donrent Loc: Punta Gorda , Fl

When I view thru my view finder on my xsi , I see a bunch of speck and dots just left of center, but none show up on my images...

Is this something I can clear up myself or is a Tech needed for a camera cleaning... My lenses are fine...

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

It might be very easy.

http://photo.stackexchange.com/questions/637/how-do-i-clean-the-inside-of-my-viewfinder

More detailed answers.

http://adrienchan.wordpress.com/2011/01/31/cleaning-your-dslr-sensor-viewfinder/

http://www.howtocleanstuff.net/how-to-clean-your-cameras-viewfinder/

donrent Loc: Punta Gorda , Fl

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Hey !, Hey !!!

Its clean again... Thanks a bunch for the help....
Don :thumbup:

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

:thumbup:

amfoto1 Loc: San Jose, Calif. USA

Worst advice I have ever seen at those websites. I bet more than a few cameras have been made worse, damaged or even ruined as a result. This is the problem with the Internet... all kinds of really bad advice gets posted all over the place.

First thing you need to understand is that spots you see in the viewfinder of an SLR/DSLR have absolutely no effect on your images. The spots seen in the viewfinder are either on the focus screen (if the spot appears in focus) or on the mirror (if the spot appears out of focus). When you take a photo, the mirror flips up out of the way, covering the focusing screen and sealing off light from entering via the viewfinder... only then does the shutter open and expose the sensor behind it. That whole cycle happens in an instant typically, depending upon how long a shutter speed you've set (or the camera sets automatically).

And something similar happens in Live View or Video mode too. The mirror flips up and covers the focus screen, then the shutter opens exposing the sensor. So there's no way those specks will appear on the camera's LCD (or a remote/tethered device, if using one) during Live View, or in videos either.

So anything on the mirror or focus screen cannot possibly show up in your images, unless it first somehow migrates around the mirror box, sneaks past the shutter for the fraction of a second that it's open, and lands on the sensor. Sure, that might happen. But the likelihood of it happening is pretty slim.

Sometimes spots also somehow find their way inside the pentaprism and viewfinder assembly. The camera has to be disassembled to remove those.

Next thing you need to know is that the mirror is front surfaced, very high precision, and the coating on it is vaporized aluminum in most cameras. This is very easily scratched and damaged. The focus screen above the mirror is optical plastic in most cameras, and also is very easily damaged. To give you an idea how delicate it is, in some cameras the focusing screen is interchangeable with different types. A special tool is provided to handle the focus screen, a plastic tweezers of sorts (shown at one of the above websites), because you should never touch it with your fingers... the natural oils from your skin can contaminate the focus screen. Also, there are delicate light seals around the perimeter of the focus screen, that the mirror closes against. If you damage those and cause a light leak, poking around in there, you'll have a light leak that will effect every photo you take.

The best and safest way to "clean" the mirror and focus screen is to use a bulb blower to gently puff away loose specks from both of them.... as best possible. It might help to face the camera downward when doing this, so that dust specks can fall out of it. It also can help to use a special low power vacuum or to set a household vac nearby to draw away dust specks. Just don't apply strong vacuum directly to or too close to the camera, or it might be damaged.

Likely the gentle puff of air won't dislodge every speck of dust. But I wouldn't recommend going any further than that. Don't touch the mirror or the focus screen with anything.

Two of the above websites mentions using a cotton swab (i.e., "Q-Tip" ). This is one of the first things they teach you NOT TO DO, when you train to be a camera repair tech. Common cotton swabs have no business in or around cameras. They shed tiny, tough threads that can all-too-easily end up inside delicate mechanisms, jamming them and resulting in a very expensive repair bill. Never, ever use a Q-Tip inside your camera!

In fact, if it's just specks in the viewfinder, its inadvisable to ever try any further cleaning of the mirror or focus screen yourself. There is just too much risk of doing damage. The focus screen usually isn't too expensive to replace (about $35 or $40 for a typical Canon screen... but some screens sell for over $100). The mirror would be more costly to replace if damaged. Likely $150 to $300, unless the mirror mechanism itself gets damaged, in which case the cost of repair will go up.

Spots and specks seen in your viewfinder are merely a very minor nuisance, will not show up in your images, so why risk a possibly expensive repair?

Instead I highly recommend having the camera professionally cleaned every year or two or three. At those times, they'll clean the focus screen, mirror and sensor. In between, learn to do our own sensor cleanings, if necessary. But don't try anything more than a puff of air cleaning the mirror and focus screen.