Fotoman 810PS light leak

[leo_grillo]

I got my new Fotoman 810 point and shoot (I know, I know!) and tested it with polaroids. I am getting a

pair of angel-wings burning out half of my surface area. There is a light leak SOMEWHERE. I put my

head inside the cone (like wearing a lamp shade) and beamed the capped lens -- no leaks apparent in

the mounting.

 

It's impossible to tell if the leak is in the camera bottom from where the holder sits. Or if it's

supernatural!

 

I then put the holder and polas into my field camera and it was all fine. Definitely a Fotoman system

leak.

 

Any ideas? Anyone have one of these?

 

Thanks in advance.

[User_503771]

I don't have one but did take a look at the very few images of the camera I could see with a google search. (I only got front 3/4 views.)

 

You should probably just do the usual -- go in a dark room and stick a very strong flashlight inside and shine it around. If you can remove the lens without removing its mount, that's probably the best place to shine the light into. Throw a dark cloth over the hole to keep the room darker.

 

My first suspicion though is that perhaps the area where the filmholder sits is not flat enough. Or perhaps there's a raised spot where two pieces of that area join, or a burr unflattened by machining.

 

Can you remove the ground glass panel? If so, the answer may be right there when you inspect visually, or even just by running your fingers lightly along the area; you might see or feel a raised area in there.

 

Also, is the raised rib on the filmholder seating properly in its groove on the camera? Is there anything (debris) in that groove?

 

All screws tightened down well (such as the ones holding the back or front to the body)?

 

From the sound of it, it's not a minor thing, but it could be a very subtle thing to find -- after all, it doesn't take much light to create that effect on sensitive film.

 

Good luck!

[leo_grillo]

Thanks Michael! I followed your advice and felt my way around the camera with my

fingertips. I found that there is a metal spacer between the cone and the body and that

even though it is square, each side has subtle machining (hand made) that makes it fit on

only one side. Therein was the light leak!

 

I am a happy camper -- these images are great even on polaroids! This will be a fun shoot.