light leak using quickloads/polaroid

We are having spring like weather here on the east coast. I lugged my calumet 4x 5 to the park with daughter/model in tow. exposed several quickloads and a few s tandard tmax black and white. the fuji quickloads seem to have had a severe ligh t leak. I know that there is a broken spring clip on the ground glass back of th e camera. It has a revolving back. I was told the camera was a c-2 with black lo ng belows and 25 inch rail. I have assumed that since I was shooting with the su n to my back and the additional width and weight of the polaroid holder this has caused my light leak. I suffered no such leak on the standard film holder. OR w as it that maybe the bottom of those fuji films does not seal that well and sinc e I was working under very direct bright sun some snuck in there (the extreme ed ge, has no leak but is the same end where the leak occured from... make any sens e?) after exposing them I did not sneak them into the shade. I bet the leak is f rom my loose back.

Q: where can I get a replacement spring clip, they are silver and double sided c lip held by two screws.

I have also ordered a focusing cloth since I figure the bright sun to my back al so contributed. I generally just throw my jacket over the back for focusing and quickly remove it. I am in Baltimore. IF I left my head under there too long som ebody might come behind me, hit me on the head... I might later wake to find my camera, daughter and internal organs missing!

Your back might not be seated properly or the envelope didn't seat properly in t he bottom it's clip, which may be due to some screw up with the Polaroid back or operator error , as well as something wrong with the QL. This is the first fa ilure I have ever heard of with the Fuji QL. Kodak Radyload is infamous for that.

I have the same camera and I think the clip you are talking about is only there to hold your focus cloth. It is not instrumental in taking a photo. You can phone 'parts' at Calumet and if you can talk them into it, they can photcopy a blowup parts list schematic of the camera so you know what's what.

As to light leaks, it depends on which end the light leaks are. I had no luck using a Polaroid holder and Readyload/Quickloads and just bought a $35 Readyload holder to use for them. If you are new to large format, my real guess is that you haven't seated the holder exactly right. You have to check carefully that the holder meets the edges of the molding when you seat it and pull out the envelope without jerking it.

I had a bit of trouble making sure the holders were seated properly and switched my regular sheet film holders to the new Riteways with a button that won't release the dark slide unless the holder is fully seated properly in its edges.

I also had the problem (which I can't believe in retrospect) where the light leaks were on the grasp-the-envelope side of the film instead of the against-the-clip edge. And this to my embarrassment turned out to be inserting the holder with the handle onthe closed edge of the back and the clip end towards the 'open' end of the back (i.e. backwards into the camera back).

Cheers, Richard