danrubin

Hi all! So, my favourite 67 camera has always exhibited a frustrating light leak since I've had it (happens on both my 67 and my 670, which initially made me think it was me, though that's since been ruled out by the tests below) — not on every frame, varies in intensity, and no discernible pattern (e.g. never on the same frames per-roll). The only consistent thing is that it's always the same spot on the frame. I don't get leaks on any other MF cameras, so I'm 99.9% certain it's not me loading or unloading (have loaded/unloaded in a darkroom and changing bag, which hasn't stopped the leaks), have tested both cameras in a completely dark room with a full roll each, shining a bright torch at every possible orifice, and had Aperture in London replace light seals and check the bellows an additional time. I don't shoot with a hood, so there the potential of stray light somehow bouncing around at a very specific angle through the lens, but the leak is always in the same place on the negative, and has perfectly straight edges. Aperture can't figure out what's wrong, and a few folks I know who also own Makinas have never seen this sort of leak before. I find it really odd that it's essentially the same leak on both models, seeing as I purchased them from different people and they're years apart (hence initially believing it was me, but I've only ever had a leak on one camera before — my Hasselblad 500C/M — and it was a faulty seal on the back, so I'm pretty confident in my abilities to load/unload film at this point :) Some rolls don't have any leaks, some have 1 or 2, others have 4 or 5. As you can see from the attached photos, the leaks appear even in shots without direct light anywhere near the camera or subject matter… Any thoughts would be most appreciated — I use the cameras on client work, and have spent quite a few hours retouching leaks out of some otherwise fantastic frames over the last few years… o_O:D