Lens flare or light leak?

[Jarrito]

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Can anyone help me spot where this problem might be coming from? These shots are from where its the most prominent, they were shot with my M6 and Leica 50mm Summilux asph.

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[Jarrito]

Here are some more examples as well, from another roll. They are never in the exact same spot, but darn close sometimes.

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[StS]

Difficult to make a final judgement here, but I find it suspicious, that the spot appears to be almost at the same location and keeps its shape. The last image appears to show a double spot.

 

Stefan

[fotomas]

Maybe you can make a black exposure with the cap on the lens. If it still there it couldn't be a lens flare. Does it happen with other lenses to?

[Jarrito]

Maybe you can make a black exposure with the cap on the lens. If it still there it couldn't be a lens flare. Does it happen with other lenses to?

 

Not sure, its the only lens I have at the moment.

[250swb]

Its a light leak.

 

Steve

[thsc]

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Many years ago I had a M6 with a light leak. The results looked similar.

[adan]

Had a somewhat similar light leak in an M4-2 - turned out to be around the "R" rewind switch on the front. Light was coming in around that lever, and shining right through the depth of the camera to the film in the back, and hitting the film in the slot between the sprocket shaft and the take-up spool.

 

In that case, I tracked down the source by studying the "timing" of the leak, and discovering it occurred on a frame only if that frame was the last in a sequence, and sat for an extended period in the "just wound on" location - i.e. not behind the shutter, and not yet wrapped around the takeup spool.

 

It was a "slow leak" that required the film to sit motionless in that location for a minute or so before it showed up - and the intensity was directly related to how long the pause was.

 

Turned out the shaft of the rewind switch lever on the front was slightly too long, and thus did not sit tight and flush against the shaft hole in the camera body.

 

Now, that may not be your specific problem - the leak may be somewhere else. But see if you can think back and determine where the "leaked" frames would have been sitting longest - just before being exposed for the picture, or just after, or while sitting behind the shutter. That may help you narrow down where to look for a suspect area.

 

Also, of course, check both shutter curtains for possible burn-throughs (holes with charred edges). It can take just a few moments of a focused image of the sun shining on the black silk shutter to burn it, with an f/1.4 or f/2 lens. I burned a shutter simply walking 50 yards between pictures with an M6 hanging over my shoulder - and the un-capped lens unfortunately pointed in the direction of a low afternoon sun.

[Jarrito]

Had a somewhat similar light leak in an M4-2 - turned out to be around the "R" rewind switch on the front. Light was coming in around that lever, and shining right through the depth of the camera to the film in the back, and hitting the film in the slot between the sprocket shaft and the take-up spool.

 

In that case, I tracked down the source by studying the "timing" of the leak, and discovering it occurred on a frame only if that frame was the last in a sequence, and sat for an extended period in the "just wound on" location - i.e. not behind the shutter, and not yet wrapped around the takeup spool.

 

It was a "slow leak" that required the film to sit motionless in that location for a minute or so before it showed up - and the intensity was directly related to how long the pause was.

 

Turned out the shaft of the rewind switch lever on the front was slightly too long, and thus did not sit tight and flush against the shaft hole in the camera body.

 

Now, that may not be your specific problem - the leak may be somewhere else. But see if you can think back and determine where the "leaked" frames would have been sitting longest - just before being exposed for the picture, or just after, or while sitting behind the shutter. That may help you narrow down where to look for a suspect area.

 

Also, of course, check both shutter curtains for possible burn-throughs (holes with charred edges). It can take just a few moments of a focused image of the sun shining on the black silk shutter to burn it, with an f/1.4 or f/2 lens. I burned a shutter simply walking 50 yards between pictures with an M6 hanging over my shoulder - and the un-capped lens unfortunately pointed in the direction of a low afternoon sun.

 

Thank you, definitely going to look into that.