Viewfinder Puzzlement
- Thread starter NANCY
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Ken-L
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Take off your lens, and look inside the camera at the mirror. There may be something (very small) on the mirror. If there is, don't touch the mirror! Using a good blower would be the best thing to try first. If it doesn't come off, I would bring the camera to a Nikon dealer that can clean it for you. Mirrors can easily be marred!
Don't forget that the sensor is a dust magnet, so be sure to have the camera turned off and try to do it in a dust free area.
I agree with Ken , probably something on the mirror. maybe a piece of lint that would blow off easily.
I agree too. First possiblity is mirror. If that's not it, it could be in the viewfinder. My D70 got dust in the viewfinder. Very irritating.
M
marc
Guest
NANCY said:
nancy
the image you see in viewfinder is created by the mirror, that is why you see it thru viewfinder.
use a good blower and turn camera facing down, when you do this.
good luck
Just a word of warning. Don't use Dust Off or any similar product at full power. The blast can damage the mirror if it's front-silvered.
M
marc
Guest
NANCY said:
just use a bulb blower. point it at mirror squeeze and it will blow out inside of camera.
just plain old air.
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/controller/home?A=details&Q=&is=REG&O=productlist&sku=259157
your local camera store should have one. they make a smaller version as well. i've seen dust not only on the mirror, but one the screen above the mirror that leads to the view finder.
another thing with compressed air cans (dust off) is that sometimes the gas inside that makes it pressurized can come out with the air and further damage the sensitive internals of your camera.
me on the other hand, i just take my camera into the back yard, remove the lens, and hose her down......oh.....wait......nevermind.
your local camera store should have one. they make a smaller version as well. i've seen dust not only on the mirror, but one the screen above the mirror that leads to the view finder.
another thing with compressed air cans (dust off) is that sometimes the gas inside that makes it pressurized can come out with the air and further damage the sensitive internals of your camera.
me on the other hand, i just take my camera into the back yard, remove the lens, and hose her down......oh.....wait......nevermind.
Agreed that it could be the mirror, but it could be the focusing screen also (easy to clean as well).
You are all geniuses (genui?). I just took the lens off of my camera and very nervously use a little blower brush to clean the mirror and some other part of the insides that is at right angle to the mirror (because I thought that was the mirror at first). At first, the little fern disappeared but I had more stuff, including what looked like a brush from the blower. So, I took the lens off again and blew some more and now I have almost all of the stuff out of there. Can I use the felt cloth that comes with the blower on the mirror? And what is the part that is at right angle to the mirror? And, again, THANK YOU all so much.
i believe the felt cloth you are talking about is for your lens itself and i personally would not attempt to clean the mirror with it. i've never tried to clean a mirror with anything other than a blower so i'm not sure just how delicate they are, but i think i would rather live with something on the mirror than sending my camera into be repaired incase it is so delicate that it does break.
as for the part thats at the right angle to the mirror i would guess your talking about the screen above the mirror (towards the top of the camera). that is a screen that eventually leads the image entering your lens to your viewfinder. so the image enters the lens, reflects off the mirror, upwards through the screen and reflects off of another mirror that leads to your eye when you look through the view finder. at least thats the impression im under. that all makes up the prism of your camera. im sure theres a diagram that will visually explain it better than myself. am i making any sense?
as for the part thats at the right angle to the mirror i would guess your talking about the screen above the mirror (towards the top of the camera). that is a screen that eventually leads the image entering your lens to your viewfinder. so the image enters the lens, reflects off the mirror, upwards through the screen and reflects off of another mirror that leads to your eye when you look through the view finder. at least thats the impression im under. that all makes up the prism of your camera. im sure theres a diagram that will visually explain it better than myself. am i making any sense?
Hi charlie,
Yes, you are making perfect sense and you have made me want to learn more about the inner workings of my camera. Later today when I have more time, I'll search the net and see if I can find a place that describes in more detail, with pictures, how the camera works. Thanks for your help. I really appreciate it.
Yes, you are making perfect sense and you have made me want to learn more about the inner workings of my camera. Later today when I have more time, I'll search the net and see if I can find a place that describes in more detail, with pictures, how the camera works. Thanks for your help. I really appreciate it.
I would avoid touching the mirror , it's very delicate. If you miss a speck or two with the blower it really won't matter. Anything on the mirror would not show on the picture , and most likely would not be noticeable in the viewfinder. Just get the big stuff like the fern 
Nancy,
I agree with charliec and highly recommend the Giotto Rocket blower.
Whenever I change lenses, I make it a habit to blow the camera and the mounted lens, and then blow the new lens before mounting it. I don't know if it's this habitual practice or not, but I've never had to clean a sensor. I did blow out a dust bunny on my S3 once, but that's been the extent of my internal camera cleaning. Great, now I just jinxed myself. Oh, well . . .
I agree with charliec and highly recommend the Giotto Rocket blower.
Whenever I change lenses, I make it a habit to blow the camera and the mounted lens, and then blow the new lens before mounting it. I don't know if it's this habitual practice or not, but I've never had to clean a sensor. I did blow out a dust bunny on my S3 once, but that's been the extent of my internal camera cleaning. Great, now I just jinxed myself. Oh, well . . .
Tosh, I think your right.
My theory is that most of the "debris" that lands inside my camera comes from just around the mounted lens, falling into the camera cavity when I dismount the lens. Some also may get there from the lens I’m about to mount, also. I haven't been doing it but I think I'll change my practice to include the blow procedure you just described as SOP. I do try to keep my camera pointed down when changing lens.
Thanks for the tip!
