Should there be light seals in the grooves?

f/16 · Apr 1, 2015

Last weekend I got a good deal on Ebay this Praktica LB and lens(next month I'll look for a Kiev). I want to relplace the light seals(I've never done that before). Are there supposed to be seals in those grooves where the red arrows are?

chip j · Apr 1, 2015

My recently re-sealed Nikkormat doesn't have seals there--it's lightproff bare.

Sewin · Apr 2, 2015

I like my Prakticas.

The light seals on most of Prakticas comprise of a felt or foam seal at the hinge with some having string in the closure slots where you show the red arrows.

Leave the slots,mine do appear to have string set really deep, just change the hinge foam if you need to.

But I'd put a film through it first. I've a few old Prakticas and all are light tight with no gummy crumbly seals and they all have that vertical metal shutter, which is more than can be said about other 35mm cameras which I've had to change sticky messy foam seals on.

Sewin

pentaxpete · Apr 2, 2015

I just had a look a MY LB and it does have sealing in those grooves but I replaced only the door hinge ones cut from a sheet of foam I got for 86 pence ( British money) from a Craft Shop.

Sewin · Apr 2, 2015

pentaxpete said:
I just had a look a MY LB and it does have sealing in those grooves but I replaced only the door hinge ones cut from a sheet of foam I got for 86 pence ( British money) from a Craft Shop.

Just checked mine again, yes they do have the string deep in the grooves.

pdeeh · Apr 2, 2015

Groove is in the Heart, baby

RalphLambrecht · Apr 2, 2015

f/16 said:
Last weekend I got a good deal on Ebay this Praktica LB and lens(next month I'll look for a Kiev). I want to relplace the light seals(I've never done that before). Are there supposed to be seals in those grooves where the red arrows are?

View attachment 106399

no,it's a light trap as is

Sewin · Apr 2, 2015

Yes,

Good old Prakticas! "Praise the Praktica"

I don't care if people dismiss them as ugly and unreliable, I'm no camera snob and mine work. A light tight mechanical box with no fancy bits.

I have a few from L2, via PLC3, etc up to BC1 and don't have any problems with them and the ones that have meters they work.

I particularly like the L series with the metal shutters and the shutter release is just in the right position for me.

Quick loading film mechanism too.

What's not to like about them :confused:

RalphLambrecht · Apr 2, 2015

mine was bought new from hard-earned money in 1972;lasted justone week then the shutter was stuck and never came back to life;made me hate Praktika,buy a Nikon and have be happy ever since!East German junk.

Sewin · Apr 2, 2015

I've had a Nikon fail on me in the past having a dodgy meter and other problems, o.k it was only an EM maybe not a proper Nikon, but it failed.

Pentaxes have let me down with poor cloth shutters, light leaks and rubbish light seals and ill fitting M42 lenses.

I'll stick with my German cameras, Praktica, Exakta, Zeiss Ikon folders etc for the time being, they keep going.

Dare I mention my Russian rangefinders

Ricardo Miranda · Apr 2, 2015

The EM is a "proper" Nikon. I have 8 bodies that work very well.
Yes, the EM has a design problem with the meter. The "track" is under the front fascia. Dust can and will get in there. It is not difficult to clean it. It was the same with the Nikkrmats and other Nikons of the time. And this only occurs to cameras that have been left in cupboards or otherwise left without use for a long time.
Used regularly and well looked after, the EM doesn't give any problems.

I have a Praktica MTL3 that works very well apart the self timer.

Any camera can fail if not treated and maintained properly.

Sewin · Apr 2, 2015

I did like my EM, I remember I had to have the one with the silver ring lens as it was supposedly better, bought it in 1982, paid 50p a week to the shop on easy terms. Although supposed to be automatic I think there was ways and means of operating it in a sort of manual mode.

Also had the motordrive. I even got a free Nikon jumper in the post after I bought it!

Mine unfortunately failed after only two years.

Before having the Nikon my brother in law gave me a free Praktica LLC, way back in the early 70's which I used semi professionally for a few years, the seed had been sown! It did have a hard life.

Please don't get me going back to yearning for Nikons I've enough Prakticas to get through!

Ricardo Miranda · Apr 2, 2015

Nice!
Yes, the EM can be "manipulated" to give additional features. Without batteries it has 3 mechanical "speeds": B, 1/90th and on Auto it is a mechanical 1/1000th.
Optically, there is no difference between the MkI black lenses and the MKII silver ring ones, not for the 50mm Series E.

Enjoy the Prakticas!

Sewin · Apr 2, 2015

And enjoy your EM's too!

