Yahsica light leak?

[rob_piontek]

<p>I have a Yashica MAT 124. On some of the frames, the sides are overexposed, running vertically. The overexposure is relatively uniform along the vertical direction, and tapers off towards the frame center horizontally. Basically it looks like vignetting in reverse (i.e overexposed not under), but only along the vertical edges of the frame. Is this a sign of a light leak from bad seals? If so I find it strange that some frames show no problem.</p>

[John Seaman]

<p>Rob on my 124 there are foam seals at the top and bottom of the door, which had perished and were easy to replace. But this does not seem to be your problem as you say the fogging is in the vertical direction. I also see that there are seals in the vertical grooves of the back - these are of the stranded, fibre type and don't normally deteriorate, although It would be possible to replace them. I use ordinary black knitting wool for this.<br>

Another possibility is that the back had gone out of shape somehow and could need straightening to effect the seals. Don't be surprised that some frames are worse than others, it depends on how long the frame was in position and under what external lighting conditions.<br>

Lastly If you have the ever ready case, use it, I usually use these on old cameras as it gives you an extra line of defence against light leaks.</p>

[richard_oleson]

<p>A light leak affecting one frame more than another is not uncommon - it may just mean that you carried the camera around longer, or in brighter sunlight, while that particular frame of film was nearer to the location of the leak. A bent back is probably the root of the problem, they are pretty flexible and do a lot of flopping around during reloading. You'll probably be able to straighten it back up with your thumbs.</p>

[stanleys]

<p>(edit) OOps, had an idea. But it couldn't be that.</p>

[rob_piontek]

<p>Thanks everyone for the ideas. I realized the easy way to figure it out is just to tape the camera up and see if I still see the problem. But it does look like the seals need to be replaced. Also, the back doesn't seem to me to be out of shape. The spacing is uniform where the back meets the body.</p>

[rob_piontek]

<p>I wanted to update this thread to say that it turned out to be a developing problem. I switched from spinning the reel in the tank to inversion and have not had the problem since.</p>