That is my plan once I get it working properly. I got the camera with 4 film inserts (2 120 [1 with a box so you can carry it loaded and ready to pop into the camera] & 2 220), 3 lenses 55/2.8; 80/2.8 & 155/3.5 and a left hand grip/cold shoe mount for $300 delivered. I have had to put in a new battery ~$10 and purchased light seals $12 delivered. I am hoping that this gets it up and running.

My plan is to evaluate MF with this body and, if I decide I really like it, upgrade the body to a Super, Pro or Pro TL body as those models all have interchangeable backs and can use my lenses. It would be nice to have a meter in the viewfinder, but mine does not; the next body will. I have a meter, so my first task is getting the meter tweaked so that it works with the camera. I was running my first roll through the camera after having synched my meter to my N90s body for exposures. The plan was to scan the shots into the computer and then go into Lightroom and see how much exposure comp I needed to dial in. That would then give me the delta I need to dial into my meter to account for the particular camera and scanner combo. The light leak issue (whether from the missing seals or the shutter) have sidetracked the process at this point.

I do look forward to getting this issue fixed and playing with this camera. I have done loads of darkroom work in the past, but have not done so for a while. It felt good to be back in the darkroom at least for the film development part. I don't see buying an enlarger and going that route when I can scan in the negatives, but I do rather like developing my own film. My plan for this week, while I am waiting for the new seals to arrive, is to build a DIY film drying cabinet. I think I can do it for under $35, maybe a bit less.

No problem. Actually, the streak is not visible on the last frame - there were 3 more shots after what I posted. The last shot was at 1/500, which was a red herring. It was, however immediately wound into the roll and did not spend time near the leak. The varying intensity was due to some shots having a follow-up shot taken quickly on their heels and others were there for a while while setting up a new shot - in bright sun. After looking at the camera, the seals are the answer that best explains everything. At $12 to get the kit, I am not out much if that is not the culprit. I will report back when I have installed the seals and shot a roll of Tri-X.

Good point. I have ordered the new kit. I had read the manual, but thanks for the link. I have a brand new battery in the camera. I had let the camera get cold, but it was in the car when not actually shooting. I was too, it was COLD!!!

I have opened the camera and note the following:

On the body there is nothing in the vertical side channels where the door edge rests or in the top channel and there is an old strip at the bottom on the bottom edge.

On the door, there are old strips at the side edges and on the top edge, but nothing at the bottom.

Based on light strip kits I see on line, it looks like there is significant missing light strips. I will order and use one of these kits before trying this body again. I will update at that time. Thanks to all for the input.

Great observation about the streak going to the edge of the film. If it were the shutter, it would only go to the edge of the image and the film between the image and edge would be clear? I will have to look at the seals.

I dunno. I shot Tri-X for B&W from the 1970s through about 2005 when I more or less switched to digital to cover my kids events. I have always liked the journalistic look and feel of Tri-X. Now for color, I prefer a more grain-free look - Velvia until I run out - then Ektar or Portra depending on what I am shooting. Different strokes.

Oh, you are talking about the developing tank reel. It was loaded in a dark changing bag. The tank or changing bag would have to be defective. Again, why at the same spot on every frame. This looks more mechanical.

Good question. The film was loaded into the camera in a dim room and removed the same way. If it were a light strike, I would think you would see it at different parts of the frame on successive frames because of the way the film wraps around it’s spindle.

Seems so. I am going to find a warm place to shoot a roll tomorrow to see if the extreme cold contributed to the issue. It was 4*F out and I left the camera in the car over night in the garage, but it was at about freezing in the garage. The camera and its bag are in the house tonight. With any luck, it will work tomorrow and a COA will put it all right. Time will tell.

I watched the shutter. It moves top to bottom with the horizontal line going horizontally across the landscape format. Winding,moves it back to the top.

Thinking more on this issue. The guy I bought this camera from said he film tested it and it worked fine. I wonder if it being about 4*F outside might have caused shutter issues. I may have to try it in a warmer setting tomorrow and see what happens.

That was my first thought. I saw something similar when I did not put enough chemical in the tank when developing 2 rolls of 35mm many years ago. The problem here, however, is that the blemish is in the middle of the frames and it runs from rim to rim of the developer tank reel. I can’t see how the chemical could be that selective and hit basically the same place on each frame. If that was the issue, I would expect the banding to run down 1 edge of the film. I put 570mm of developer in an Omega tank and it only calls for 550 for 1 roll of 120, 570 for 2 rolls of 135. I wanted to be sure I had it covered. I am open to more info to understand how this could occur.

This is the first roll I have run through this camera. It is Ilford Hp5, which is not known for having issues. My daughter bought the roll for me for Christmas from the local camera store, so I know that it was reasonably fresh. The expiration date was in 2019.

ETA: The only frame that did not have this issue was the only frame shot at 1/500 sec.

I recently got a new M645 body and just got out to shoot it today. I developed the film and got what you see in the attached contact sheet - actually a digital shot of the negatives on an iPad light table. As you can see, in most of the images there is a light streak (dark in the negatives) running across the film. In the M645, the film feeds from the top of the camera to the bottom and the long side is horizontal on the film strip. My first thought was that I screwed something up in the development process, but the blemishes are pretty uniform on each frame and are not co-linear on the film strip.

I am stumped, but it looks like a light leak of some sort to me. I appreciate your opinions.

ETA, FWIW, the shots in the left column were shot with an 80mm lens and the rest of the shots shown were shot with a 55mm lens.

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For action sports, I shoot aperture priority and meter the darkest part of the field/court/gym adjusting the ISO so that my minimum shutter is where I want it. So, set the aperture, set the ISO and let the shutter automatically adjust. If the lighting gets worst, adjust the ISO.

#3 - sometimes worse.