(I see you have a Fed 2, me too, but I think this thread has side stepped just a bit from the OP's original question!)

Ricardo Miranda · Apr 2, 2015

Yeap, it has.
I like the Feds, especially the 2. People at first sight think it is a Leica.

E. von Hoegh · Apr 2, 2015

Sewin said:
I've had a Nikon fail on me in the past having a dodgy meter and other problems, o.k it was only an EM maybe not a proper Nikon, but it failed.

Pentaxes have let me down with poor cloth shutters, light leaks and rubbish light seals and ill fitting M42 lenses.

I'll stick with my German cameras, Praktica, Exakta, Zeiss Ikon folders etc for the time being, they keep going.

Dare I mention my Russian rangefinders

Nobody has to believe this... BUT... I've never had a camera fail on me. Or near me. by "fail' I mean stop working while I was taking pictures with it. I've bought or had given to me non-functional cameras, mostly they came back to life with a bit of TLC. The latest is a free Rollei Automat. Machines need to be maintained, else they stop functioning - it really is that simple.

f/16 · Apr 3, 2015

Sewin said:
I like my Prakticas.

But I'd put a film through it first. I've a few old Prakticas and all are light tight with no gummy crumbly seals and they all have that vertical metal shutter, which is more than can be said about other 35mm cameras which I've had to change sticky messy foam seals on.

Sewin

Yes I'm going to load film in it tonight and try it this weekend. If there is no evidence of light leaks, I'll probably leave it alone for now.

Sewin · Apr 3, 2015

E. von Hoegh said:
Nobody has to believe this... BUT... I've never had a camera fail on me. Or near me. by "fail' I mean stop working while I was taking pictures with it. I've bought or had given to me non-functional cameras, mostly they came back to life with a bit of TLC. The latest is a free Rollei Automat. Machines need to be maintained, else they stop functioning - it really is that simple.

Well,

You can believe it or not. I liked my EM, but the meter stopped working when I was out using it, then the shutter started playing up and it was well looked after.

E. von Hoegh · Apr 3, 2015

Sewin said:
Well,

You can believe it or not. I liked my EM, but the meter stopped working when I was out using it, then the shutter started playing up and it was well looked after.

The Nikon EM is a borderline piece of crap, made to a price for consumers. Sorry, but the last real Nikon was the F2. I don't accumulate pieces of crap, that's likely why I have such good 'luck' with cameras.

Ricardo Miranda · Apr 3, 2015

E. von Hoegh said:
The Nikon EM is a borderline piece of crap, made to a price for consumers. Sorry, but the last real Nikon was the F2. I don't accumulate pieces of crap, that's likely why I have such good 'luck' with cameras.

There is no need for that sort of language, is there?

Yes, it was made for beginners and people used to compacts, mums and dads who just wanted something simpler with a few interchangeable lenses.
And it was made to a lower price point.
Some economies were made, but the shutter was pretty much the same as the FE, even the ability to use mirror up with the self timer was there. Same as it was with the Nikkormats.
The internal body was made from the same metal as the F3. The shell was a new type of plastic that Nikon has been using (with refinements) for many models after the EM.
And there was a great level of attention paid to details: as an example the meter needle normally rests in a tiny piece of foam so it doesn't bounce or gets damaged when the meter shuts off.
Every EM sold new came with the same type of plastic protective bottom plate as the one used on other Nikons. And every new one was delivered with 2 manuals: the normal manual and a basic photography booklet with tips and teaching beginners how to get the best out of their new camera.

In Japan, Nikon promoted the camera in schools and camera clubs. They had a magazine-like made specially for it: "EM Image".

Have a guess as to what camera this image comes from:

Yeap, that is the EM once you strip the top, front plate and bottom covers.

No one expects that a SLR be in top shape after 30 years., but I do have 8 Nikon EM that are as good as new. One or two are even in mint condition.
And I use them a lot.

RalphLambrecht · Apr 8, 2015

I bought an EM in 1985 but switched to an FM a year later.Well they got me back to Nikon and were all I had until i took the plunge in 1995 and invested in a Hasselblas,which still works like new today.

f/16 · Apr 17, 2015

The camera did well. Even though the light seals are just about gone, there was no evidence of leaks. I even took a shot with the lens cap on, held shutter open for several seconds, and shined a flashlight all over it. That shot was completely black. Here are a few. I threw away the rest of the slides they were just test shots. I took these with the 50 2.8 that came with the camera and a Nikon 4t. Copied with a DSLR.

Should there be light seals in the grooves?

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