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06-24-2019, 10:49 AM - 13 Likes   #1
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The Light Seal Project...

Hi Folks,
I thought I had joined this group long ago, but if I did I couldn't find my sign up/login info, so I'll appear as a new member. Lots of you may know me as the light seal guy and before I go a step further, I'd like to say a big thank you to everyone who has supported the project and all those folks who contact me. A week or more ago I received an email message which made me think I needed to show up and say something. A couple of things, actually. 1...I did retire, but that was about 7 years ago. Retirement only means I no longer take in camera repair work and I spend my days working on many other more mundane things now. 2...the "Light Seal Project" is still alive. 3...I'm still happy to try to help with any light seal question or problem.

The message I received seemed to imply the sender thought I might be dead or something. Ha, ha. Well, no. I'm still alive and hope to be for many more years. You know, some scientists believe the first person to live for 200 years has already been born. I don't think it will be me, however. Even at this point, I consider it an accomplishment if I can put my blue jeans on without snagging a foot, falling over and knocking myself unconscious.

After the tsunami wrecked some of the custom foam factories in Japan, it took a couple of years of work and negotiations to have all foam, velvet, etc made for me here in the USA. It is better quality than you'll find anywhere, is guaranteed to last longer and made to my specifications. I will tell you it is more expensive but you truly do get what you pay for. The seal kits are all "pre-cut" now (meaning one kit re-seals one specific camera make and model) and I should mention some have been discontinued. Those discontinued kits are for cameras which enjoy only a tiny bit of consumer interest. Partial list: all Bronica cameras, Fujica, Chinon, Ricoh (aside from the 500g), many Yashicas, Autocord, all of the plastic fantastic auto everything models (including SLRs). Not to say these are bad cameras, but the buying public seems to have become much more discriminating today.

What is new with the project? Improvements of several types. For example, the kit for the Pentax MX contains 5 mirror damper pads which by definition are fiddly. I'm experimenting with new ways of cutting these tiny pads which will hopefully make them more easy to remove from the backing paper for the user and more easy to use. And release tabs are on most other foam pieces and have been for a while now. I'll include an image of the MX mirror damper pads so you can see.

The "tri-dot" battery converter (which turns a #675 hearing aid battery into a clone of the old PX-13 type mercury cell) is still being made although as demand for this type of battery plummets, it is becoming hard to find expired batteries to recycle. They're all made in China and the Chinese have finally realized they were making too many. I expect to see this shape/size of battery to disappear soon.

So again a big thanks for everyone who's been supporting the project. Please tell me if you have any questions, concerns or if you just want to talk bad about the many parasites who continue to copy my kits and plagiarize my instructions.
Best regards,
Jon

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Last edited by Adam; 06-24-2019 at 11:06 AM. Reason: PII
06-24-2019, 12:46 PM   #2
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Good to see you on Pentax Forums.

Your light seal kits have kept so many old film cameras useful,
and so many old - and new - film camera users happy, for so long...

Jon Goodman, we really owe you a debt of gratitude!

Chris
06-24-2019, 01:33 PM   #3
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Thanks for posting Jon, your kits have helped many cameras in my collection.
06-24-2019, 05:39 PM   #4
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Nice to see you on the Forums Jon.

It might have been my email a few weeks ago wondering if you were still kicking... I'm still thinking about resealing the SV, just trying to rationalise my collection first

06-24-2019, 08:32 PM   #5
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Hi guys,
Thanks for the very nice words! Oh...one thing I should mention. Most of you know it, but some may not. I haven't sold on eBay for about 10 years and I won't do it again. The piracy and fraud got too heavy and eBay's management was/is much happier to hide under the bed like frightened schoolgirls than actually face any problems.

Honestly I can't remember who sent the email, but it did make me grin. Thanks again!
Jon
06-26-2019, 02:20 PM   #6
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Hi Jon,

Mel here who will be back on to you soon enough for some of those tri dots. Good to see you posting and hope you will continue as you are such a huge source of know how.
06-27-2019, 01:17 AM   #7
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Good to see you here Jon. When you say that Fujica cameras are no longer supported - does that include the GSW690II and other Fuji GW/GSW 6x9 cameras?

06-27-2019, 06:50 PM   #8
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Hi Jason,
Sadly it does. I was down to selling one kit about every year or two and at that point it seemed pretty fruitless. Plus some of the parts of that kit require extra cutting work. I still have the templates and cutters for the 690 types, but they've been put in storage. If you need to re-seal one of these, please let me know via PM and give me a bit of lead time to go over and bring what I'll need back here.
Jon

Last edited by Racer X 69; 06-27-2019 at 07:03 PM.
06-27-2019, 09:36 PM   #9
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QuoteOriginally posted by Jon Goodman Quote
Hi Jason,
Sadly it does. I was down to selling one kit about every year or two and at that point it seemed pretty fruitless. Plus some of the parts of that kit require extra cutting work. I still have the templates and cutters for the 690 types, but they've been put in storage. If you need to re-seal one of these, please let me know via PM and give me a bit of lead time to go over and bring what I'll need back here.
Jon
Hi Jon, thanks for the reply and for the kind offer of digging the equipment out of storage, that's generous of you. I have the GSW690II but no need for light seals at this point.
I'll probably contact you soon enough for light seals for other cameras though I suspect.
07-03-2019, 12:08 PM   #10
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Great to see you here Jon, your light seal kits have kept my cameras going over the years.
07-13-2019, 10:47 AM   #11
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Do you have a kit for the ES? My ESII was serviced so is OK, but I've just been using the ES.

Thanks, Kris.
07-13-2019, 07:40 PM   #12
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QuoteOriginally posted by womble Quote
Do you have a kit for the ES? My ESII was serviced so is OK, but I've just been using the ES.

Thanks, Kris.
Hi Kris. The ES was built using the same body casting as the Spotmatic and the later K1000 and early K type variants. As far as I know, the same kit should be fine for all of them. Let's communicate via PM, and I'll help asap. I'm finishing a vacation now and should be back around the 15th.
Jon

Last edited by Racer X 69; 07-14-2019 at 01:43 PM. Reason: Offering items outside the Marketplace.
07-13-2019, 08:02 PM   #13
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I am so very happy to know that you are still are alive and still supporting your light seal line. I am a huge supporter of your product every time the subject of seals comes up. I am a little sad that Ricoh has been dropped, particularly since the late 70s to mid-80s Ricoh SLRs are fairly popular around these parts (I have an XR-2s and two XR7). That being said, there is no sense making and stocking stuff that nobody is buying.


Steve
07-14-2019, 11:29 AM - 1 Like   #14
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Hi Steve,
Thanks...there are still some templates, cutters, etc for the Ricoh (and Sears) models and I can get them out of storage if needed. All you have to do is let me know and give me a bit of lead time.
Jon
07-14-2019, 03:55 PM   #15
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Jon - Nice to see you post here. I'd just like to add to the praise already posted by others. I've used Jon's seal kits on several cameras, and have a few more on the shelf waiting for me to get around to installing them. They are high quality, easy to use, and come with great instructions. Perhaps just as valuable, Jon provides help and encouragement when needed by email, and helps you to be successful. Thanks very much!
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