OMG, Light leak?!

[Rory_5244]

I took out my lightly used AS 8x10 with Fidelity holder for a midday shot and when I develop the film I get this:



Are those light leaks just below the top corners?! Could it be the holder? How horrid! Oh dear oh dear oh dear.

[Gem Singer]

Yep!

[Rory_5244]

Thanks Gem.

FWIW, I put a lit flashlight into the camera with the holder loaded and turned out the lights in a blacked-out room: no light emitted from the camera anywhere.

[Walter Calahan]

Holder might not have seated properly for this shot. Camera and holder could be fine if you rushed the shot by not checking holder's position.

[Sal Santamaura]

I took out my lightly used AS 8x10 with Fidelity holder for a midday shot and when I develop the film I get...light leaks just below the top corners?! Could it be the holder? How horrid! Oh dear oh dear oh dear.

Did you have your dark cloth over the holder when removing the dark slide, making the exposure and replacing the dark slide? If not, those leaks are normal and predictable.

It was mid-day and your shot is vertical. The sun was high, shining down on your holder's dark slide slots. Fidelity holders have a single light trap. It is necessary to afford the extra protection I described using your dark cloth in this situation.

Only holders with double light traps (e.g. Chamonix) can be used in the orientation and conditions you experienced without concern.

[ic-racer]

Odd. Its coming up from the bottom. How is the seal or trap between the camera standard and the rotated back?

[Rory_5244]

Thanks Walter, I'll do a little experiment before I rush out and buy a scarily priced Toyo holder.

[Rory_5244]

Hi Sal, thank you for that. Yes, I keep the holder covered by the dark cloth. Somehow this leak comes from the bottom.

Hi ic, the felt area at the bottom of the standard seems okay (the camera is practically brand new) and no light seems to be leaking out from the inside of the camera when I tried the flashlight test. Strange but I always feel the bottom of the holder to make sure it is seated well. The holder itself was exposed to some strong rays, I guess, before loading into the camera.

[Gem Singer]

Could have even happened during, or before you loaded the film into the film holder.

I can see a small flash of light in the upper left corner of the print. Looks like it is in the rebate area.

[Rory_5244]

I loaded the film inside a Harrison tent. Two other sheets loaded at the same time in my other holder turned out fine and one of the exposures from the unaffected holder was done in midday sun as well.