Leica M5 Light Leak?

[trigg_95]

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I just shot my second roll of film on my Leica M5. When I got the photos back, I noticed what I thought was lens flare in a few of the shots. I just put a UV filter on my Zeiss Biogon, so I thought that must have been the cause. However, it really doesn't seem like lens flare at all - in fact I'm almost certain it's a light leak. What do you suspect is the cause? It's really frustrating as I only just bought the camera.

The leaks always appear in the left or right bottom corners, with a hard edge either on the bottom or one of the sides, always with a red hue. 

Let me know if you need any additional info. I've attached an example photo. Thanks!

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[wattsy]

Red hue usually signifies that the light is leaking through the film itself so coming from the back of the camera. Light could be leaking through the back door and is perhaps intermittent depending upon how you are holding the camera? What does the frame next to the problematic ones look like? Sometimes, if you have a very strong light source in the shot (perhaps shooting into the sun), the area of 'overexposure' can carry across into the adjacent frame. That said, your example looks more directional and my money would be on a leak. The hard edge is interesting because that might be the edge (effectively the shadow) of the film gate coming into play and that might, in turn, suggest the light is coming from the front

Edited January 15, 2018 by wattsy