Dear Santa has my Mir got light leaks? Can I have a Leica iiif?

tikkathreebarrel

tikkathreebarrel

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Just got plenty of "dev & cd" back from Studio 5.

The contact sheets for two films through a Soviet Mir using more than one lens have all got the same light streaks.... have I got a light leak somewhere?20201218_161311.jpg
 
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Possibly a lagging shutter curtain??
 
and no you can't have a leica cos Christmas has been cancelled due to the reindeers rebelling against wearing masks and maintaining social ( or even unsocial) distancing :LOL:
 
Asha said:
and no you can't have a leica cos Christmas has been cancelled due to the reindeers rebelling against wearing masks and maintaining social ( or even unsocial) distancing [emoji38]
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I think you'll find that Santa's reindeer are jolly positive with names like Dasher and Prancer: it's the seven dwarves who include Grumpy among their number hahaha.
 
tikkathreebarrel said:
it's the seven dwarves who include Grumpy among their number hahaha.
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i think i may well be related to one of them ( not Grumpy).......I'll let you guess which one ;)

I'm sure @Mr Badger will have some input there:p, you never know he may even have some advice as to the cause of your band of light on your negs:)
 
tikkathreebarrel said:
Sounds like a trip to youtube....
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I presume the camera has a curtain shutter?

If it has and the second curtain is dragging then iirc it will leave a band of light similar to what you have experienced.
 
Here's a couple of full-sized images.
 

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Imo it is definetly a shutter curtain problem.
When the shutter is released the first curtain sets off at speed, the second follows, theoretically at the same speed but if for some reason it struggles to keep up with the first curtain, a band of light will be registered on the negative.
This band can vary in intensity depending which shutter speeds are used and how much drag the second curtain has as it may not stick as much each time the shutter is fired.

take a look at the curtain operating with the camera back open .
The chances are the evidence of a slow moving second curtain will show more with sliw speeds 1 sec/ half second etc
 
And here, ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls is what a defective shutter curtain looks like...

Repair possibilities would be good presumably?20201219_074409.jpg
 
Looks like little Jack Horner sitting in the corner!

Almost certainly (curtainly? :p) the problem and equally probably beyond economic repair.

If you can find a iii, you can have one. Whether you may have one is between you and any other interested party!!!
 
Nod said:
Looks like little Jack Horner sitting in the corner!

Almost certainly (curtainly? :p) the problem and equally probably beyond economic repair.

If you can find a iii, you can have one. Whether you may have one is between you and any other interested party!!!
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"Curtainly" I like. Beyond economic I like less but recognise there's an inevitability about a £50 machine. In all other respects the camera is fine and is a pleasure to use. Ho hum.
 
Well remembered Brian...

Yep, Had the same issue...

Film Side by The Big Yin, on Flickr

Lens Side by The Big Yin, on Flickr

it's basically the rubberised coating applied to the shutter curtain material that's perished and crumbled away.

First step is giving the camera a thorough cleaning with a blower, followed by cycling the shutter a few times (with the lens off and back open if possible) and see if it's still flaking.

Next step was to source some matt black latex based fabric paint. This was the stuff I got hold of


IMG_20201219_112740.jpg

next bit is the scary one.

carefully paint the bits that have cone translucent. Several thin coats, give them a day between coats, and DON'T WHATEVER YOU DO COCK/WIND the camera. Idea is to put the barest minimum on there to make it opaque again, too much and you risk the shutter jamming or running slowly. In my case it was a fed3 so frankly the shutter speeds were somewhat arbitary anyway. Once it's covered and all the light dots have been sealed, I actually put my camera in the airing cupboard for a couple of weeks to dry thoroughly before daring to actually dry-test the mechanism.

It worked though...

Before
Fed3 - Test reel - frame 30 by The Big Yin, on Flickr

After
HP5_2010-03-24_005_800px by The Big Yin, on Flickr
 
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TheBigYin said:
Well remembered Brian...

Yep, Had the same issue...

Film Side by The Big Yin, on Flickr

Lens Side by The Big Yin, on Flickr

it's basically the rubberised coating applied to the shutter curtain material that's perished and crumbled away.

First step is giving the camera a thorough cleaning with a blower, followed by cycling the shutter a few times (with the lens off and back open if possible) and see if it's still flaking.

Next step was to source some matt black latex based fabric paint. This was the stuff I got hold of


View attachment 302442

next bit is the scary one.

carefully paint the bits that have cone translucent. Several thin coats, give them a day between coats, and DON'T WHATEVER YOU DO COCK/WIND the camera. Idea is to put the barest minimum on there to make it opaque again, too much and you risk the shutter jamming or running slowly. In my case it was a fed3 so frankly the shutter speeds were somewhat arbitary anyway. Once it's covered and all the light dots have been sealed, I actually put my camera in the airing cupboard for a couple of weeks to dry thoroughly before daring to actually dry-test the mechanism.

It worked though...

