Cleaning of the Mirror
Nudged by Renate's post I was noticing the mirror had a spot of welded on dust or something. It really bugs me and I tried the Giotto Rocket blower to no avail. Live with it, pec pad, or professionally cleaned?? Any thoughts on what you might do??? So far the sensor has been dust free! and fine! ( 40 D Canon)
Last edited by Jackie Schuknecht; 02-04-2009 at 10:42 AM.
Jackie- I'd just use a tiny bit of lens cleaning fluid on a lint-free cloth and gently remove the spot. Pec pad would work too I guess.Originally Posted by Jackie Schuknecht
Fully agree with John and shouldn't be hard !!!!
I use LensClens for cleaning my lenses and works great on the mirror !!! Can get it on line ... btw its the Number 1 (pink bottle) http://www.lensclens.com/lens_clens_solutions.htm
Thanks for the tips Al and John, will give it a try!
Jackie,
When looking to clean my sensor I visited the site below. They had a lot of helpful information on the subject, although it didn't have anything on the shaking hands of mine when I cleaned my sensor. Something about the possibility of causing extensive damage probably had something to do with that. The sensor is protected by a glass filament which rests on top...but scratching the glass can't be good either.
Good Luck.
http://www.cleaningdigitalcameras.com/
Thanks Stefan, it was actually the clening of the mirror I was worried about. I couldn't find anything on the Internet or threads here. I know it would do anything to the IQ but it is just a distraction when you look through the viewfinder.
And yes, the first time I cleaned my sensor actually was shaking pretty hard too, but is actually pretty easy, fast, and inexpensive to do it yourself.
Jackie,
Did you clean the mirror???
Hi Renate, I did clean the mirror, and I found it was actually something called the focusing screen which is right above the mirror. I tried it and made a mess of things. If it is just the mirror it is fairly easy to do. The focusing screen is something else however, you should have done professionally I think. Did not do any damage as it is just the image as seen through the viewfinder, but still totally annoying.
The sensor I have done many times and it is a breeze with Artie's LensPen kit.
Jackie,
The focus screens are easy replaceable for the 40D & 50D
I found this:
Here is a video of Focus screen replacement/cleaning.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=szFOsQ4pGWo
I will try that next to clean but I have to get the tool first to take the focus screen out!
I got the sensor clean..It took 5 wipes :)
Great video Renate, I just realzed what I have actually done through watching it. I was using my Giotto rocket blower and just got the tip on the housing underneath it. That was what was making the mark! I haven't actually touched the focusing screen! Thanks for your detective work. Still not sure how to remove that spot, but one thing I have learned is you must select the right type of cleaning fluid! ( which I didn't) In to the shop for a little clean though. Thanks!
Actually the mirror is the most sensitive are of the whole operation and if it was a piece of gunk on the mirror I would have that done at shop for it is easy to mis align the mirror and that would throw your focus out of whack and drive you nuts trying to figure out why things are out of focus.
The focus screen if it can be replaced is a easy clean as is the filter over the sensor
When I managed a camera store I saw many cameras come in with the customer that tried to clean the mirror and made things worse
they can be very delicate and they provide a very important function for the camera
John
I have learned my lesson, I think I became overconfident when I was able to clean the sensor. I realize now how delicately calibrated these machines are. I think I got off lucky.
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