This is a very dull post about fixing a camera – I’m sharing it in case it helps someone else with a similar problem, but feel free to skip this if you’re not into such things!
When I was at uni I borrowed a Mamiya RB67 for a project I was working on and I loved it. Having to spend a bit longer thinking about things because everything is mirrored, loading the roll film, the bellows, just how everything seemed to look somehow more beautiful through it, really! After I left uni and those wonderful days of free access to kit were no more, I saved up and found a second hand one at a good price. Film and processing however is expensive, so I’ve dabbled occasionally in taking shots for the odd project but never consistently used it. I should have tested it properly when I first got it, it was from a proper camera shop not eBay so they probably would have helped me, but hindsight is a wonderful thing. Over time I became aware that there was a light leak somewhere but it was never a priority to fix it.
Last year I set myself a project of fashioning an instant back for the Mamiya, which you can read about here, and I tried to shoot with it a bit more. Of course, the light leak reappeared when I was using roll film and I mentioned it in a tweet sharing one of the images. I’m not totally against light leaks, but I have a Holga for that. Someone kindly replied to my tweet with a link to this YouTube video, and I finally got round to investigating and fixing the problem!
It was obvious once I actually took the time to look! The foam seal had worn down. I did some Googling and found Milly’s Cameras and ordered a sheet of 1.5mm Camera Light Seal Foam (if in doubt go for the middle size, I always think) and a Professional Cutting Set because I thought my ancient craft knife might not be up to the job. They arrived within a few days and I had a good activity for a Sunday afternoon.
I basically just:
- scraped the old foam off
- cleaned up the camera a bit
- measured the area I needed to cover
- cut the foam slightly wrong
- did it again a second time, at the correct size
- peeled the backing paper off and stuck it on!
There were a few other bits that looked a bit ropey so I replaced them too.
It certainly felt a lot more snug when I closed the back, but all I could do was test it. I shot a few frames, then left the camera on the tripod in a sunny room for a week to really soak in any light bouncing about, shot a few more frames and sent it of to Ag Photo Lab to see what happened.
It was a success! Well, as far as I can tell, there were no streaks on any of the frames. I think my test would have let light in if it was going to, but I’ll let you know if there’s anything further to report.