john7406
2-Jan-2015, 22:34
Thanks to all of you who replied when I posted a few questions about finding light leaks a couple of weeks back. Thanks to your great suggestions, I've found my leaks.
I have numerous leaks where the film holder meets the camera. By loading a holder in the camera and inserting a flashlight into the camera, I've found several areas around the perimeter of the film holder that allow light to shine through. They aren't pin-point leaks - I see "lines of light" when I look at the junction of the holder and the camera back.
It doesn't depend on the holder - I see the same pattern for every holder I try. And it doesn't seem to be a spring-tension thing either. Manually squeezing things together doesn't make the leaks go away.
So what I'm guessing is that the camera back surface (that snugs up against an inserted holder) isn't quite flat.
Someone mentioned some kind of adhesive felt tape, but there are a lot of areas to fix, and I'm worried that something like felt tape might not be able to handle the scraping caused by inserting and removing the holders. Of the total perimeter of 18 inches (4+4 + 5+5) maybe 4-6 inches will need to be patched.
Has anyone used felt tape? If so, is there a particular brand I should be looking for?
Are there any other approaches?
Can anyone recommend someone who could repair something like this (I'm not sure I want to do this but I have to ask)?
Or (given the amount to repair), should I just throw in the towel and see if I can get a new back for the camera?
It's a Wisner 4x5 field. I bought it used a few years ago. I remember the price being reasonable, maybe now I know why.
As always, any feedback or guidance is greatly appreciated.
Thanks in advance,
-John
I have numerous leaks where the film holder meets the camera. By loading a holder in the camera and inserting a flashlight into the camera, I've found several areas around the perimeter of the film holder that allow light to shine through. They aren't pin-point leaks - I see "lines of light" when I look at the junction of the holder and the camera back.
It doesn't depend on the holder - I see the same pattern for every holder I try. And it doesn't seem to be a spring-tension thing either. Manually squeezing things together doesn't make the leaks go away.
So what I'm guessing is that the camera back surface (that snugs up against an inserted holder) isn't quite flat.
Someone mentioned some kind of adhesive felt tape, but there are a lot of areas to fix, and I'm worried that something like felt tape might not be able to handle the scraping caused by inserting and removing the holders. Of the total perimeter of 18 inches (4+4 + 5+5) maybe 4-6 inches will need to be patched.
Has anyone used felt tape? If so, is there a particular brand I should be looking for?
Are there any other approaches?
Can anyone recommend someone who could repair something like this (I'm not sure I want to do this but I have to ask)?
Or (given the amount to repair), should I just throw in the towel and see if I can get a new back for the camera?
It's a Wisner 4x5 field. I bought it used a few years ago. I remember the price being reasonable, maybe now I know why.
As always, any feedback or guidance is greatly appreciated.
Thanks in advance,
-John