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markwilk

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  1. Appreciate everyone's responses/feedback. Sorry for the delay in getting back...I've been out of town for couple weeks. The results from my follow-up test roll (brand new Kodak Ultramax 400) confirmed that the problem is definitely in the camera body somewhere. The issue was not the old film I used for the first test, nor was it the lens. I shot an entire roll in my backyard within 20 minutes, basically pointing at the same scene. I varied my hand position (covering areas I thought might be responsible for the leak), I tried covering the entire camera under a towel while advancing the film, I tried shooting from under a patio umbrella and out under the 1pm sun on a cloudless day, I varied the shutter speed and aperture, and I even shot a few with the lens cap on. The best results that I got were when I shot/advanced under the patio umbrella...but even then I still saw some (minor) streaks on the film. In the end, the seller was very apologetic and agreed to take the camera back. So I guess it's time to start looking for my first Leica...again! :-)
  2. Richard: it does extend into the sprocket area. And I noticed that at the end of the roll, the streaks cross exposures. The white band in the upper right corner of the third picture I posted (the column + statue) actually started in the previous exposure. I decided to go ahead and test a brand new roll today (Kodak Ultramax 400). I laid out a variety of behaviors, based on some of the comments I've seen from people as they've tried to diagnose issues like this. Different shutter speeds and apertures, a couple pictures with the lens cap on, keeping the camera covered or lens cap on while advancing the film. I also took several pictures with the reverse lever covered (since I think I saw a little light in that area when checking for leaks). I dropped it off at my local camera shop, and they will process it tonight. I'll check back tomorrow and see what I find. I'm still holding out hope that it was just a problem with the original film canister. We'll see.
  3. I just spent some time with my camera in the basement bathroom...since it's the darkest room in the house. :-) I took the bottom off the camera and with a small LED flashlight, I aimed the beam up into the camera. I did my best to seal the light off at the bottom by using my hand. And I waited. After several minutes, unless my mind was playing tricks on me, I'm sure I saw a speck of light coming from the reverse lever (see photo). I could move my finger over the lever and the speck of light would disappear. Could this be the problem? It sort of makes sense. The last two exposures (one of which I included in my original post) had very little, if any, of the light streak. These were taken from under the shade of a tree, and I could have been covering the reverse lever with my finger, since I was holding the camera vertically. If that _IS_ the problem, what to do about it?
  4. Thanks for the replies and advice. A little history on the camera. I purchased it a little over a month ago (ebay) from a seller with good feedback, and he included the paperwork from a CLA that had been performed on the camera in 2018 by Mark Hansen (ZeissIkonRolleiRepair.com). This also included servicing the shutter and replacing the curtains. Because of all this, I was hoping not to experience shutter issues or light leaks. I could be wrong, though. I did just look through the lens, and I didn't notice any shiny surfaces. I'll search out how to test for light leaks. Thanks again.
  5. I just got the negatives back from my second roll through my Leica IIIc. (The first roll hasn't been developed yet). The film I used for this second roll was some old (15years?) Fuji Xperia 400. This wasn't smart...better to test a camera with fresh reliable film...but I just found the roll and thought I'd give it a go. Before I even scanned the negatives, I noticed some streaks across almost all of the exposures. I've included some low-quality scans from different places in the roll. You can see that the early exposure have a much more visible streak (exp001), compared to the last exposure (exp023). Also, the location of the streak moves closer to the edge of the frame as I get to the end of the roll. My questions: - Does this look like a camera light leak issue? I'm guessing not, since the location of the streak is not consistent. - Is this just a side effect of expired film? I don't have much experience shooting expired film. - I did trim the leader to aid in loading the IIIc. Perhaps the act of pulling out extra film allowed some light into the cannister? And to answer the obvious question: Why didn't I get the first roll developed yet? It's HP5+, and I sometimes send my b/w film off to be developed, rather than use my local camera shop. I try to do that in batches, and I was waiting to finish another b/w roll on another camera. Thanks! Mark
