Mamiya 645 1000s, artifacts / bands of light on my images. Shutter issue or light leak?

I have had a chance to shoot about 10 rolls of film on a Mamiya 645 1000s that I acquired a month or so ago. I've noticed, on rare occasions, artifacts appearing on my images. Of the 10 rolls, I've seen similar issues on 9 images, on different rolls and different frame #s. Some rolls had no problems, some had one, one had multiple...

You can see the 9 sample images with the artifact highlighted and the settings being used...

Here is a log of all the images taken, maybe you can find a pattern? The problem ones are in red.

I developed the film myself and had it scanned at a shop. These artifacts can be seen on the negatives so it's not the scanning. The artifact occurred in nearly the same location on each of the images, I couldn't imagine development issues causing identical issues in identical locations.

I can't seem to find any patterns in regards to film, aperture, or shutter speed. The location and appearance is consistent but I don't know why it has only shown up on 9 of 150 shots.

When the artifacts/bands of light appear on the image, there is sometimes a band that extends beyond the imagine to the edge of the negative (at relatively the same position). Though, sometimes the artifacts appear and I don't notice any band (maybe it's just really faint).

I'm leaning towards this being a light leak problem. I've recently had a CLA performed and the seals replaced but, maybe something was missed? It seems to happen more on sunny days. Roll #8 was unusual in that it happened 6 times, it was a sunny day. The subsequent Roll #10 and #11 were fine, so it didn't stay worse after #8 but, they weren't taken in the daylight.

If it was a shutter issue wouldn't it varry more, especially based on the shutter speed? This has happened at 1/250, 1/500, & 1/1000.

I looked at the images and my first thought was also light leak.

If that is the answer, I think it is easy and inexpensive to fix!

Iain

I might contact the person who originally did the CLA and seal replacement to see if he can look at it again. He has a 6 month warranty on repaired parts, perhaps seals fall into this category.

Avizzini said:

I might contact the person who originally did the CLA and seal replacement to see if he can look at it again. He has a 6 month warranty on repaired parts, perhaps seals fall into this category.

Click to expand...

You might want to check out a few things:

Has this phenomenon occurred with the same film insert or does it appear when using multiple inserts?

Look inside the camera, see if the flocking material or paint has come off. This could be an internal reflection.

Has the problem occurred with the same lens or different lenses? If it's the same lens, check the lens mount on the lens.

Also, check the seals and the mirrors on the finder.

Good luck. Let us know how it goes.

Otherwise the images are superb!

I

Yes! Very good thoughts. Internal reflection is a great possibility!

I

Macro guy said:

Avizzini said:

I might contact the person who originally did the CLA and seal replacement to see if he can look at it again. He has a 6 month warranty on repaired parts, perhaps seals fall into this category.

Click to expand...

You might want to check out a few things:
Has this phenomenon occurred with the same film insert or does it appear when using multiple inserts?

Look inside the camera, see if the flocking material or paint has come off. This could be an internal reflection.

Has the problem occurred with the same lens or different lenses? If it's the same lens, check the lens mount on the lens.

Also, check the seals and the mirrors on the finder.

Good luck. Let us know how it goes.

Click to expand...

I only have one insert, I don't have others to test with. Is there a clear way to know if an insert is faulty? The insert is a little scraped and reflective on the corners and sides, is that a problem?
Paint and everything seems to be good on the inside. Only reflective parts in the back are what appears to always have been unpainted (to the right and left of the shutter

I've used a 150mm lens but only a couple times, not often enough to prove anything. The lens appears to fit correctly and snugly.

The seals appear fine, but I can't gurantee it. I don't have any tiny lights or something I can put inside to test with. I tried shining a bright flashlight through the shutter curtain, I didn't notice any leaks there.

Avizzini said:

Macro guy said:

Avizzini said:

I might contact the person who originally did the CLA and seal replacement to see if he can look at it again. He has a 6 month warranty on repaired parts, perhaps seals fall into this category.

Click to expand...

You might want to check out a few things:
Has this phenomenon occurred with the same film insert or does it appear when using multiple inserts?

Look inside the camera, see if the flocking material or paint has come off. This could be an internal reflection.

Has the problem occurred with the same lens or different lenses? If it's the same lens, check the lens mount on the lens.

Also, check the seals and the mirrors on the finder.

Good luck. Let us know how it goes.

Click to expand...

