How to Replace Light Seals in ANY Film Camera

[@KingJvpes]

🎉hope this helps someone out there! If you enjoy this video, do me a favor and drop a like and also subscribe for more film photography content!

[@jebeq2007]

So I know you are trying to help people with light seals but I think you left a few parts out. I buy and sell cameras and have done a countless number of light seals. I prefer the actual real foam made for camera light seal by Japan Hobby tools, the 2.0mm works best. I find it very important to thouroughly clean all I mean all the old foam from the channels and mirror bumper. This foam is 40 to 50 years old that crumple and gets into your shutter curtain and film specially the mirror bumper area can get all contaminated in the focus screen by sticky old foam that was not removed. Removing the old foam can take time but if you want to do it right it needs to be done. I use Isopropyl alcahol with a small peice of cotton ball and a thin point tool to glide up and down the channels to thourougly clean them.. The new foam comes in a sheet and you will need a very sharp blade to cut the sizes you need. Also when inserting the new foam I apply some isopropyl alcahol on the sticky side so it fits in with ease. The foam you are using is a art craft closed sell foam that has no give and not really designed for a proper light seal. Here is a link to the Japan hobby Tools light seals. www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1364747-REG/japan_hobby_tool_jht9541_20_camera_light_seal_form.html

[@spielside8]

Was wondering why he didn't clean it before aswell, thank you for sharing some tips.

[@dasutin]

Thanks for this comment. Wasn't sure what foam to go with and this saves me the disappointment of using some walmart foam.

[@crwn_munkz]

You don't clean off the old seals and adhesive before installing the new ones? 🤔

[@CarlosJimenezGuerra]

You are right! That is a huge mistake.... You should remove the old ones to improve the adhesion of the new ones...

[@kswag]

@@CarlosJimenezGuerra I think he said in a past video he does this because it gives the adhesive something to grip on to. I don’t think it makes that much of a difference tho.

[@CarlosJimenezGuerra]

@@kswag when you replace the seals, needs to be as flat as possible. The camera was designed with some thinkness in mine, if you put more material that the original... The pressure plate will not make the shame force over the film...

[@bngr_bngr]

@@kswagany of that old seal gets inside the camera it can create a bigger problem inside the camera.

[@masiomasio]

Who cares. Do you.

[@Johnybulletproof]

life hack : Sometimes its tricky to set the light seal because it will try to stick anywhere before you place it correctly so , remove the paper and apply non scented Purell hand sanitizer to the sticky end that allows you to CORRECTIONS if you dont stick the seal in the right place because the hand sanitizer will keep it from sticking , after you let it sit when you feel its correctly placed the alcohol in the purell will evaporate and let the seal sit and stick . Use a toothpick to get the seal into the grooves propperly AND isophopilic alcohol to rub off the old seals . scrub them with a towel or q tip with isophopilic alcohol that will also clean that part of the camera and prepare if for fresh light seals to stick

[@Ramdapanda]

this is great and the reason why I looke up this video. I fixed the light seals on a camera but they ended up sticking to the sides instead of the bottom in some places because of what you just mentioned. Will try this tip out right now

[@heart3ache]

thank u for having the motivation to put these videos and information out there my girlfriend bought me a yashica electro 35 and im fairly new to film photography your videos help a ton 👍

[@briansolomon2969]

If you pick up a "T-square" from an art supply store you can ensure a strait cut at a 90 deg angle from the foam edge. That may help take some of the guesswork out of keeping a strait line.

[@kristenbrasil]

I just brought my $20 OM-10 thrift find off at my local camera shop to replace the light seals. It is $75+ eek! There are so many small little pieces and a lot of old glue on mine so I figured I would let the pros handle this one. I am for sure going to try this on my own next time with an easier camera! Thank you for this!!

[@stanceswitch6419]

You can actually find sellers that sell pre-cut pieces! I bought a couple kits before and they make the whole process a lot easier!

[@stanceswitch6419]

I'm with you on the cost these shops quote. I remember they quoted me $150 by me to "recondition."

[@ryanturner9848]

I got a pentax spotmatic and spotmatic ES recently and hopefully the light seals are still good but if they aren't then I'll use this video! Thanks

[@IlfStoyanov]

You need to be using open-cell foam for the mirror damper, not closed-cell (neoprene) like the one you are using for light sealing around the door. Closed-cell foam has different mechanical properties, and does not dampen the mirror slap properly, in the short term it would introduce microvibrations, that if you are scanning with a high quality scanner, or even better, optically printing, you will see the negative results of in the IQ of your photos. Long term closed-cell foam, as it will not dampen the mirror assembly properly, will lead to wear, bending and even breakage of the mirror mechanism. Just get open-cell foam sheets with adhesive and use that, also a good idea is to clean old light seals and the foam mirror damper with isopropanol and take care not to let any gunk get into the internals of the camera, because those get into the shutter assemblies and will lead to failures that are really hard to fix later on, without complete disassembly and thorough cleaning through an ultrasonic cleaner. P.S. If your door jams, you are using the wrong foam thickness. Different parts of the camera require different foam thickness, some parts actually use felt (like the one on 135 cannisters). not foam. Some light seels need to be 1mm, some 1.5 or 2, very rarely there's a need for 3mm neoprene, and that is mostly on MF cameras (yes, anything that requires precision uses metric, not units that are named after body parts)

[@fish4686]

Is the foam he used okay to use for the doors.

