Fuzz! .... or dust....

sherijohnson

I am assuming it has attached itself somehow to the viewfinder on my 50D. And I have cleaned everything I can think of that it could have been stuck to. I have also done some test shots and it is not appearing in the images like I see it when I look through the viewfinder. But of course even if that was the case, it is distracting. Any ideas?

Scott_Quier

sherijohnson wrote:

I am assuming it has attached itself somehow to the viewfinder on my 50D. And I have cleaned everything I can think of that it could have been stuck to. I have also done some test shots and it is not appearing in the images like I see it when I look through the viewfinder. But of course even if that was the case, it is distracting. Any ideas?

If you see it in relatively sharp focus through the viewfinder, the dust/fuzz is almost certainly to be on the focusing screen. Take off the lens, and look at the mirror. Now, look up just a little bit more inside the mirrorbox. That's the focusing screen. Using some sort of bulb (here's a good example of one), gently blow air across the focusing screen. Now, look through the viewfinder. If the dust/fuzz is gone or moved, you know you're on the right track.

As a gentle warning - Think long and hard before you touch the mirror. The mirror coating is on the surface you see (not the back surface like a household mirror) and is said to be very delicate (so says Ziggy and I believe him). You can blow air across the mirror if you see stuff there, but you probably don't want to touch it.

ziggy53

Sheri,

If the problem is distinct and sharp and does not appear in the images then it almost must be on the viewfinder screen.

Turn the camera upside down, without a lens on. Leave the camera off and look down into the camera. The viewfinder screen should be easier to see in this orientation.

Use a small, single LED flashlight to look at the screen. That should make it easier to see small stuff.

If it is just dust or lint then either a blower or a static-brush is usually appropriate, but a static brush is better at actually removing the problem in my experience. A blower may just move it around inside the cavity of the camera.

In the worst case you might have to remove the screen to clean it.

ziggy53

Scott has a good point about being careful of the mirror.

sherijohnson

yeah, no way would I ever touch the mirror with anything

I have always been very careful about the inside of any of my cameras

Okay, I got it out of there! There were two pieces of fuzz or dust. I got more effective removal by a quick and hard blow of my breath than with the camera blower, which I had already tried this morning and all that did was move it around. At least I was able to figure out where to focus on where I needed to get it out of there from.