Oh, sorry, SOP in government speak is "standard operating procedure".
My theory is that most of the "debris" that lands inside my camera comes from just around the mounted lens, falling into the camera cavity when I dismount the lens. Some also may get there from the lens I’m about to mount, also. I haven't been doing it but I think I'll change my practice to include the blow procedure you just described as SOP. I do try to keep my camera pointed down when changing lens.
Thanks for the tip!
Oh, sorry, SOP in government speak is "standard operating procedure".
Brush?
Nancy,
Just repeating here a logical order of actions I read about somewhere in the quest to keep equipment clean and in good working order:
1. Vacuum out your bag on a regular basis.
2. Clean/Blow dust from the lens on both ends before storage. I am not sure about felt/cloth - lens pen ?
3. Clean/Blow around lensmount before removing lens.
4. After removing lens clean around the lensmount. No blowing! lensmount pointing down.
5. Do only use the blower part of a blower brush unit on the interior of your camera. Hairs may come loose or may scratch the sensitive IR filter or the mirror surface. Also, do not stick the business end of the blower inside the mirrorbox.
6. When using a blower [like Giotto] keep the lensmount pointed down
7. In fact when cleaning always keep the lensmount pointed down.
8. Always turn off the camera before attempting to clean the mirrorbox etc. The sensor is statically charged and will attract free floating dust. <Depending on type of sensor, CMOS less than CCD, I read.>
9. Thom Hogan in his D2X e-book suggests that you store your camera with the lensmount down to prevent dust from settling on the sensor.
10. There a a whole series of methods for actually cleaning the sensor itself other than blower brush. This ranges from the electrostatically charged the artists' brush to the various wet methods, CopperHill, Pecpads/Eclipse fluid etc.
11. Canned air has, I read, the bad reputation that the propellant may land in places where it should not be, like sensor/irfilter or mirror surface.
12. Never, ever touch the mirror or sensor/irfilter combination, unless you are sure of what you are doing.
13. Some people like to clean their camera in a room where dust is low and the humidity is controlled to some extent, like a bathroom. No fan should be in operation though.
NANCY said:
Nancy,
Just repeating here a logical order of actions I read about somewhere in the quest to keep equipment clean and in good working order:
1. Vacuum out your bag on a regular basis.
2. Clean/Blow dust from the lens on both ends before storage. I am not sure about felt/cloth - lens pen ?
3. Clean/Blow around lensmount before removing lens.
4. After removing lens clean around the lensmount. No blowing! lensmount pointing down.
5. Do only use the blower part of a blower brush unit on the interior of your camera. Hairs may come loose or may scratch the sensitive IR filter or the mirror surface. Also, do not stick the business end of the blower inside the mirrorbox.
6. When using a blower [like Giotto] keep the lensmount pointed down
7. In fact when cleaning always keep the lensmount pointed down.
8. Always turn off the camera before attempting to clean the mirrorbox etc. The sensor is statically charged and will attract free floating dust. <Depending on type of sensor, CMOS less than CCD, I read.>
9. Thom Hogan in his D2X e-book suggests that you store your camera with the lensmount down to prevent dust from settling on the sensor.
10. There a a whole series of methods for actually cleaning the sensor itself other than blower brush. This ranges from the electrostatically charged the artists' brush to the various wet methods, CopperHill, Pecpads/Eclipse fluid etc.
11. Canned air has, I read, the bad reputation that the propellant may land in places where it should not be, like sensor/irfilter or mirror surface.
12. Never, ever touch the mirror or sensor/irfilter combination, unless you are sure of what you are doing.
13. Some people like to clean their camera in a room where dust is low and the humidity is controlled to some extent, like a bathroom. No fan should be in operation though.
M
marc
Guest
JimCo said:
if you blow, point camera down, or youe blow will just stay inside.
First of all, thank you all for your help and suggestions. And, Herman, your list was spectacular and I am going to try to follow it from now on.
Unfortunately for me, I seem to have to learn everything the hard way. I am so stupid some times. I didn't know I should have taken the little brush off before I tried to blow the fern off my mirror. So I am sure the brush has probably messed up my mirror. It broke up the little fern thing and spread it all across the mirror. Finally, I realized that I was just supposed to use the blower, not the blower and the brush. Duh. Tomorrow, I am overnighting it to have it professionally cleaned and I am hoping for the best.
Looking on the brighter side, I have decided that anyone as dumb as I am definitely needs more than one camera so I am going to get either the D2X or the D200 as my reward for being so clueless when it came to trying to be nice when someone asked me out in the field if they could try out my new 80-400 lens. Never again, will I take a lens off my camera unless I am inside or in a very protected environment.
Morale of the story: One who makes a mistake, shold buy a new camera to make oneself feel better.
Unfortunately for me, I seem to have to learn everything the hard way. I am so stupid some times. I didn't know I should have taken the little brush off before I tried to blow the fern off my mirror. So I am sure the brush has probably messed up my mirror. It broke up the little fern thing and spread it all across the mirror. Finally, I realized that I was just supposed to use the blower, not the blower and the brush. Duh. Tomorrow, I am overnighting it to have it professionally cleaned and I am hoping for the best.
Looking on the brighter side, I have decided that anyone as dumb as I am definitely needs more than one camera so I am going to get either the D2X or the D200 as my reward for being so clueless when it came to trying to be nice when someone asked me out in the field if they could try out my new 80-400 lens. Never again, will I take a lens off my camera unless I am inside or in a very protected environment.
Morale of the story: One who makes a mistake, shold buy a new camera to make oneself feel better.
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