Before
Fed3 - Test reel - frame 30 by The Big Yin, on Flickr

After
HP5_2010-03-24_005_800px by The Big Yin, on Flickr
Click to expand...
Brilliant answer, and not a 7 Dwarfs joke in sight. (y)
 
excalibur2 said:
Thebigyin can tell you how to fix as I think he has repaired his camera?
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Did he not use that liquid fabric?
I used it to repair some bellows!

Edit: would help if I read the complete thread before replying :rolleyes: :exit:
 
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Thank you for your trouble and it looks like you nailed it - did you apply the paint to both sides of the curtain or just one side?

I've just been looking at my currently unloaded Soviet rangefinders and this is the only one though there's a Zorki with first film in so I should perhaps finish the film this weekend and check the curtain before going anywhere with the film.

Looks like EBay is my next port of call for the little pot of black stuff and settle in for the long slow repair.

Again, thanks for your help.

TheBigYin said:
Well remembered Brian...

Yep, Had the same issue...

Film Side by The Big Yin, on Flickr

Lens Side by The Big Yin, on Flickr

it's basically the rubberised coating applied to the shutter curtain material that's perished and crumbled away.

First step is giving the camera a thorough cleaning with a blower, followed by cycling the shutter a few times (with the lens off and back open if possible) and see if it's still flaking.

Next step was to source some matt black latex based fabric paint. This was the stuff I got hold of


View attachment 302442

next bit is the scary one.

carefully paint the bits that have cone translucent. Several thin coats, give them a day between coats, and DON'T WHATEVER YOU DO COCK/WIND the camera. Idea is to put the barest minimum on there to make it opaque again, too much and you risk the shutter jamming or running slowly. In my case it was a fed3 so frankly the shutter speeds were somewhat arbitary anyway. Once it's covered and all the light dots have been sealed, I actually put my camera in the airing cupboard for a couple of weeks to dry thoroughly before daring to actually dry-test the mechanism.

It worked though...

Before
Fed3 - Test reel - frame 30 by The Big Yin, on Flickr

After
HP5_2010-03-24_005_800px by The Big Yin, on Flickr
Click to expand...
 
Mr Badger said:
You ought to buy the new GTX turbo high-speed stairlift... it's so fast it gets you upstairs before you've forgotten what you wanted!
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stannah.gif

tikkathreebarrel said:
did you apply the paint to both sides of the curtain or just one side?
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look from the lens side and the rear, the fabric will most likely only be coated on one side. In my case it was the rear of the camera where you could see the "flaking" had happened. To be honest, yours looks like its got "pinholes" all over the place - i'd give the main areas an initial coat first, then when its thoroughly dry, check it again - and maybe give the whole frame of the shutter a very thin coat - I assume that picture was taken with a strong light source to the rear of the camera. Those pinholes would definitely have some effect on the picture quality, especially if the camera's left cocked and ready, but without a lens cap on for any appreciable duration - not as bad as the big flaked off areas, but enough to give a strange effect to the shot.

Secret is definitely not TOO much though - I may have overdone it slightly, as theres a small degree of wrinkling to the shutter as the latex paint dried and shrank over the past 10 years since I did that fix in march 2010. Just checked the camera this afternoon, and the shutter still works, and all the paint is still in place...

ETA: thinking about this overnight, and perhaps as an "antidote" to the potential wrinkling - perhaps, as it appears you've pinholes all over the shutter, you could give the major holes a coverage from one side of the shutter, and perhaps do the "all over coat" to take care of the pinholing from the opposite side of the shutter - on the principle that the latex coat will be pulling from both sides and might eliminate some of the wrinkling... (a bit like how plywood is always in odd number of plys so that any potential warps are opposed on the opposite side... Or, how when my dad used to do Marquetry pictures, he'd work on a plywood slab, but after the picture was complete on the "face side", he'd always put another complete sheet of veneer (or on large pictures, he'd use canvas laminated in place with woodglue) on the rear to stabilise the picture.
 
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TheBigYin said:
Well remembered Brian...

Yep, Had the same issue...

Film Side by The Big Yin, on Flickr

Lens Side by The Big Yin, on Flickr

it's basically the rubberised coating applied to the shutter curtain material that's perished and crumbled away.

First step is giving the camera a thorough cleaning with a blower, followed by cycling the shutter a few times (with the lens off and back open if possible) and see if it's still flaking.

Next step was to source some matt black latex based fabric paint. This was the stuff I got hold of


View attachment 302442

next bit is the scary one.

carefully paint the bits that have cone translucent. Several thin coats, give them a day between coats, and DON'T WHATEVER YOU DO COCK/WIND the camera. Idea is to put the barest minimum on there to make it opaque again, too much and you risk the shutter jamming or running slowly. In my case it was a fed3 so frankly the shutter speeds were somewhat arbitary anyway. Once it's covered and all the light dots have been sealed, I actually put my camera in the airing cupboard for a couple of weeks to dry thoroughly before daring to actually dry-test the mechanism.

It worked though...

Before
Fed3 - Test reel - frame 30 by The Big Yin, on Flickr

After
HP5_2010-03-24_005_800px by The Big Yin, on Flickr
Click to expand...


Very happy that I was wrong about the repairability and that it's not curtains for the camera.

:coat:
 
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