Cleaning question

blackwaterstudioblackwaterstudio Registered Users Posts: 779 Major grins
edited June 23, 2005 in Cameras
When I look through my veiwfinder on my 20D it looks dirty, you can see dirt spots looking through it. I'm wondering if this is from the sensor being dirty. My copperhill ultimate dSLR kit will be here friday, I'm just wondering if somehow dirt has gotten up into the viewfinder or if I'm just seeing the dirty sensor?

Comments

  • wholenewlightwholenewlight Registered Users Posts: 1,529 Major grins
    edited June 22, 2005
    You won't see dirt on the sensor when looking through the viewfinder so it must be dirt in the viewfinder assembly or on the lens (but almost always in the eyepiece of the viewfinder or on the bottom of the prism, right above the mirror - a delicate place to clean).

    And with your brand new fast canon prime lenses, it surely couldn't be dirt on those pieces of glass! :):
    john w
    http://cspics.smugmug.com/

    I knew, of course, that trees and plants had roots, stems, bark, branches and foliage that reached up toward the light. But I was coming to realize that the real magician was light itself.
    Edward Steichen

  • blackwaterstudioblackwaterstudio Registered Users Posts: 779 Major grins
    edited June 22, 2005
    Any way to clean this? Its really annoying at this point. I know the sensor is dirty because it shows up in the pictures, I was just wondering how I go about cleaning the inside of the veiwfinder.
  • wholenewlightwholenewlight Registered Users Posts: 1,529 Major grins
    edited June 22, 2005
    jdsphotography wrote:
    Any way to clean this? Its really annoying at this point. I know the sensor is dirty because it shows up in the pictures, I was just wondering how I go about cleaning the inside of the veiwfinder.
    I'm not sure on the 20D. I haven't had much of a problem with a dusty viewfinder on my D70. On old 35mm (a prehistoric form of photography) Nikon bodies that I used to have, I just used lens tissue on the outside of the viewfinder and a bulb blower on the outside of the viewfinder and on the underside of the prism above the mirror. After using a camera body for awhile, it seems difficult to keep all the dust specks from the viewfinder area - and they always seem to be distracting.

    Maybe some others will chime in with better ideas, and ones specific to the 20D.
    john w
    http://cspics.smugmug.com/

    I knew, of course, that trees and plants had roots, stems, bark, branches and foliage that reached up toward the light. But I was coming to realize that the real magician was light itself.
    Edward Steichen

  • blackwaterstudioblackwaterstudio Registered Users Posts: 779 Major grins
    edited June 22, 2005
    A reply on another board seems to think a dirt mirror which goes up when you snap the picture so you don't see the dust. They said it was fairly easy to clean. So anyone else think its just a dirty mirror?
  • wholenewlightwholenewlight Registered Users Posts: 1,529 Major grins
    edited June 22, 2005
    jdsphotography wrote:
    A reply on another board seems to think a dirt mirror which goes up when you snap the picture so you don't see the dust. They said it was fairly easy to clean. So anyone else think its just a dirty mirror?
    A dirty mirror is easy to check. If the dirt is big enough to be bothersome in your viewfinder, it will be quite obvious on the mirror.

    One thing to remember about cleaning a mirror is don't touch it with anything other than air or the softest of cleaning brush bristles (and that's even dangerous). My understanding is that the camera mirror is "front silvered" and very easy to scratch - even with soft materials.

    An area for much caution. I used to own a one-hour photo lab and saw a few people who had ruined their 35mm camera mirrors by trying to clean a fingerprint off the mirror with lens tissue. And the mechanism is pretty delicate I believe.

    Maybe they're making DSLR mirrors tougher and maybe i'm showing my age. :nah
    john w
    http://cspics.smugmug.com/

    I knew, of course, that trees and plants had roots, stems, bark, branches and foliage that reached up toward the light. But I was coming to realize that the real magician was light itself.
    Edward Steichen

  • pathfinderpathfinder Super Moderators Posts: 14,708 moderator
    edited June 22, 2005
    The topic of visible dust motes when looking through the view finder has been discussed here several times. Usually the dust is on the focusing screen below your pentaprism and above the mirror box in your camera body. It is annoying and harmless. It will not be visible in any of your pictures. So my first advice is to just ignore it. That is the safest path. And what I try to do until it gets to be too much.
    Then, if you just cannot tolerate it, remove the lens, and with a gentle rocket bulb blower, blow are above the mirror onto the focusing screen. This usually seems to help. A sensor brush can also GENTLY be used to brush this area. DO NOT try to clean the mirror. The mirror is a delicate moveable part and is front silvered. Unlike a mirror in your bathroom where the silver is behind the glass and protected from touch, the mirror in your SLR is a front silvered mirror - the silver reflecting surface is on the top of the mirror surface and what you will touch if you dare to try to clean it. DO NOT try to clean your mirror - if dust won't blow off it gently - just ignore it!!

    You cannot see dust on your sensor by looking through your viewfinder - you will only see it when examining your images on the computer screen or sometimes when you cleanthe sensor itself, but usually I cannot see the gremlins on the sensor - just in the images.
    Pathfinder - www.pathfinder.smugmug.com

    Moderator of the Technique Forum and Finishing School on Dgrin
  • blackwaterstudioblackwaterstudio Registered Users Posts: 779 Major grins
    edited June 23, 2005
    This is coming with my copperhill cleaning kit. Would it work without causing any trouble?

    42963246.SensorSweep.jpg

    **Thanks to copperhill for the image**
  • blackwaterstudioblackwaterstudio Registered Users Posts: 779 Major grins
    edited June 23, 2005
    Well I took a blower and blowed the mirror and teh focus screen and I can see still the dust so my next option is sending it back to have it cleaned. I can't get over the face of looking in the viewfinder and seeing spots of dust.
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