M6 light leak?

[braver]

I have been having intermittent issues with my M6 with light leaks, most of which have been dealt with by Will van Manen. However, I have this particular pattern that comes up now and then that eludes me. It has been gone for weeks, and now turns up once or twice on a roll. Below are two examples, taken three months apart. I have several more, where, seemingly regardless of the main light source, a triangular blotch appears in the bottom halve of the frame, near the center. Always the same shape, always the same general area, so lens flare seems to not be the case.

Any ideas of what might cause this? Will is out for another two weeks, so there is some time to investigate and speculate before I have him look at it again. And for me to find a backup body I'm afraid...

[mooge]

could be a hole in the shutter curtain. you can check with a bright flashlight- shine it in through where the lens goes, and look at the curtain from the film side. best done in the dark... and check both curtains...

[Bobonli]

I had a similar problem as depicted in your second photo:
http://www.rangefinderforum.com/foru...ad.php?t=94997

I consulted with Sherry and she diagnosed a light leak. It's with her now. Like you, mine did not show up in every photo and she speculated that it had to do with how I was holding/handling the camera; in other words, sometimes I was holding it in a way to block the leak.

Absolutely demoralizing! I have the same Nikon FM I started with in 1984 and it's never had an issue. But leaks seem to be rather common with Leicas.

[sc_rufctr]

This sure looks like a shutter problem. It's probably leaking every time you operate the film lever and the shutter is traveling to it's cocked position.
If the curtain isn't damaged a proper adjustment would fix it.

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I've never had a light leak in more than 20 years of the same M3 ownership.
But my camera has had a CLA every 3 to 4 years during this time.

The design of the M body is very good as far as light tightness goes.
The two felt strips on either side of the door opening need to be in good condition and the base plate needs to be secure.

Older Nikon's are great but the foam seal needs to be 100%.

[braver]

Originally Posted by Bobonli

I had a similar problem as depicted in your second photo:
http://www.rangefinderforum.com/foru...ad.php?t=94997

I consulted with Sherry and she diagnosed a light leak. It's with her now. Like you, mine did not show up in every photo and she speculated that it had to do with how I was holding/handling the camera; in other words, sometimes I was holding it in a way to block the leak.

Absolutely demoralizing! I have the same Nikon FM I started with in 1984 and it's never had an issue. But leaks seem to be rather common with Leicas.

Definitely looks similar. As it's probably around the door, the way I hold the camera could definitely affect this. I might try some ducttape while I wait for a real repair... :S

Originally Posted by sc_rufctr

This sure looks like a shutter problem. It's probably leaking every time you operate the film lever and the shutter is traveling to it's cocked position.
If the curtain isn't damaged a proper adjustment would fix it.

Oh definitely, leaks are as much as or more common with other cameras. And it's usually entirely fixable in the end, so no real biggy. It is however completely sucky that you only find out days after shooting a roll. But it can't really be the shutter, as it only happens once or twice on a roll... Will assured me it was a leak around the door last time he tried to fix it. Then again, I'm not ruling anything out at this point.