easy job to do 'coz I just re-sealed my XA2 a few weeks back. Regards, B.

My XA light seals are crumbling

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