Hasselblad light leak?

[Rogrund]

On a roll I shot the other day there is something that looks like a light leak in the lower left corner of the first eight or nine frames, the rest of the frames are perfectly ok.

Having only shot a handful of rolls with a Hasselblad I'm still not familiar with the system, I don't know where I should be looking. Have I messed up loading the film? Bad light seals in the back?

Here's the technical info (even if it's probably not relevant): 500C, A12 back, Planar 80/2.8, Plus-X, DD-X 1+4 for 6 min.

Here's two pictures, one from the beginning of the roll, one from the end of the roll.

[bobbyrab]

I'm not knowledgable enough to say for sure what the cause, but there's a guy on eBay who sells a light seal kit which is both cheap and easy to do. It keeps the seal for the dark slide light tight, It would probably be the first thing I'd try, and probably the most likely cause.

[bobbyrab]

Actually it's not eBay, but here. http://home.earthlink.net/~blackbird...apSealSets.htm

[e_romero]

I bought one of those and it worked like a charm.

[Nokton48]

Did you wind the roll up tightly before sealing it after exposure?

That is one way to get a lightleak, if the roll is loosely woundup.

You can change the light seal in ten minutes with a jewelers screwdriver.

[Phantomas]

Those photos taken with a hasselblad with lightleak are much better than those photos not taken with no hasselblad with no lightleak. Just sayin'. The first picture is simply lovely.

[Bill Clark]

Yes, I would recommend light seal replacement.

Suggestion to help you, from my experience, using Hasselblads for years, I keep the dark slide out of the film holder whenever they are on camera or sitting in a spot with no film inside.

My reasoning is that with the dark slide in the fim magazine the seal is compressed and, if the dark slide is left in for any length of time, then, at some point, the dark slide is removed and the seal stays compressed.

Of course, if there is film in the magazine I would use the dark slide for removing it from the camera. Actually, you can't remove the film magazine off of the camera unless the dark slide is used. What I did is have multiple cameras for different types of film/lenses when working a session or an event.

Extra film magazines I kept w/o film unless I was going to use them at an event.

I've got film magazines with light seals over 10 yrs. old and they work just fine. Actually, I find that I rarely use a dark slide at all.

Hope this helps you.

[Sarcophilus Harrisii]

Originally Posted by bobbyrab

Actually it's not eBay, but here. http://home.earthlink.net/~blackbird711/HasselbladTrapSealSets.htm

He also sells on ebay but if you are overseas it will cost you an extra $1.05 to buy this way.

I bought a set from him a few years ago, and they're still going strong.
Regards,
Brett

[ChrisN]

Maintenance (as in replacing the seals regularly) is always good, and if you don't know the history of your gear it is a worthwhile precaution.

That said, the light leak in the first pic is on the same side as the notches on the edge of the frame, which is the side opposite from the side where the darkslide enters and where the seals are located. So it's not the seals in this case.

[Rogrund]

Thanks all for your response!

ChrisN: that's very observant and makes perfect sense.

Phantomas: thanks for your comment on the pictures!

[ray*j*gun]

I never thought about compressing the seals with the dark slide. I will be removing it presently!

[Bill Clark]

Hope it helps Raymond!

I have my dark slides stored in a cabinet with other Hasselblad stuff.

Have a wonderful week!

[Pirate]

Just a thought, it might not be the seals for the dark slide. One of my Hassies has a leak on the top right corner (while holding it in a shooting manner) which is opposite the dark slide. The only thing I can attribute this to is the hook on the body having some wear on it and leaving that corner of the back a little loose. It's with all backs I use and across an entire roll though - unless you are in the shadows or your hand is covering that corner by the way it is being held. Check your film and think about how you hold the body for each shot to determine if it could be a light leak around the edges.

Just a thought.
Good luck with it.