Nikon SLR's and light seal degradation...

AndrewG · May 18, 2008

How common is this on older SLR's like the FE2 and FM2N and how can a camera be guaranteed/checked for light-tightness other than by running a test roll through it?
Is a degraded light-seal obvious?
Thank you.

malkav41 · May 19, 2008

Older Slr's and Rangefinder cameras commonly have bad light seals, as the materal the seals are made of turns to a tarlike goo over the years. Usually light seals that have gone bad will leave residue on the edge of the film door, and on the end where the door, and body meet. Also the bumper for the mirror on an Slr can deteriorate depending on what it is made of, but usually needs to be replaced at the same time as the other ones. I hope this helps answer your question.

You can get a great light seal kit off of E-bay that is sold by a guy that goes by the seller name interslice. He is great, and very helpful.

AndrewG · May 30, 2008

malkav41 said:
Older Slr's and Rangefinder cameras commonly have bad light seals, as the materal the seals are made of turns to a tarlike goo over the years. Usually light seals that have gone bad will leave residue on the edge of the film door, and on the end where the door, and body meet. Also the bumper for the mirror on an Slr can deteriorate depending on what it is made of, but usually needs to be replaced at the same time as the other ones. I hope this helps answer your question.

You can get a great light seal kit off of E-bay that is sold by a guy that goes by the seller name interslice. He is great, and very helpful.

Thank you.

usayit · May 30, 2008

also here:

http://cameraseals.net/

its been a while since I ordered from him though...

Mitica100 · May 30, 2008

It's a fairly simple and straight forward operation, I have done it many times. Just buy a few sheet of self adhesive foam, cut to dimensions and replace the old one with the new one. Follow the directions given by the sellers and you should be just fine.