Film Cameras: Diagnosing Light Leaks

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Table of Contents:
The light leak I ran into (0:35)
How to troubleshoot a light leak (1:51)
Analyzing the light leak on the film (2:58)
Ruling out the camera & film pack (4:54)
Testing the polaroid holder (7:01)
Attempting to seal up the holder (8:16)
New pictures! (11:50)
RZ67 light leak (12:53)
Getting new light seals (13:48)

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Light leaks can be rad. A good ol’ hipster portrait in the middle of the desert with a big streak of light across it...yeah that’s good stuff. But light leaks lose their charm pretty quick when they keep ruining $15 exposures again and again and again. And that’s exactly what I ran into recently as I attempted to photograph some hawk feathers and a bison skull using New55 film and a Polaroid 545i film holder.

Even if you don’t shoot 4x5 large format or peel-apart film, if you use a film camera older than a decade there’s a good chance you’ll encounter a pesky light leak at some point. And when it comes to diagnosing the source of the leak, it pays to take a methodical and logical approach so as to minimize wasted film and endless red-herring chases.

So when it came time to finally track down the leak on my 4x5 peel-apart system, I first broke it down to 3 likely culprits: the camera, the Polaroid holder, or the film pack. Then I could run tests on each one separately, starting first with the camera.

I ran a similar troubleshooting procedure on a light leak with my Mamiya RZ67, first eliminating film mishandling as the source, then eliminating the camera before nailing down the deteriorating light seals on the film back as the culprit. After replacing the seals, the leak was gone.

By the way, check out https://uscamera.com for excellent light seal kits covering all sorts of camera models as well as a wide selection of camera manuals and replacement parts.

Website: https://www.nickcarverphotography.com
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