The Sub Club

THE CREATIVE CORNER

My Olympus Pen D3 developed a light leak. Opening it up, I could see that the foam around the door had deteriorated into a black, gooey crust. I wanted to continue to use my D3 but I didn't want to break the bank in repair bills for something as simple as replacing old foam. Fortunately, I found a place that will sell me the foam, and the task is so simple I can do it myself! You can check them out to at http://www.fargo-ent.com/tools/parts_d2.htm. They have self stick sheets of light-baffle in varying thicknesses which will work in any camera. Look for "light baffle" which comes in various thicknesses, with and without adhesive.

The job is pretty easy. You'll need to gently remove the old stuff first. Use Ronson Lighter fluid (OUTDOORS!) with a Q-tip or whatever. Be careful that you don't scratch things inside the camera. The hardest part is cutting the new material to the right size. The self-sticking kind is the easiest to use, but if you have the non-sticking kind, make sure you don't use too much glue. Usually just a tiny bit of contact cement or rubber cement will do the job.

The real do-it-yourselfers can skip the store-bought foam by finding an alternative source of black foam rubber. An old mouse pad cut to the right size and thickness will work fine, for example.

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