Nikon EM

[Greg Heath]

View attachment 11507 Dug out my wife's 1979 Nikon EM from the closet yesterday and gave it a good cleaning. About 5 years ago I tried shooting with it but kept getting the film back all fogged or double exposed. Not on the sides like light getting past the back door,but in the middle of the film. Last night I ran into an article on photo.net talking about how all Nikons leak light where the lens attaches.
I tried the technique on the "EM",and sure enough, light comes in on the side bottom where the lens attaches to body. The author indicated that all Nikons have suffered this,maybe except the F5. He indicated that he had tried this at a camera store as of late, and even the new cameras failed this.

The fix he indicated was to place a womens scrunci (scunci) around the lens where it attaches. I am going to try it this week and see if it works.
Any one know where to find camera seal foam for the back cover. I tried replacing mine several years ago, and have been using black electrical tape.

Greg

 

[John Koehrer]

View attachment 11507 about how all Nikons leak light where the lens attaches.
Greg

Ummmm, comments like "they all do that" should be taken with a grain of salt.

 

[dbonamo]

Never experience this issue with the Nikon's I own, em, F100 and F5 but your post makes me wonder, need to take another look.

As for foam, there was a source on eBay, the guy sold kits. I purchased one last year for a RB67 film back and adapter.

It was reasonable, about 12.00 I had enough to do 2 backs with some left over.

Search this site, I think there are some posts referencing the seller.

 

[votrepear]

I have shot with Nikon for over 30 years many different bodies and this is the first time I have ever heard of this problem.

 

[bobwysiwyg]

I have shot with Nikon for over 30 years many different bodies and this is the first time I have ever heard of this problem.

+1

 

[Mike Kennedy]

Interslice light seal replacement kits made by Jon Goodman.Best around!You can buy them on ebay.
Nikon user for 12 years.Their only defect was the idiot behind the lens.

 

[Greg Heath]

Ummmm, comments like "they all do that" should be taken with a grain of salt.

I agree...

Sounds like hogwash doesn't it. ??

I would normally agree. But I have a camera that's leaking light and ruining my film..

So I tried what he said.. Maybe it will work. The camera does in fact leak light around the mount...on my camera. Maybe it's one in a million, maybe it's true. I used an LED penlight.

I am not a trusting fellow. I tried it and "he" was correct. Maybe he's right.
Maybe he's not, but I tried it and it does let light through. So I will try what he said and see if it works.

Sort of like along the lines of below.

Kind of like drilling a hole through the end of your exhaust pipes on your bike, and inserting a long bolt to break up the sonic back flow of gases which will net you increased horsepower. Does it work..?

Try it.

Greg...

 

[Greg Heath]

Interslice light seal replacement kits made by Jon Goodman.Best around!You can buy them on ebay.
Nikon user for 12 years.Their only defect was the idiot behind the lens.

Thank you for the link...I will give it a shot..

Greg

 

[PHOTOTONE]

I have Nikon F, Nikkormat F, Nikon F2, Nikon FE, FM2, and used to own an EM. I have never experienced any type of light leaks with any of them, and collectively they have had thousands of rolls put thru them. It may be an "age" thing, perhaps some internal light-blocking foam has dried up around the lens mount?

 

[TheFlyingCamera]

Perhaps it was endemic to EMs, which have never been highly regarded within the Nikon family. I used to sell cameras, and in the hundreds of Nikons of all ilks that I sold, and the hundreds more that came through our store for service, I never once heard about a light leak at the lensmount. Door? yes. Lensmount? no. That would have been a significant enough manufacturing defect to relegate Nikon to fourth-class camera maker (I've not even heard of a similar problem with Soviet-era Russian cameras!).

 

[Jim Jones]

Like others above I've used a dozen or more Nikons over a 40 year span, and have never encountered this problem.

 

[Marc Akemann]

I believe this is the photo.net thread the op was talking about:
http://photo.net/nikon-camera-forum/003yN8 .

Personally, I've been shooting with Nikons for many years and have used many of the models (all the F's except the F6, Nikkormats, FM, FM2n, FE, FE2, FA, EM, N-8008, N-80 and even an S and S2...) and I've never heard of this light leak problem.

The photo.net thread is almost 6 years old. If this so-called problem was important, all Nikon users would have heard something by now.

