Help me solve this problem with my negs

Captain Flaps

I'm using a Mamiya 645AF medium format camera and I'm pretty psyched that I got one, but I'm having a problem. I'm getting what looks like light leakage on some of the negatives. It's showing up on multiple rolls developed different places, so it's not the processing, but it also doesn't appear on every frame so I'm at a total loss.

It appears on maybe 25-33% of the shots I've taken. If there's something wrong with the camera, surely it would affect all of the negs? Here's what I'm talking about:



Has anyone seen anything like this before? Any ideas? The camera came from a very highly regarded seller (keh.com) and was rated as like new on their harsh condition rating, but I don't see any other explanation. I'm shooting my final project in college on it and if I have to send it back it's a huge hassle I'd rather not have to deal with.

magicbastarder

the seals might need redoing - i had something similar, but more pronounced, on a hasselblad.

Captain Flaps

What exactly does that entail?

magicbastarder

you'll have to drop the camera in to a camera repair shop to have the old ones stripped out and new ones put it, assuming it is the seals.

i had to do this with a hasselblad back a couple of years ago, up in portobello. he told me it'd be €35 but said €45 when i picked it up - he'd given the back a full clean and lube too. so we settled on €40 (it was all i had).

Captain Flaps

Ah, I know the place. Brilliant. I'll bring him up some prints and see what he thinks, thanks a million. 40-45 sounds affordable, I was having nightmares about trying to ship it back to america, getting my refund and finding another one. Ace.

rymus

out of pure morbid interest, how much did the 645AF setup set you back? Was salivating over one some time back but it was a little on the pricey side for my budget.

Fajitas!

Definitely a form of light leak. I'm not sure about the 645AF, I only have the manual one, but had a problem with light coming in while the mirror was up when I was using the WLF, which might be worth remembering.

fanuel

Hi Captain Flaps,

I had the same camera. is a light leak from the blind slide side.
you don't see it on the entire rool because you're probably protecting it with your hands from time to time.

Try this:
load with a 800ISO colour film (Fuji Pro 800 will do) and DON'T wind it to 1, leave it in S (start)
remove the blind slide cover the slide hole with black tape.
shoot the roll as you normally do.
dev and print/scan in a 1hr shop.

you should have the entire roll ok.

if this is the case, the back needs to be serviced, not a big deal.
the guys the where in portobello can do it but they are not there anymore. but I have the mobile number of one of them. PM me and I'll give it to you.

if you still have the problem, then I'll need to have a look at it.
I'm not a camera repair, I just know Mamiya and Hassy.

Captain Flaps

Rymus: I paid about 500 for the full kit retail, then got hit with a 130 import tax/vat charge when UPS delivered it. Including the shipping, it was about 700 altogether, that includes the 80mm 2.8 autofocus lens. I got it from keh.com

Fanuel: cheers for the tips, will try that this weekend. If there is no light leak I may just continue to use it taped up for the time being, I don't actually use different backs. That said, it might be better to get it sorted now rather than wait until I need it and find that nobody does them anymore!

fanuel

good luck Captain.

you know how to find me in case you need help

rymus

bloody hell, that's not too bad at all. great find, well done.