Trying to diagnose this light leak on my Leica M6

GxAce · Oct 24, 2017

Greetings!

I've been having a problem with what seems to be a mysterious light leak on my Leica M6. It appears as a large oval shaped section of low contrast in the center of the frame.

It does not seem to happen only in situations with harsh light where i would think a light leak would be worse, and it doesn't happen very often so it's a bit hard for me to diagnose.

It has happened with several different lenses too. I was wondering if it could be a development issue? I thought it might be a problem with the way I was scanning them on my Epson v700, but it appears to be on the negative.

Thanks for any help!

Casey

MattKing · Oct 24, 2017

That looks like it might be a problem with bleaching and/or fixing.
Can we see a photo of the backlit negatives?

GxAce · Oct 24, 2017

MattKing said:
That looks like it might be a problem with bleaching and/or fixing.
Can we see a photo of the backlit negatives?

Here is a shot of that negative plus the few after it that have a similar issue. These are being processed at a local lab in a minilab machine.

Sirius Glass · Oct 24, 2017

Go in a dark closet, open the back of the camera and move a flashlight around and see what appears through the back. The turn the camera around and shine the light in the back and see if any light leaks out the front.

Theo Sulphate · Oct 24, 2017

There was a similar light leak reported here a few months ago - the leak was from one of the rangefinder windows, I think.

Put the camera on B, trip the shutter while holding the release down, and then shine a light around the viewfinder and rangefinder windows while looking through the back (with back door flipped up). Best to be in a closet.

Ron789 · Oct 24, 2017

The "fog" extends outside the negative frames, between the exposures. That would indicate to me that it's not light coming from the front of the camera. So it's either a light leak from the back of the camera (seems unlikely to me as the light would need to pass through the film to reach the emulsion side) or (more likely to me) a processing issue, like incomplete bleaching or fixing. See what happens when you bleach and fix the film once again.

Sirius Glass · Oct 24, 2017

Check the light seals for the camera back.

David Jones · Oct 25, 2017

I am not familiar with your particular camera but the thin seals along the back of the camera don't cause trouble. where the film is wound on to the take up spool is where it is most vulnerable. The most important seals are at this side of the camera. Try using the camera in an ever ready type case that covers the sides and see if the trouble goes.

Dave

Ron789 · Oct 25, 2017

Dave, the Leica M6 loads the film by removing the baseplate and opening / closing a small rectangular "door" in the back of the camera. There are no seals at the side of the camera, so that cannot be the problem. The construction and film loading of a Leica M is fundamentally different from all other camera's. No camera back swinging open.

GregW · Oct 25, 2017

B/c the leak goes over the frame lines I think it's occurring on the take up side. Look online for strap lug light leak M6. There's also apparently a pad on some M6's to prevent brassing from the strap and if it is removed it can cause a leak. Google that phrase and you'll find what I am referring to.

Theo Sulphate · Oct 26, 2017

I don't think it's a processing issue because each frame has a distinct pattern. A processing problem would extend uniformly across the frames.

This is similar to an earlier problem where the light leak came from the viewfinder/rangefinder windows and down into the camera.

Right, there is no "back" nor any "side seals" on Leica rangefinders because they load through the bottom.

Need to go into a closet with flashlight, shutter held open, and rear-door of camera held open.

GxAce · Nov 13, 2017

Thank you everyone!

I think I've found the issue! It seems to be the light seals around the shutter curtains. The light is very dim, which is why I didn't see it the first time I checked, but there is definitely light getting into the back of the camera from the top and bottom of the shutter curtain.

Trying to diagnose this light leak on my Leica M6

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