Marc

 

[Christiaan Phleger]

Yeah, , 4 F4's, 4 F3's 3 F's, 1 F2, 2 FM2's, 3 Nikkormats, 1 N90's, 2 N8008's, over 20 years constant use in the strong Hawaiian sunlight, and I Never seen this at all.

Page 65 of Moose's Nikon Handbook has a Nikon supplied photo of the F4's light leak test, so I would imagine if Nikon went to all the trouble of designing a test for light leaks, the light leak in question is not really a problem.

I mean, with an EM? That's like stating that a Holga has a crappy lens.

"ALL Nikons have a defective shutter, when you stick your thumb into it when changing film the shutter breaks, Must Be a Defect". (rolls eyes).

 

[PhotoJim]

I had an EM for a few years, and the only light leak issue I had with it was the day I opened the back before I rewound the film.

 

[Greg Heath]

Thanks for everyone's input. Not doubting Nikon. Just want to solve the problem. Took the camera to NY and Back tonight, and took some photos so will see if there is still a problem. Who knows, maybe at some time the camera was dropped. Maybe I need to get the foam redone. Maybe I will just put it back on the shelf, and forget about it. I am glad nobody has had trouble with their cameras. This was more a thread about "how can I fix my camera so that the film doesn't fog"...rather than a challenge to everyone who has a Nikon to defend their position and their history with Nikon.
I am trying to work the "problem" and find a solution. The EM and my pinholes are ALL I have for a camera(s) right now, so I am just trying to start basic and work up. They were free, so I am using them.

Thanks,

Greg

 

[Marc Akemann]

I wonder if, as you mentioned, the camera took a tumble at some point. Did your wife acquire the EM new? If so, was there a problem then, too? Does she still have negatives or slides from when she first used it that you could look at?

It's difficult to diagnose a faulty camera on a forum, although it is good to ask others if they've had similar problems as you have had. Also, you said the exposed/processed film looked 'fogged and double exposed'. Maybe it's a film advance problem. I would simply take your EM to a camera repair shop. It'll save you time and film.

I've purchased Jon Goodman's light seal kits in the past and you'll most definitely get what you pay for, and then some.

Lastly, some of us Nikon users get a little defensive when some crazy story comes along knocking our beloved cameras down a notch. But think about it. How many billions of images have come from Nikon cameras over the past several decades. Thousands of images made with Nikon cameras have graced covers of magazines, have covered billboards, have been in galleries around the world and are in family albums (and shoe boxes) just about everywhere on the planet. And then someone comes along and tells us all our Nikons leak light? We're not good at handling that kind of news. Sorry.

Marc

 

[wotalegend]

I have D1X, D100, F2, F3, F5, F100, F75, FE, FM2N, FM10, and even a Kiev 19 (Ukrainian SLR with Nikon mount). Not even the much-maligned FM10 nor the "cheap and nasty" Kiev has such a light leak, and I have never heard of it before. In my opinion, a statement such as "all Nikons leak light where the lens attaches" should be taken with a ton of salt, not just a grain.

 

[Greg Heath]

Hi Marc,

My wife got the camera new...in 1979. Maybe it was damaged. It does not look damaged. She does not have any negatives or slides. It's her camera. She got it as a gift, said thanks..and it's been on her shelf for years. It's worth more to her for sentimental reasons, than for it's worth.
I thought I could use it and then found a problem with it. Being not afraid to figure out how things work and try to fix it myself, I tried using it, with the light leak problems. The camera will never go in the trash, so it needs to be fixed.

I took the camera to the airshow at Oshkosh a couple of years ago, and was shooting the cockpit instrument panel of a Spitfire and some other exterior shots, and most if not all of them came back with blotches of White on them, and streaks of white light. Ruling out apparitions (joking), I shot some more pictures and they came back the same. It reminded me of a picture that I had seen of an "EM" camera on Flickr with the same problem. When I googled EM camera and light leaks, I got the article on Photo.net, which in hindsight, I didn't check the article date, as it was late and I was tired. The author of the article indicated his camera was leaking around the lens mount and he described the manner in which HIS leaked. Maybe his was a piece of S--T. I tried it on my camera and found the same thing, so I figured I would post something looking for a solution to my problem. I added the pictures because it's easier than describing the problem.

