Dust on Mirror??

[lightinsky]

Hi all,

I know I should do more searches, but I'm pretty nervous and have to know this for sure..

Went for the cherry blossoms on sat, and was switching lenses between my 50mm and 70-300, and I think I have dust on the mirror, but am not sure.

When I look thru the viewfinder, there is a pretty large black spot on the top right. I tried taking pictures with a pale background, but the pictures turn out fine, no dust spots. Am I right to conclude that the dust is on the mirror??

If so, can I use a brush on it, or a lens cloth,( I have these) or do i need to get a blower, as recommended in the manual?

will post some pics soon.

Thanks

[coldrain]

You can't see dust on the mirror, since it is not in focus there. What you see is a spec of dirt on the focus screen, "above" the mirror. You can try to clean it with the soft brush.

[LR Max]

Be VERY VERY careful here. You can easily clean the mirror but use a lint-free cloth to do it. The same stuff you use the clean lenses will work.

DO NOT put a paper towel or something like that in there. This is cover your CCD with dust in a heartbeat.

[coldrain]

Be VERY VERY careful here. You can easily clean the mirror but use a lint-free cloth to do it. The same stuff you use the clean lenses will work.

DO NOT put a paper towel or something like that in there. This is cover your CCD with dust in a heartbeat.
It is not the mirror that needs cleaning though. If you see spots in the view finder they are on the focus screen.

[lightinsky]

Thanks a lot for your pointers! Its clear now!! :D :D :D

[Honest Gaza]

You can't see dust on the mirror, since it is not in focus there. What you see is a spec of dirt on the focus screen, "above" the mirror. You can try to clean it with the soft brush.

Thankyou lightinsky for asking this question. I've had the same problem with my camera for several weeks. Tried cleaning all my lenses, the view finder, and the mirror....no success.

Thankyou coldrain for the solution....tried your idea just now....yes, it was the screen above the mirror :D

[jnpalma]

Guys, I've never noticed that :( :( :(

My focus screen was dirty like hell -- thank you all :D

[lightinsky]

:) :)

Guess its a pretty common problem... esp when you change lenses beside a busy street (like I did!!! lol!!)

That said... next question is how do we actually know when to clean the sensor??!!

[jnpalma]

Lightinsky,
To know when to clean your sensor, read this:
http://www.toledo-bend.us/index.shtml?sensor

Then, read this website and navigate through the upper right links
http://www.cleaningdigitalcameras.com/

You could do a search here at dcresource and find thousands of discussions and methods about it.

[lightinsky]

Thanks jnpalma, The site was indeed informative...

I think dive in more in detail when i really need to clean it.. in the meantime.. i still have lots of basic photography to read up... cheers