Apples

Apples

by Garik

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Yesterday I was photographing an event and had to change a lot between lenses (50mm and 18-55mm). Surprise, surprise, today when I looked on the viewfinder I saw a little piece of fabric and a little black dot.

I cleaned with a brush and blower (click for example): the lenses, the eye piece, the base of the pentaprism (which is that pink line in the figure below), and even the mirror. After the "cleaning" I looked again and the viewfinder was even dirtier, now with small translucent fragments, and the original dust still there.

I sure the dust is on the "focussing screen" (according to the pink line in the figure), because I observed the mirror and it's clean and I took a photo and it's also clear of dust. How can i effectively clean that base of the pentaprism? I even tried using the corner of a paper sheet and scrub it but without success.

Any ideas? Get a better blower?

dslr-inside

P.S: I have a Nikon 3100.

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fixed, thanks @mattdm – DiAlex Mar 2 at 1:15

2 Answers

up vote 4 down vote accepted

I would say don't bother. It won't appear on your photographs and will only bother you if you focus on it (pardon the pun).

if it is really bad then give it a puff with a rocket blower, if that fails then send it to a proper repair shop otherwise I feel you're in danger of causing damage.

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+1 for rocket blower. In my experience, blowers with brushes are usually a menace, not a help. – RedGrittyBrick Feb 27 at 23:22
I agree with brushes, blowing fine but keep bristles out of the housing :o) – Tony Feb 28 at 12:42
up vote 3 down vote

Most SLR's have removable/replaceable focusing screens, and I gather the D3100 is no exception. There are instructions here for removing and cleaning your focusing screen. Be aware the the screens are usually plastic and quite fragile. On the other hand, if you really screw it up, a new one won't set you back all that much.

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I don't think I have the courage to do so :P I prefer more "passive" approaches, without touching or messing with parts of the camera – DiAlex Feb 26 at 18:57
2  
It's not like you're opening something that you're not supposed to open. The camera is designed such that the user can swap in different screens. Removing the screen and doing a gentle cleaning would definitely be better than trying to slip a piece of paper between the screen and the prism! I can understand being uncomfortable, though, and if that's the case you should consider taking the camera to your local camera store for some professional cleaning help. – Caleb Feb 26 at 19:02

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