If I can hold the camera and shine a red LED squeeze light at the bottom of the mount with the lens attached, and see it come through from the back of the camera with the back open and the shutter in "Bulb" mode/shutter open then light is finding it's way into MY camera, and onto the film,obviously not through the lens. Maybe this is normal. I have no idea. Maybe the camera was dropped, I have no idea.

I will try out Jon Goodman's light seal kit. Maybe that will fix the problem. I first wanted to rule out the lens. So I put the band around the lens and flew to NY tonight and back to Wisconsin. Took allot of high altitude photos in very bright conditions, so if the camera leaks, then it will be noticeable because of the camera back. I am half way through the film, so tomorrow I will take the band off and tape the seams with electrical tape. If it leaks either way, I will find out. The first 20 shots have the band around the lens. The other 16 will be with the band off, and the seams taped.

I don't think ALL Nikons leak light. I just know mine does, and this place is the best, because ALL of you guys use them everyday. I thought someone might be able to point me in the right direction for finding a fix for this Cheap, Free, "EM". Maybe my post wasn't worded with that in mind.
Seems like a waste to let it sit on the shelf.
Plus I don't give in easy, and I'm a stubborn bastard...just ask my wife.

I do appreciate the links and ideas for fixing it. I guess I can see based on the article that people might get all worked up,because it was an article that someone was bashing Nikons. My intent was to find a cheap fix for my camera. I figure if he says HIS leaked light, and mine did too, someone might be able to help me get mine working. I think that I got shot as the messenger of the article.
So instead of being offended, can someone just go shine an LED light at the lens mount at the bottom with the back of door to the camera open and the shutter open, and let me know if this is normal?
Apparently by the responses, it's not normal. Maybe the band will work, door foam or another solution.
If the fixes work then I will use it, if it doesn't then back up on the shelf it will go.

Greg

 

[Marc Akemann]

Okay Greg. I did the light test with my FM2N. My other Nikons have film in them, otherwise I'd check them, too. So,...LED light, totally dark room, 50/1.8 AIS Nikkor attached, shutter set to 'B' and locked open with a cable release, with the film door removed. No light leak. And I went 360 around the mount.

Now that I've done this, you've just won some kind of bet, didn't you?

One other suggestion: Do the light leak test with a different lens mounted to your EM. Preferably with a regular Nikkor and not an E lens. Maybe it's not the camera.

Marc

 

[Christiaan Phleger]

Maybe the body was dropped with a lens mounted, causing a crack where the mount meets the body..

 

[Greg Heath]

Okay Greg. I did the light test with my FM2N. My other Nikons have film in them, otherwise I'd check them, too. So,...LED light, totally dark room, 50/1.8 AIS Nikkor attached, shutter set to 'B' and locked open with a cable release, with the film door removed. No light leak. And I went 360 around the mount.

Now that I've done this, you've just won some kind of bet, didn't you?

One other suggestion: Do the light leak test with a different lens mounted to your EM. Preferably with a regular Nikkor and not an E lens. Maybe it's not the camera.

Marc

No won bets ..but I appreciate you helping me. I will mount the other lens and see what happens.

 

[TheFlyingCamera]

Try tightening the lens mounting plate on the camera body and on the back of the lens. If the lens mount is not in tight alignment to the body, it could be the source of the leak, by creating a gap. Same with the rear of the lens. You wouldn't notice any effect on the focusing because it's an SLR - you're focusing to the appearance of focus in the viewfinder, not to a fixed distance like you would with a rangefinder or scale focus camera.

 

[Arvee]

I just checked an F2, F4S, FM2n, and an FE with AI, AIS and NAI lenses. No leaks. Has to be another problem, perhaps as Flying Camera suggested.

-Fred

 

[Greg Heath]

Thanks for the help. I posted a short movie on my Mac Gallery..
Just wondered if it is normal for a camera to do this?
I looked at the mounting plate on the camera body and the back of the lens and they are both snug.

So I just don't know.



http://gallery.me.com/kb2qqm#100207

Greg

 

[Arvee]

I'm thinking it is related to the Series E lens. Nikon made quite a few changes to lighten the lens and keep costs down. Manufacturing shortcuts may have opened up a possibility for a light leak.

I believe the mounts on the cameras are pretty much the same. I would be looking closely at the Series E lens for possible gaps or light leaking in through the internals of the lens itself rather than the mount.

Try an AI or AIS lens.

-Fred