  6. For the 28th: Winnie the greyhound, with her an eye on a squirrel. Minolta x-570, MD 50/1.7, orange filter, Ilford HP5+, low-res scan from thedarkroom.com:
  7. Thanks for the replies, all! Dustin: with my untrained eye, I'm inclined to agree with you. That's the reason I included the picture with the marker at 16 and the picture with the marker beyond 16: the distance the marker moves beyond 16 is about the same as the distance between 11 and 16. In other words, maybe a full stop. Now, is 16 really 16? And is the edge of the range 22? I have no idea...and for what I'm doing with the camera (and the latitude with the negative film I'm using, Greg M), it's not that big a deal. And although I didn't include comparisons of 3.5/beyond 3.5, the iris was at the edge of the glass at that point, so it would make no difference. Mark
  8. I'm just about to finish the first roll through my first Leica (IIIc), Leitz Elmar 5cm/3.5 collapsible. I noticed something about the lens last night, and thought I'd ask the question. This lens advertises a max/min aperture of 3.5/16. However, the marker on the the aperture ring on the front of the lens will rotate slightly beyond the 3.5 and 16 indicators on the scale. (see attached images) It's not much, but it definitely does open/close the aperture more as I move beyond those indicators. I really notice the difference when I move beyond f/16. I'm sure others have noticed this. Does anyone have a sens of the "real" max/min aperture of this lens? Thanks! Mark
  9. Thanks for the comments and suggestions, everyone! I won't be too concerned, but I think I'll try the paint sticks. Time to trim the leader, load it up, and start shooting!
  10. Hello all! Just took delivery of my very first Leica screw mount ever, a IIIc. It's been serviced within the past year, and everything seems to be in working order. However, I wanted to ask the group if the worn off paint on the base plate might be an issue. Any chance that this could reflect light and lead to something like light leaks? Thanks in advance, Mark
  11. Thanks, Matthew and Chuck! I might try "extending" the blue wire with another piece and some heat-shrink tubing. I found a wiring diagram in the SRT101 service manual this morning, so I think I have a good idea of where everything goes.
  12. I recently won an auction on eBay for an SRT 102. Cosmetically, the camera looks practically brand new. Functionally, though... I can't seem to get the meter needle to budge, either when the meter is on, or when I've turned on the battery check. I've tried new batteries and I've tried giving the sides and bottom of the camera a "whack" to see if it was just stuck on something. Last night, I took the bottom plate off the camera to see if I could find any issues with the battery connection. In the area of the battery check/meter switch, there is some sloppy solder work, and I'm pretty sure that the blue wire has been cut shorter and re-routed. I've attached a picture from my camera that shows the state of the wiring. And here's a link to what I think it's supposed to look like: Minolta SRT 303 Bottom Flat Spring I didn't pay much for the camera, so I'm willing to try to re-solder these wires myself. Any advice for the effort? Also, I have seen some threads where people recommend "checking the continuity" to see if there is a wiring problem somewhere. I'm not sure I understand what points I should use to check the continuity, though. Thanks in advance! Mark
  13. It does not appear to focus past infinity. That's the thing...infinity on the focusing ring and the stopping point of the aperture ring seem to line up. In that first picture, I've turned both the focusing ring and the aperture ring as far as they would go (in opposite directions). That's why I was wondering about the DOF indicator itself. Oh, one other data point: when the lens is on the camera, the index mark on the lens is NOT at 12 o'clock. Rather it seems like it's turned about 15 degrees clockwise (when looking from the back of the camera). Thanks for the suggestions, though. When I get home tonight, I'll double-check that it's not focusing past infinity.
  14. I don't have much experience with classic film cameras, but I found a Mayima 500 DTL at a thrift shop a while ago, and thought it might be fun to shoot some film. I was getting it ready for an upcoming trip when I noticed something odd. In the attached picture, I've turned the aperture ring as far as I could, but the "16" marker doesn't reach the "2" in the DOF indictaor. If I turn it the other direction, it the aperture ring goes past the point where I would expect it to stop. In the second picture, you can see the two screw holes (one in the aperture ring) that are not aligned. In every other picture I've seen of this lens, those screws are aligned. I'm thinking that the DOF indicator has been rotated in some way. Has anyone seen an issue like this? Am I inviting disaster by attempting to disassemble and re-align these sections of the lens? Thanks!
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