Scott Peden wrote:
> Chuck,
>
> #5 became real dirty all at once yesterday, lint and all sorts of crap on
> it, I see lint on the inside of the camera too and am not sure how to gently
> get that out and I try really hard to be neat and clean, I rarely even had a
> finger print on my other lens's, but this is a lint magnet.
>
> #2 is clean
> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Single_lens_reflex
>
> So it only effects what I am seeing, not what the camera takes a pic of.
>
> What can be used to remove this stuff? Can the #5 matt focusing screen be
> cleaned with regular lens cleaner?
>
How can I put this delicately - well, I can't. Based on what you have or
appear to have done in your mirror box and surrounding areas, No, you
should not try to clean the focusing screen with lens cleaner. The
focusing screen is made of soft plastic and is easily damaged. I also
don't know just want you mean by regular lens cleaner, nor what you
would plan to use to apply it and clean it off.
If any of the stuff on there is the least bit abrasive, wiping it around
would likely scratch the screen. And get rid of that lens "cleaning"
cloth!!!! A microfiber cleaning cloth designed for the purpose is safe
if kept clean and used gently. No proper lens cleaning cloth will leave
lint!!!
> I know what probably started it was the cleaning cloth for the Tokina Lens's
> give off lint all over the place, once any lens is clean then I have to get
> the lint cleaned off.
>
AGAIN - Get rid of that lens "cleaning" cloth!!!! It's a viper at your
photographic bosom!
> I need something different than that cloth for sure! But that cloth was
> miles away when this happened yesterday. I think I turned the camera
> sideways inside my jacket to keep it dry and where ever tis stuff has been
> residing, landed on the matt focusing screen.
>
Your camera body, without lens, was in your pocket??? NO!!!. I hope I am
misreading what you said. If you need to have the body anywhere without
lens, ALWAYS use a body cap.
You don't mention the other likely cause, use of "canned air" - contrary
to the advise of the maker and any competent repair person.
Now some diagnosis. Worst case first, if only to scare you into being
more careful about what you put in or near the open camera body and how
you clean it. :-)
1. When you look into the mirror box, either directly at the focusing
screen or by reflection in the mirror, do yo see all that dust, etc. on
it's surface?
2. Is the dust, etc. you see through the viewfinder now more clearly
focused than before?
If the answer to #1 is that you don't see as much on the bottom surface
as through the viewfinder and/or the answer to #2 is yes, You have
debris on the top surface of the screen. You see, the matte surface on
which the image is focused by the camera lens and on which the
viewfinder optical system focuses, is the top (inner) surface of the
screen.
If so, your problem is probably primarily the result of blowing gases
into the mirror box too forcefully. The presence of lots of debris in
the mirror box from other sources would then be mostly contributory, in
that there was more stuff to blow into deeper recesses of the camera.
Cameras are not all that well sealed internally, especially not
inexpensive ones like the E-500.
If that is the case, and you can't live with it, it's time to have a
competent repair person, not someone who uses high pressure air in a
mirror box, clean it up. On cameras with interchangeable focusing
screens, like the E-1 and most pro cameras, this is possible for the
untrained user. On the E-500, which doesn't have a user replaceable
focusing screen, that is only an option for someone knowledgeable and
competent in such tasks.
Best case:
If you find that most of the debris is on the bottom, exposed surface of
the screen, you are lucky. Your puzzlement as to why the mirror is clean
and the screen dirty is an easy one. The mirror is glass and the screen
is plastic, and so much more prone to static charge which will attract
and hold dust on its surface.
With that much dust on the screen, there is probably lots more around
the mirror box, and it may take a few iteration of cleaning to get it
under control. First, blow as much as possible off with a hand blower,
ear syringe or Rocket Blower. Then clean the mirror box, You may try
lint free wipes with alcohol, small pieces of Swiffer duster vacuumed to
remove lint from cutting, a small vacuum or micro head, as recently
mentioned, anything that will allow you to get the majority of dust out
of the mirror box while avoiding touching the surfaces of mirror, screen
and shutter.
If you happen to have a static eliminator gun, using it regularly as you
go through the process should be a help. These were pretty common in the
heyday of vinyl LPs and are not hard to find at flea markets, junk
shops, or those few places still specializing in old audio gear. I found
mine in the box of accessories for my turntable. They are also made new
for other purposes, but more expensive that way. They use piezoelectric
crystals rapped sharply to generate streams of positive and negative
ions that discharge static electricity. They use no power source and
last virtually forever. Here, a fellow created his own and shows a
simple test to assure yourself that one is actually working. His image
of blowing while de-ionizing looks good to me, although I'm not so sure
about the wiping part, but we are working on the focusing screen here,
while he is working on the sensor.
If a few rounds of this don't clean up the screen, you may need to
gently dust it off. Use either a clean brush intended for lenses or a
brush prepared as for sensor cleaning. Item 5 applies here and 6 through
8 to other aspects of this work
<http://www.cleaningdigitalcameras.com/methods.html>.
Finally, this level of dust problem isn't common. It seems likely that
your technique in changing lenses and/or handling the camera needs a
change. (Did I mention burning that lens cloth?)
Good luck!
Moose
> Scott
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: olympus-owner@xxxxxxxxxx [mailto:olympus-owner@xxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf
> Of Chuck Norcutt
> Sent: Monday, February 26, 2007 1:33 PM
> To: olympus@xxxxxxxxxx
> Subject: [OM] Re: cleaning sensors
>
> I wish I could see what you're talking about.
>
> Chuck Norcutt
>
> Scott Peden wrote:
>
>> Switching lens's yesterday... all the crap that had been on the viewing
>> screen before, is back, there is so much it is hard to see if something is
>> in focus, yet the mirrors that take the pictures are just fine, not a
>>
> speck.
>
>>
>
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