Zorki 4 light leaks

roby02091987 · Jun 10, 2014

Hello everyone!!

My zorki 4 has some light leaks, expecially when I shoot in very strong light, for example on a bright sunny day with snow on the ground.

Here's an example of the light leaks on a strip of film, I've circled the leaks in red.

Where do they come from?? How can I fix them?

Thanks In advance

best regards

P.S. sorry for my english, I hope I didn't make too much mistakes.

darkosaric · Jun 10, 2014

Hi,

zorki has cloth shutter - so it could be that sun leaks are going directly thru cloth. Try avoiding direct sun for long time when lens is without a cap.
This is btw my nightmare for Leica - that it will get light leaks from too strong sun - that is why I am trying to have a lens cap most of the time on the lens when the sun is bright.

Regards,

Kiev88user · Jun 10, 2014

Hi, it could be light leaking between the metal caps on the shutter blinds - you need to place the film in the camera upside down with the emulsion facing the lens to work out the exact place, then wind the shutter with a torch shining into the lens throat in a dark room to see if you can see light leaking past the capped shutter. It is tricky to fix. It also looks like you are getting some light leaking in on the edge of the film? Again hard to detect/fix but could be deterioration of the light seal between the camera body (which slides off the chassis once the various screws and self-timer handle + lens mount are removed.

Cheers,

Steve

AgX · Jun 10, 2014

Holes in shutter cutains would not expose beyond the frame edge, at least not with the inner of the artifact not yielding Dmax.

(Well, that might perhaps happen at a finder camera without a lens mounted.)

roby02091987 · Jun 11, 2014

Thanks everyone fot the answers!!

From now on, I'll try to put the lens cap everytime, expecially in strong light situations... but I do not think it's a curtain leak problem, because a part of the leak hit the area between one picture and the other... I think the leak occurre somewehere else.

I've checked the metal caps at the edge of each shutter curtain, in darkness with a flashlight: no signs of light leak.

AgX said:
Holes in shutter cutains would not expose beyond the frame edge, at least not with the inner of the artifact not yielding Dmax.

(Well, that might perhaps happen at a finder camera without a lens mounted.)

So... where do these leaks come from?

AgX · Jun 11, 2014

With a typical SLR I first would look at the hinge and its seal. In your case, look at the side of the take-up spool at the region between front- and back-cover where they slide at each other (I don't have me Zorki at hand, so I don't really know what I'm talking about...)

roby02091987 · Jun 11, 2014

For what I know... zorkis have all mechanical light seals, correct me if I'm wrong, so nothing to check.
For example my zorki 2c has no trace of foam light seals and has no light leaks at all.

I think light comes from some mechanical hole somewhere... but I do not know where to look...

AgX · Jun 11, 2014

A mechanical seal could be bent. I meant that to check.

A hole could be the result of falling on something pointed. But such defect should be obvious.
Could light enter from the front, through the mechanics?

Anyway, if it would be a light leak somewhere in the body, after sufficient time you should get artifact exposures of Dmax. Have you checked your negatives on that?
In case of doubt turn your camera around for some time in very strong light.

camtec · Jun 21, 2014

I see light contamination on the edges of the film, and I think I see that the second curtain is catching the first curtain. The left side of the negative appears lighter than the right. Can't really tell from the photos.

Zorki 4 light leaks

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