In the process of going through some boxes of pictures for a family photo album I came across a kit of light seal material which I think I bought about ten years ago from Jon Goodman. There was enough material to take care of several cameras, so I decided to put it to use, starting with my ten-dollar-yard-sale Nikon EM which I haven't done much with, partly because of a small light leak.
I scraped out the old deteriorated seal material from the Nikon using a small screwdriver. A little dab of glue on each end of the narrow strips held them in place well. I also replaced the seals near the back hinge with some adhesive-backed foam panels from the same kit. The whole job took about half an hour.
As soon as the new seals were firmly in place I loaded up some Kodak ColorPlus 200 and took the Nikon for a walk around the neighborhood.
The next morning we took the dog and the camera for a walk beside the river and I finished up the roll.
No unwanted photons were detected.
8 comments:
Do you get on with the EM? I was given one a few years ago and shot it a couple times and just didn't feel much joy in its use.
I would likely be fine with the EM if it were my only Nikon, but I would probably not choose to use it often over the FE or the F. I do like the relatively light weight and small size, particularly with the compact E-series lens. Mine has an over-sensitive meter which requires the ASA to be set a stop low for proper exposures.
I would say as seal jobs go, you were pretty successful. The couple of times I have undertaken that task, I've found that the most time consuming part of the process is actually removing the old seals. Once you've gotten rid of the left over glue gick, and if your newly cut seals are the right size, the new ones go in with no problem. It's always good to have a spare camera at your disposal! Have a happy 2021, Mike.
That is certainly right that getting out the old seal material is the most time consuming part. I used a little Ronsonol to help. I have seen some reports that people have just installed the new seal material over the old. Having too many cameras has made me lazy abut getting to fixing light seal issues, but it is really a good thing to be doing in these winter days. Look forward to seeing new images in the new year.
I really should try doing this myself some day.
There are quite few kits on ebay. Some kits are designed for specific cameras, but you can also just wing it in a lot of cases as there is not a lot of difference in the dimensions.
Your repair seems to have worked out all right. I remember borrowing a beat-up Nikkormat for a trip to Costa Rica decades ago (more negatives to scan - some day). I was not sure about whether the back was really light tight, so I just applied electrical tape along the back closure. Total success. Considering the constant rain, the tape may have kept water out, as well.
Black tape is your friend. I've used it on quite a few of my old cameras when I just could not be sure where the light was getting in.
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