Topic: Do Yashica TLR's require light seals?

[Glen]

I am getting conflicting stories as to whether Yashica TLR's (such as the 635) require foam light seals. Some say yes, while others tell me that the L-shaped film door configuration would prevent any light leaks, thus eliminating the need for foam. As my "new" 635 has not yet arrived in the mail, I don't know what to believe! Can someone here please provide a definite answer one way or the other? Much appreciated!!

Thanks,
  Glen
 

[jojonas~]

I'd say:
light seals? no.
flocking inside of camera? yes.

let me see if I can find that thread I'm thinking about...
edit: yup, here we go.. two threads actually.

http://www.flickr.com/groups/yashica_tlr/discuss/72157622734630140/
http://www.flickr.com/groups/yashicamat/discuss/72157622473525907/
an example of how it might look:


ohyeah, I hear some models can get a light leak from the four "feet" though.

[Jeff Warden]

Flocking my Yashica definitely improved the negatives insofar as there was more contrast.  But be aware that some of the self adhesive flocking material can migrate to your negatives too and mess them up.  In my case my negatives had hundreds of tiny hairs on them - perhaps there was a static charge attracting the loose flocking material or something.  It was a pain, so I removed the flocking.

I doubt that foam light seals will be needed.  Best to test and see.

[Francois]

From memory, none of my Yashicas have light seals. Don't forget that a well designed back shouldn't need sealing.

[geoffgeoffp]

I use a Yashica B and that's quite ok with no seal.

[sethasaurus]

Just looked at my YashicaMat and 635.
The 635 has what looks like a soft black thread running around the inside of the back cover (kind of flattened into the groove). I've seen this before on older cameras.
The Mat has something similar, but I can't quite make it out. It looks like a very fine lining of velvet-like material.

In any case, they both have a U-shaped channel running around the outside of the back cover, so I doubt you'd get leaks anyway. As Francois says, a well-designed back will stop the leaks, and these are well-designed.

If you did happen to get  leaks, it's an easy fix.

[Jeff Warden]

My YashicaMat has a similar black yarn for a light seal.  The yarn is in a channel that appears deep enough to trap light without the yarn though.  The yarn is so minimal that I never noticed it before today.  I wonder if it's just a cushion to keep the camera from rattling?

[Mab]

Don't know about other Yashicas but my 124G surely had (remnants of) light seal strips between the back cover and the camera body. However, I don't think the back cover leaks light very easily. There is one additional light seal under the light meter module above the viewing lens that in my case was a source of mysterious light leaks. It's very easy to repair though.