Just realized most of my light leak problems were from bad film canisters, not my camera

I spent 6 months thinking my old Pentax needed new light seals. I was getting these orange streaks on every roll. Then I noticed it only happened with one brand of film I bought from a flea market. I swapped to fresh rolls from a proper shop, and boom, clean shots. Anyone else notice cheap bulk film canisters messing up their shots?

2 comments

2 Comments

mark_nguyen9515d ago

My 1990 Canon F1 had the same damn problem until I swapped to a fresh roll of Kodak Gold from a drugstore instead of the discounted stuff. @mitchell.wade, I hear you on the flashlight test thing but if the orange streaks only show up on that one brand of bulk film, that tells me the canister's the weak link. Pop a flashlight in a dark room with that flea market roll and see if light bleeds through the spool hole.

mitchell.wade15d ago

Oh come on, you really think a film canister is causing light leaks? I've shot hundreds of rolls from random bulk bins and flea markets and never had that issue. Maybe your Pentax seals are just old and you got lucky with that one fresh batch. Light leaks usually show up as bright white streaks or orange fogging, not consistent orange lines. I'd swap back to that flea market roll and check the camera again with a flashlight test before blaming the canisters. Sounds like a coincidence more than a real cause and effect.