[@jenohogan9254]

Man I wish this video existed a couple of years ago when I was changing my light seals. Some of the other videos I found weren't great.

[@eddyhoughton6542]

Dude, did you forget the space for the tab on the top seal, or am I tripping?

[@joegirty6609]

Great video. Did you remove the old light seal? could you use a different color?

[@jamesal6138]

No he didn't, he should have. There's no reason you couldn't if you were so inclined.

[@the_woo_skier]

Did I miss the part about removing the old light seals? It seems like that’s a crucial step, no?

[@mcmedia2279]

Thanks for the info i have to fix my yashica electro 35

[@brentbrown51]

Thank you, sir. Very instructive. I'll be trying that with a couple of my vintage cameras: my Minolta SRT-201 and my Canon A-1. Question: did you first remove the old light-seal material? If you demonstrated that, I missed it.

[@the_woo_skier]

@KingJvpes the people need answers!

[@spielside8]

He didn't remove it in the video but you definitely should

[@katharinemovertonphotographer]

You need to remove old light seals first and clean the camera I never shut the back leave it open till glue has dried then you can close the back

[@r.wilson8095]

After all the rain in your area I’m guessing the next tip will be weather proofing your camera gear…. Great video as usual thanks for the advice and tips

[@redmondartwork]

Ha! Thats my exact camera!

[@adityasanthanam1945]

I only recently put new light seals on my Yashica TL since the old seals disintegrated. I had to use alcohol to remove the old foam and adhesive.

[@briansolomon2969]

Can you do a video on how to replace the foam around the mirror in an SLR? I have a Pentax k1000 and a Canon New F-1 that needs the foam replaced.

[@ahsanabbasphotography]

Easy, peasy! Cheers mate!

[@apex21484]

I needed that thanks!!!!

[@jessicahaydahlrichardson7951]

Great video by the way!

[@Ikgeloofhetniet]

I couldn’t get the stickers off mine. Tore them all apart trying. Bought more and just glued them in.

[@jessicahaydahlrichardson7951]

Any ideas of how to clean fungus out of the camera prism?

[@hafsa-kn5bl]

hey! i don’t know if you’ll see this but i’m looking to buy a fuji film camera and am stuck 😭 i’m moving towards the xe4 cause of the versatility of the lens but i don’t know what i could compare it to but then you’ve got like xt30s sigh 😭

[@justinguzman-fq6vs]

Hey so question I used a sewing needle to scrap the thin old light seals my friends said I always messed up by doing so what are you thoughts?

[@nobantahir]

I have a Ricoh and I can't cut the strips thin enough for the long skinny parts :( I tried three different foams and flannels all meant for light seals.

[@JamesDBuzzard]

Yo my man I got a question for you! I'm coming from a Sony. I typically shoot the A7iii A7c and FX3. Do you think I would having a better experience using an SLR or a rangefinder? Never used a range finder type camera before and I'm just getting into film. Am I overthinking range focusing or is it worth getting into over an SLR style camera? Hesitating on buying a rangefinder vs an SLR. Currently just got a few point and shoots to hold me over and get my toes wet with film. Wish I knew someone local with a range finder for me to try out 🥲

[@joolstacho8114]

Why not use a really faint smear of Vaseline on the edges of the door, to stop it sticking to the new seal? And I echo the comments about cleaning out the old stuff out of the channels first.

[@Jerry10939]

Wish I had don this with an old Olympus

[@koltinn]

I have an ae1 with the date back the seals on the back look ghastly but its not leaking light yet.

[@davidpresnell1734]

No old glue removal.

[@KalvinPatel]

guys what are some best choices for film cameras for a beginner? Trying to get into it more but so many options!

[@bngr_bngr]

I would say a Nikon because of the overwhelming amount of used lens available. I would try a Nikon FE or FM. If you wear glasses the Nikon F3HP is worth the extra cost.

[@KalvinPatel]

@@bngr_bngr what about what he recommends the nikon L35AF? Any others like those?

[@bngr_bngr]

@@KalvinPatel the problem with point & shoot cameras is they are prone to break down. This wastes expensive film and are expensive to fix. Few camera stores sell reconditioned cameras with a warranty. There is a camera store that does, Bill’s Camera in Huntington Beach, CA.

[@cameronrramos]

Nikon F-801 (or around that lineage) or hell, anything with aperture priority and light metering. Just remember to install new light seals (or tape the back with electrical tape). Point and shoots are fun, but if you’re "trying to get into it" you might as well pick up an SLR.

[@shutterbugf5]

whole reason i watched the video was for tips on removing the old seals... lol... what a joke, he didn't even bother... and the wrong product too... guess it's fine as a hack for your own camera but not the way i'd want any of my collectible cameras done.

[@tylerpreston95]

Yoo… my guy