How to Avoid Light Leaks Caused by Loosely Wound Film

How do you avoid light leaks on your pictures because your film is not winded up tight enough in your camera? Find out how you can avoid this problem by making sure the film is wound up tight in your camera in this tipster!

I am the happy owner of a Diana F+ camera. When I started using this camera, I often had film rolls which showed light leaks after they were developed. Very cool and very lomo, I thought at first.

But after a while it became annoying, because the pictures which I took very seriously and with a clear idea in mind also had some unwanted light leaks.

Meanwhile, I discovered that those light-leaks were caused by the fact that my film rolls were not wound up tight enough on the take-up spool when I advanced my film to the next shot. When your film roll is wound too loose and you take it out of your camera, light can still get into your roll (on the top and bottom side of the film roll).

A simple way to wind your film tight onto your take-up spool is to press firmly with your left thumb and index finger on the left top and bottom side of your camera, while advancing the film with your right hand. By pressing on your left top and bottom side of the camera, the film will be rolled up more tightly on the take-up spool on the right side of your camera.

I did this with a Diana F+ camera and it works fine, but I have no idea if it also works with other plastic cameras. The plastic material of the camera has to be flexible/soft enough to put some pressure on the film spool when you advance your film. This works of course only with plastic cameras and not with cameras with a metal body. Furthermore, this is a problem with 120 film, because 35mm film is already in a light-proof container.

The Diana F+ is a new twist on the ‘60s classic cult camera. Famous for its dreamy and soft-focused images, the Diana F+ is now packed with extra features such as panorama and pinhole capabilities. Available in our Online Shop.

written by luxxx on 2012-07-04 #gear #tutorials #light #camera #tutorial #light-leaks #spots #tipster #plastic-camera #120-film #lomography #roll-film #diana-f #medium-format-film #loose-winding Share Article