PSA: That thrift store film camera might just need new light seals

Last week I picked up a beat-to-hell Pentax K1000 from a Salvation Army in Portland for $15. Took it out to shoot around Laurelhurst Park and every single frame came back totally fogged on the edges. Almost chucked the camera before I remembered reading about light seals degrading after 20+ years. Grabbed a $8 light seal kit off eBay, spent maybe 45 minutes scraping out the old crumbling foam and sticking new strips in the back door and mirror box. Just developed my second roll from that camera yesterday and the images are crystal clear with zero light leaks. Anyone else ever almost trash a perfectly good camera just because of some old foam?

2 comments

2 Comments

elliots4910d ago

oh man, i just gotta say the mirror box part isn't usually the issue on a k1000. the seals that go bad are mostly in the back door hinge and the channel around the film door. the mirror foam is more for dampening the slap, so if that's crumbled it won't cause leaks by itself. i've fixed like a dozen of those old pentaxes and the leak always comes from the back door. also those $8 kits work fine but you can get the same foam sheets at a craft store for cheaper, just gotta cut them yourself.

wren30710d ago

@elliots49 totally nailed it with the back door hinge thing. Found that out the hard way on a beat up Minolta X-700 I got for $10. Scraped out all the old crumbly foam and thought I was done, but leaks still showed up on the first roll. Ripped the back door foam off and replaced it a second time, actually got the hinge area this time, and boom - no more leaks. Almost threw that Minolta in the trash after seeing those fogged up photos. Crazy how such a cheap fix saves a whole camera.