Zorki 4k - Purple marks on photos

<p>Hello,</p>

<p>I'm new to the forum - I hope this is the right place to post my question. A few months back I bought a Zorki 4k off eBay. It generally works fine, though on a number of my photos purple marks are appearing. I was hoping someone here might know the issue that is causing this. Here is an example of said mark - it always appears in the same area of the photo:<br>

<img src="http://41.media.tumblr.com/f2dd433e7266858ff118641966b6c43b/tumblr_nn5javRCB11tx80j6o1_1280.jpg" alt="" width="500" height="300" /><br>

If anyone could give some thoughts on what's causing this I'd be really grateful. Thanks!</p>

<p>I had one Zorki that had similar - in my case it was a light leak, in fact, a small screw that was missing from the top plate; replacing the screw fixed it. (I don't recall if it had a purple hue).<br>

Is the purple streak consistently in the same location, just the intensity changes? That would be consistent with a light leak (intensity depending on time between shots and ambient light).<br>

You'll have to look over the camera to see if there are any areas where obvious lack of fit or anything seeming to be missing. Good luck.</p>

<p>I second the light leak theory. from the position of it, do you think it might be on top left? I would use gaffers tape, to tape a portion at a time, to try to pinpoint the source.</p>

<p>Yes, my guess is it would be somewhere on top. Maybe Hamon will be lucky and it will also be a screw missing. Unfortunately I don't remember where the screw was missing from. More likely it will be something else. Your suggestion of experimenting with gaffers tape is a good one.</p>

<p>Thank you both for your helpful responses. The streak is in the same location, and as you suggest Greg, the only change is that its intensity increases. I shall have a look over it to see if there's anything missing, and if not, hopefully some tape will do the job.<br>

UPDATE: I happened across someone experiencing a similar issue. I shall use the image they provided to elucidate what I reckon the problem is with my camera. https://ec.yimg.com/ec?url=https%3A%2F%2Ffarm3.static.flickr.com%2F2494%2F3915543179_bc7ac46458.jpg&t=1429627817&sig=WkcSbT9VscCwicIN8PtuKg--~B<br>

It seems as though my camera is a just a little bit loose in the same gap as fig. 1 in the above image, only around the front and at the top left (above the self-timer). There does not appear to be any screws missing, and simply pressing down firmly on the top of that area closes the gap. If this is all that is required to prevent this issue from persisting then I certainly am lucky.</p>

<p>Thank you both for your helpful responses. The streak is in the same location, and as you suggest Greg, the only change is that its intensity increases. I shall have a look over it to see if there's anything missing, and if not, hopefully some tape will do the job.<br /> UPDATE: I happened across someone experiencing a similar issue. I shall use the image they provided to elucidate what I reckon the problem is with my camera.<br /> <img src="https://ec.yimg.com/ec?url=https%3A%2F%2Ffarm3.static.flickr.com%2F2494%2F3915543179_bc7ac46458.jpg&t=1429627817&sig=WkcSbT9VscCwicIN8PtuKg--~B" alt="Zorki 4 - light leaks" width="500" height="333" /><br /> It seems as though my camera is a just a little bit loose in the same gap as fig. 1 in the above image, only around the front and at the top left (above the self-timer). There does not appear to be any screws missing, and simply pressing down firmly on the top of this area closes the gap. If this is all that is required to prevent this issue from persisting then I certainly am lucky. (Apologies for the double post - the image url didn't paste properly the first time)</p>