Strange artefacts in images (possible light leaks)

Kneller

Kneller

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Hey guys, I've just had my first roll of Cinestill developed, and most (if not all) of the negatives are showing signs of what appears to be a pretty major light leak.

The strange thing is, the roll of film I used straight before this one showed absolutely no signs of this, so I'm unsure where to start.

They were taken on an Olympus OM-10, which as far as I'm aware hasn't had the seals replaced already.

Unfortunately, I'd already loaded another roll of film before I had these back, so I'm risking having issues with a 2nd roll as well, but we'll see.

I was wondering if anyone here could give a second opinion, as the guy in the shop where I had it developed mentioned that it looked like there were some strange chemical marks on a couple of the negatives.

Many thanks

Josh


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Well ordinary neg film usually show up white with a light leak..not much help I know :(

from one site:-
There have been reports that in older Cinestill 800T rolls, the beginning few frames of a roll can exhibit weird streaks and light leaks. I can confirm personally that this is true. Best to stick to newer rolls as I’ve hadn’t run into this problem since.
 
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excalibur2 said:
Well ordinary neg film usually show up white with a light leak..not much help I know :(
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Everything is a help. I've not long started shooting film, so any assistance is great! I wasn't sure how light leaks appear on Cinestill due to the composition of the film!
 
Kneller said:
Everything is a help. I've not long started shooting film, so any assistance is great! I wasn't sure how light leaks appear on Cinestill due to the composition of the film!
Click to expand...

I've edited my previous post to:-
from one site:-
"There have been reports that in older Cinestill 800T rolls, the beginning few frames of a roll can exhibit weird streaks and light leaks. I can confirm personally that this is true. Best to stick to newer rolls as I’ve hadn’t run into this problem since".

If it was me would rewind the film and try some cheap film from Kodak or Fuji or anything free from friends and it would show if the seals have gone on the camera.
 
excalibur2 said:
I've edited my previous post to:-
from one site:-
"There have been reports that in older Cinestill 800T rolls, the beginning few frames of a roll can exhibit weird streaks and light leaks. I can confirm personally that this is true. Best to stick to newer rolls as I’ve hadn’t run into this problem since".

If it was me would rewind the film and try some cheap film from Kodak or Fuji or anything free from friends and it would show if the seals have gone on the camera.
Click to expand...
Thank you! I'm currently running through a roll of Fuji Superia, so nothing mega expensive. I'll see how this comes out and I'll probably buy a new seal kit regardless as I'm pretty sure they've never been changed (the camera was my dad's, and he had it from new)
 
The light seals on my Dad's old OM10 (lightly used and kept in a dry draw for years) had perished when I checked them a couple of years ago. They should be soft and flexible 'foam rubber', so if they've turned to a sort of sticky black putty then they need replacing.

We can recommend a reliable camera technician, or you can do this yourself if you are 'good with your hands' and very careful. There are some vids of how it's done on YouTube. I've just changed the seals on a Canon AV1. It's a fiddly job, as the adhesive backed 2mm wide foam strips wanted to stick to the side of the channel and twist, rather than slide down and stick on the bottom of it!) You have to be very careful not to drop bits of the old perished seals into the workings of the camera too! Luckily, the mirror buffer foam inside the camera was in good order on my AV1, so I didn't have to worry about dropping bits of that into the interior.

I got there in the end though and currently have a test roll in the camera to see if I've got it right! However, I sent my treasured Canon A1 away to get that done professionally. Expect to pay around the £40 mark, plus postage for a camera technician to change the seals. A good quality, precision-cut, light seal kit will probably cost you around £20 with the cleaning alcohol and postage. If tempted to DIY, then go for a kit that gives 3 sets of seals, as the chances are you'll write at least one of them off trying to fit them if you've not done this before and got the hang of it! Hope this is useful. :)
 
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You can also buy sheets of adhesive backed light-seal material (in various thicknesses).

If you're happy to cut your own pieces then this works out far more cost effective than buying a pre-cut set - plus you'll have enough material to fix the seals on multiple cameras should the need arise.
I've replaced seals using this method several times now and they're all fine. Even if the thin pieces twist a little as @Mr Badger mentions above, you'll likely still be ok. No matter how careful I've been, the thin strips that go in the slots on the back of the camera always twist a little bit when inserting them, but they still work perfectly well. As long as they don't pull loose when you open the camera then all should be fine.
 
Mr Badger said:
The light seals on my Dad's old OM10 (lightly used and kept in a dry draw for years) had perished when I checked them a couple of years ago. They should be soft and flexible 'foam rubber', so if they've turned to a sort of sticky black putty then they need replacing.

We can recommend a reliable camera technician, or you can do this yourself if you are 'good with your hands' and very careful. There are some vids of how it's done on YouTube. I've just changed the seals on a Canon AV1. It's a fiddly job, as the adhesive backed 2mm wide foam strips wanted to stick to the side of the channel and twist, rather than slide down and stick on the bottom of it!) You have to be very careful not to drop bits of the old perished seals into the workings of the camera too! Luckily, the mirror buffer foam inside the camera was in good order on my AV1, so I didn't have to worry about dropping bits of that into the interior.

I got there in the end though and currently have a test roll in the camera to see if I've got it right! However, I sent my treasured Canon A1 away to get that done professionally. Expect to pay around the £40 mark, plus postage for a camera technician to change the seals. A good quality, precision-cut, light seal kit will probably cost you around £20 with the cleaning alcohol and postage. If tempted to DIY, then go for a kit that gives 3 sets of seals, as the chances are you'll write at least one of them off trying to fit them if you've not done this before and got the hang of it! Hope this is useful. :)
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Thank you, I'll have a check when this roll of film is used up.

I've seen the kits online (with 3) and I'm pretty good with my hands, so I'll probably give it a go myself to be honest!
 
You can get excellent seal kits from Jon Goodman, jgood21967@aol.com . A lot of folk on here have used him. For my Pentax LX they were US$12.50 including postage from US. Came very quickly after order. Instructions were good, although they did refer to a bamboo tool which apparently is not allowed in the post any more; toothpick did the job. No problem with seals twisting, cut very accurately to size.
 
ChrisR said:
You can get excellent seal kits from Jon Goodman, jgood21967@aol.com . A lot of folk on here have used him. For my Pentax LX they were US$12.50 including postage from US. Came very quickly after order. Instructions were good, although they did refer to a bamboo tool which apparently is not allowed in the post any more; toothpick did the job. No problem with seals twisting, cut very accurately to size.
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Thanks Chris, ordered a set of seals from a little independent place in Kens which I found online. Tracking is showing they should arrive tomorrow.

On another note, it looks like there may have been an issue with the film, as I've since run through a roll of Fuji Superia and they've all come out with no major light leaks. I'll still replace the seals, but it's very odd.


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