Have I permanently damaged something on my 7D?

[Eray]

I would just like some advice from any 7d owners about this...

The other day i was switching lenses and some dust got into my camera, on the mirror and the focusing glass thingy at the top. It was resistant to rocket blower.

So what i did was ...

1) Use a microfibre cloth on the focusing glass, as well as the artist brush thingy found on the end of a lenspen to clean that focusing glass. It didn't end well...the microfibre cloth transferred LOTS of dust to the surface and my brush just mvoed said dust around.

2) Used the same brush on the mirror, but some very tiny bit of dust remains. Also when i shined my pentorch directly onto the mirror (at 90 degree angle to mirror) i noticed it had lots and lots of heterogenous marks like tiny uneven scratches....AFAIK the mirror was like this before i started....can someone with an 7D confirm that their mirror is similar? Did not use microfibre cloth here ofc. feel really concerned about this, the reason being that when i look at a bright homogenous objects like a flourescent lamp I can see a very very very fine homogenous haze. This is probably part paranoia but I really love my camera and am upset :(

So i have actually made everything worse...and i am a bit annoyed at myself about this >.<!!! I was wondering

1) Could I have done any damage to my camera (scratching the mirror or focusing glass with my brush/microfibre, or knocking anyhting out of alignment).

2) What is the proper way to remove dust from the mirror/focusing glass? Its in my vision and i don't want them to eventually end up on the sensor.


THanks guys...

[spasmoid]

I googled "cleaning the focusing screen dslr" and found this http://shimworld.wordpress.com/2008/05/20/dslr-focus-screen-and-sensor-cleaning/
Also run the same search through youtube, there's heaps of results.

If you are really concerned, send it to the camera clinic to have it cleaned professionally. This is probably the only way to know for sure if any damage was done. In any case, it will come back cleaner. Even if you see some crap through the view-finer, it will not affect the quality of the images you produce. The only caveat to that is lots of dust floating around in there means some could get on the sensor - which would affect your image quality.

[MarkChap]

I only ever clean my mirror and focus screen with a rocket blower and soft brush.

I can't see any patterns like you describe, but then you have used a couple of big words that I haven't looked up to understand what they mean, so I may be seeing what you are ???

[ricktas]

take it to a professional camera repair place and get it serviced/cleaned. Dust is invasive and without experience at it, you can damage your camera if you do not know what you are doing, yes you can scratch the mirror, etc. Having said that, you probably haven't, but if you don't have the experience to clean it properly, I would take it to a professional and get it done, checked etc.

[KeeFy]

You're talking about the 45 Deg mirror right that reflects the image onto the prism.

What kind of a microfibre cloth were you using? You should be using the ones opticians uses for glasses.

If you're still confident of doing some cleaning. Try using methanol + a cotton bud. Or the purest iso propyl alcohol (Nothing less than 95%) to give it a bit of a clean.

The very fine scratches that you could not see without a torchlight shining at the right angles in order to see it will not affect your focusing.

[PH005]

Personally , I would only ever use clean cotton buds. First one dampened with a photographic cleaning solution. And secondly a dry one to gently wipe off . When completely dry. A good blow out. No compressed air ! This is only what I would do so please do not take it as professional advise. If unsure, see a Doctor. Best of luck.

[Eray]

I was talking about that fine grainy pattern that you can see when you turn your lens out of focus (i can see a hint of it whilst focused)

Does anyone have a recommendation for a reputable camera service place in sydney? I can find camera shops etc, but i rather go to a place that people have had experience with and knows will do a good job.

[Regnis]

canon at ryde...very good cleaners. cost u about $50 for the service i thinks

[Eray]

Thanks for the suggestion. Are they the best around?

Are there any private small business type shops also recommendable (they will care about their rep and surely do a pro job :D)?

[Eray]

Bump!

its my only day off tomorrow for next few weeks so any suggestions welcome

[Roosta]

Kym supplied me with this link, well worth the read. Get it pro cleaned, as above.

http://www.cleaningdigitalcameras.com/methods.html

[Longshots]

never ever touch the focussing screen - even a brush can leave residue on it. Never use a cloth on it. It wont effect your images, but it will potentially mark the focussing screen.

I have damaged a focussing screen before by touching it with my fingers and the micro sweat on my fingers damaged the screen. Again it did no damage to the camera or images other than make me "see" my clumsiness every time I looked through the view finder to focus