One of the biggest issues I’ve identified with cameras as I’ve been collecting is that light seals get worn down fast. A large percentage of my collection came with some pretty iffy light sealing and I knew it could be an easy DIY job for myself, so I wanted to learn.
If you’re not familiar with light seals, it’s quite self explanatory. Light seals are small strips of foam found inside the camera. They seal light from coming into the camera from the cracks on the back and sides of the camera. Light exposed to the film will leave an unwanted streak on any frame of your film. Often when you buy a used camera, they come with light seals that are non-existent or wildly worn down. For most DIY focused individuals this would sound like an easy task, but for me at the beginning of my film photography shooting career I was very amateur in handling and doing internal repairs on cameras. Where do I turn to learn? Youtube. Youtube has never let me down in any of my other slightly obscure hobbies. From finger-boarding (super extra tech decks) to snow-skating (snow skateboards) to now film photography DIY repairs. So, I did my due diligence and dove deep into the film photography Youtube rabbit hole.
I ended up with a few options for videos to pick from but I was really just drawn to the thumbnail in one, so I clicked it. In a video posted by popular photography YouTuber KingJvpes, he breaks down how to replace light seals in film cameras. As touched on already, for people who first get into film photography this repair might seem like a tedious task, but with the demonstration shown in clear video form available for anyone at anytime to learn from, it makes it accessible and approachable to learn. Very quickly after watching this video and actually seeing just how simple the task would be, I ordered the necessary parts online and ended up doing my repairs the exact same way shown for 4 of my own film cameras.
It’s quite amazing just how easy it is to learn online these days. In today’s digital age it’s so easy to do a search on Youtube, Google, or Reddit for pretty much any “how to” related to film photography, and you’ll most likely end up at a reliable source. I think many of us who call ourselves “self taught” could also call ourselves “self taught, Youtube assisted”. Thanks to YouTube for educating me on 50% of what I know in life, and thanks KingJvpes for posting a helpful video, check out his channel here.
Shutter Hunter 