Test roll through IIIc: light leaks? expired film? loading issue?

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

There have been a number of posts recently discussing how to check for light leaks, and you should do so before committing a new roll. I'm guessing that your orientation of the camera toward the light source being different may explain why it isn't consistently on all shots. As an aside, have you looked closely at your lens interior for any shiny surfaces which may have reflected unwanted light into the camera? It definitely is not the effect of using expired film - this usually results in the loss of contrast.

Perhaps a shutter issue that was slowly improving with use?

 

Even if you do nothing else, it's always a good idea to fire and wind these old cameras a good few times before loading film, particularly if they've been sitting a while, helps get things moving again.

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.

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?

 

Stick a bit of gaffer tape over it and see if the problem goes away?

Does the banding extend into the sprocket area of the negative, or is it entirely within the frame?

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.

I had a IIIc that had leaks like that which I traced to the inside side of the take up chamber. Never could find the source. In desperation just kept the lens cap on between shots and didn't change lenses except in deep shade.

One thing to try, assuming that there is very little light in the leak: Shoot a few frames quickly one after the other. Then, leave the camera sitting in the sun for a few minutes before taking the next shot. That next shot should show far more of the leak. You can also hold processed film across the film gate, in the proper orientation, and see if the streak lines up with the leak that you think you saw. Covering the lever with some opaque tape will also help you see what's going on.

I had a light leak in an old Isolette and it turned out to be a tiny-tiny hairline crack in the supply chamber. Like yours it didn't always appear in the same spot in the frame or I might even get two streaks of light, and the reason was because of the knob style film advance. What would happen is that I would sometimes pause as I was advancing the film.

 

The light leak would expose the film as it came off the spool and before it was centered behind the lens.

Any chance the film's been through a luggage x-ray machine?

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! :-)