Viewfiender Dust - Cleaning advice

[muralimithun]

Hi All,

Has anyone out there been successful at cleaning up their dusty for Canon 7D/T2i(550d) viewfinder? My rocket blower seems to have no effect at all. This problem was easy to ignore at first since there were only a couple of specs but now after only a couple of weeks there are over a dozen specs on my viewfinder. There has to be some way to get rid of this crap....Please help

[Mito]

Hi, If the dirt is on the outside, I use a cotton bud dipped in alcohol to clean it. On the inside possibly a non-lint wipe with isopropyl alcohol. Hope this helps.

[muralimithun]

Hi Brian,

Thanks for the reply, Unfortunately the dirt is lying on the focus screen How safe to clean focus screen by myself?
How safe to use isopropyl alcohol to clean focus screen.

[GrahamS]

Hi Brian,

Thanks for the reply, Unfortunately the dirt is lying on the focus screen How safe to clean focus screen by myself?
How safe to use isopropyl alcohol to clean focus screen.

Murali, the underside of the focus screen is extremely delicate and very easily marked. If a blower brush won't move the dust, I recommend that you just leave it alone. If you really can't tolerate it, have it cleaned professionally at a Canon service centre. Whatever you do, DON'T try and use a cotton bud or anything similar. You could try a Spec Grabber if you are extremely careful. http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/produc...r_XL_Dust.html

[muralimithun]

Murali, the underside of the focus screen is extremely delicate and very easily marked. If a blower brush won't move the dust, I recommend that you just leave it alone. If you really can't tolerate it, have it cleaned professionally at a Canon service centre. Whatever you do, DON'T try and use a cotton bud or anything similar. You could try a Spec Grabber if you are extremely careful. http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/produc...r_XL_Dust.html

Hi Graham,

Thanks for the information , I feel its better not to take any risk and send my cam to the Canon service centre and get it fixed.

[inkista]

Just some way-too-obvious questions. Apologies if they seem stupid, but ya never know.

When you use the rocketblower, where are you aiming it, and how are you holding the camera? The camera body should be facing the floor, so the dust will (hopefully) fall out of the body, rather than settling back in the body cavity. You also need to aim the rocketblower at the "ceiling" of the chamber, where the focus screen sits.

I would also caution you not to touch it directly if you can help it, or to use a very delicate touch. The matte surface is very easily scratched. I just lived with crap in my viewfinder for a few years with my old XT, since none of those specks showed up in my images. And when the XT's powerboard went, I mentioned the focus screen, and Canon service replaced it with a new one at no cost (they were already charging me $275 for the new power board). That's generally how they deal with "cleaning" it. Given that the 7D has an LCD overlay up in the viewfinder next to the focus screen, I would not recommend trying to replace it yourself.

There are reasons I love my 50D. The interchangeable focus screen is definitely one of them.

[muralimithun]

When you use the rocketblower, where are you aiming it, and how are you holding the camera? The camera body should be facing the floor, so the dust will (hopefully) fall out of the body, rather than settling back in the body cavity. You also need to aim the rocketblower at the "ceiling" of the chamber, where the focus screen sits.

Hi Kathy,

Thanks for the reply,Unfortunately the results were same even after holding the camera facing towards the floor and aiming the rocket blower at the "ceiling" of the chamber, where the focus screen sits I am not sure why.

I am just wondering is this been caused by my battery (Local) recently I purchased as my back up, Initially when I installed I saw only few specs later on many of them landed in my viewfinder.

Here s the battery which I purchased.



The gear that I use is Canon 550/ Rebel T2i.

[Manfred M]

There is no way that a new battery can cause this kind of an issue. The battery sites in the battery compartment and there is no direct path to the focusing screen, pentaprism or viewfinder.

That being said, it is certainly possible to get dirt and dust between the focusing screen and the pentaprism (I did have that happen once on a SLR) and depending on the camera design, contaminants can also enter through the viewfinder (my viewfinder is removable). The focusing screen is removable in some cameras (I've never done this), and the pentprism and back side of the focusing screen could be cleaned, if required. The issue really depends on where the contaminant has lodged itself.

[muralimithun]

There is no way that a new battery can cause this kind of an issue. The battery sites in the battery compartment and there is no direct path to the focusing screen, pentaprism or viewfinder.
.

Hi Manfred,

I went through in few forums and trouble shooting sites like new batteries will produce more static energy which attracts more dust, that was the reason I was just wondering was tat cause for the Specs in my Viewfiender. Unfortunately my viewfinder is Unremovable.

[Manfred M]

Hi Manfred,

I went through in few forums and trouble shooting sites like new batteries will produce more static energy which attracts more dust, that was the reason I was just wondering was tat cause for the Specs in my Viewfiender. Unfortunately my viewfinder is Unremovable.

That inherently does not make any sense. Static buildup is measured in kV, not the few volts that a battery is capable of producing. Likewise, the voltage output difference between a brand new or used battery is not all that different (a few V or so max). I can't quite figure where these trouble shooting sites would come up with this explanation; I can't see the technical rationale. Static tends to be an issue in very dry climates, rather than the humid climate that I would expect India to have.

If you cannot get rid of the dust by blowing, I suspect the camera will have to be serviced by a technician. It the amount of dirt you see worth spending the money on a camera repair?

[muralimithun]

If you cannot get rid of the dust by blowing, I suspect the camera will have to be serviced by a technician. It the amount of dirt you see worth spending the money on a camera repair?

Dirt is not as much as worth spending the money on a camera repair only tiny sepcs but are in more number, Sometimes its quite annoying while taking pics especially portraits/ Wedding shoots