I only have one insert, I don't have others to test with. Is there a clear way to know if an insert is faulty? The insert is a little scraped and reflective on the corners and sides, is that a problem?

https://imgur.com/a/sn9zGbk

Paint and everything seems to be good on the inside. Only reflective parts in the back are what appears to always have been unpainted (to the right and left of the shutter

I've used a 150mm lens but only a couple times, not often enough to prove anything. The lens appears to fit correctly and snugly.

The seals appear fine, but I can't gurantee it. I don't have any tiny lights or something I can put inside to test with. I tried shining a bright flashlight through the shutter curtain, I didn't notice any leaks there.

Click to expand...

From the looks of it, the insert seems ok. I was thinking the insert's pressure plate may have been scratched, but it looks ok.

Another thing, look at the shutter curtains, see if they're ok and if the shutter closes completely.

Macro guy said:

Avizzini said:

Macro guy said:

Avizzini said:

I might contact the person who originally did the CLA and seal replacement to see if he can look at it again. He has a 6 month warranty on repaired parts, perhaps seals fall into this category.

Click to expand...

You might want to check out a few things:
Has this phenomenon occurred with the same film insert or does it appear when using multiple inserts?

Look inside the camera, see if the flocking material or paint has come off. This could be an internal reflection.

Has the problem occurred with the same lens or different lenses? If it's the same lens, check the lens mount on the lens.

Also, check the seals and the mirrors on the finder.

Good luck. Let us know how it goes.

Click to expand...

I only have one insert, I don't have others to test with. Is there a clear way to know if an insert is faulty? The insert is a little scraped and reflective on the corners and sides, is that a problem?

https://imgur.com/a/sn9zGbk

Paint and everything seems to be good on the inside. Only reflective parts in the back are what appears to always have been unpainted (to the right and left of the shutter

I've used a 150mm lens but only a couple times, not often enough to prove anything. The lens appears to fit correctly and snugly.

The seals appear fine, but I can't gurantee it. I don't have any tiny lights or something I can put inside to test with. I tried shining a bright flashlight through the shutter curtain, I didn't notice any leaks there.

Click to expand...

From the looks of it, the insert seems ok. I was thinking the insert's pressure plate may have been scratched, but it looks ok.

Another thing, look at the shutter curtains, see if they're ok and if the shutter closes completely.

Click to expand...

The plate is unscratched and it's springy. It locks in as expected.

I tried shining a flashlight through the camera and curtain (in a released state and cocked state), I didn't notice any light making it through. The shutter always seem to work correctly at all of the speeds. I don't have a tiny light to put inside the camera to do a complete test...

Avizzini said:

Macro guy said:

Avizzini said:

Macro guy said:

Avizzini said:

I might contact the person who originally did the CLA and seal replacement to see if he can look at it again. He has a 6 month warranty on repaired parts, perhaps seals fall into this category.

Click to expand...

You might want to check out a few things:
Has this phenomenon occurred with the same film insert or does it appear when using multiple inserts?

Look inside the camera, see if the flocking material or paint has come off. This could be an internal reflection.

Has the problem occurred with the same lens or different lenses? If it's the same lens, check the lens mount on the lens.

Also, check the seals and the mirrors on the finder.

Good luck. Let us know how it goes.

Click to expand...

I only have one insert, I don't have others to test with. Is there a clear way to know if an insert is faulty? The insert is a little scraped and reflective on the corners and sides, is that a problem?

https://imgur.com/a/sn9zGbk

Paint and everything seems to be good on the inside. Only reflective parts in the back are what appears to always have been unpainted (to the right and left of the shutter

I've used a 150mm lens but only a couple times, not often enough to prove anything. The lens appears to fit correctly and snugly.

The seals appear fine, but I can't gurantee it. I don't have any tiny lights or something I can put inside to test with. I tried shining a bright flashlight through the shutter curtain, I didn't notice any leaks there.

Click to expand...

From the looks of it, the insert seems ok. I was thinking the insert's pressure plate may have been scratched, but it looks ok.

Another thing, look at the shutter curtains, see if they're ok and if the shutter closes completely.

Click to expand...

The plate is unscratched and it's springy. It locks in as expected.

I tried shining a flashlight through the camera and curtain (in a released state and cocked state), I didn't notice any light making it through. The shutter always seem to work correctly at all of the speeds. I don't have a tiny light to put inside the camera to do a complete test...

Click to expand...

Well, the good news is that you've eliminated at least some of the possibilities. Send the camera to the repair shop and let them take a crack at it.

Did you ever find the cause? My Mamiya m645 1000s has this exact problem.