Re: [Leica] Light leaks on Leica IIIc (380xxx)

[Jim Hemenway <jim@hemenway.com>]

Matej:

It sounds to me as though it was agitated too much and/or processed in
old or contaminated chemicals.

A lab did this to me about 40 years ago and ruined the 35mm slides part
of a wedding set... I had done the 120 B&W myself so I didn't lose everything.

Jim



Matej Novak wrote:
> 
> ello,
> 
>  I just got a 1941 Leica IIIC (380xxx) with non-standard flash
> sync installed. When I have had developped the first roll of
> film I noticed that there are bright stripes of irregular shape
> on some of the slides. The stripes extend from the holes on the
> lower side of the film up and through the holes on the upper side
> of the film (if you think about the film in the camera it is
> vice-versa). Most of the stripes are on the right side of the
> slides, except one that is on the left side of the slide (all
> are of the similar shape).
> 
>  I was giving it a lot of thought, and I have narrowed the possible
> cause to one of the two:
> 1. The second curtain is too loose. It seems to me that the second
>    curtain is a bit loose. When thinking about the light leak on
>    some of the slides and its absence on others, I could attribute
>    it to the fact that sometimes I did wind the film right after
>    shooting, and sometimes not. I have compared the tension of the
>    second curtain after firing the shutter on my IIIc with my IIf,
>    and the IIIc was perhaps a little bit more loose but not
>    significantly. When start to wind the film the second curtain
>    gets tight as I would expect it to be.
> 
>    If this is the case, please advise how to increase the tension.
>    I have tried adjusting the second curtain tension adjuster, but
>    the curtain was still loose.
> 
> 2. There was some kind of problem with the film. Either the lab who
>    developped it, somehow exposed it to light, or the film container
>    itself somehow leaked light. I'll try the second roll and have it
>    developped at another lab, to verify this hypothesis.
> 
>    Any opinions or suggestions?
> 
> Thanks in advance,
> Matej
>