Gunk on focus screen

[jpol]

how do you guys remove adhesive tape gunk from the focus screen, if ever this has happened to you? i know it's dumb of me to use an adhesive tape to remove dust and small hair from the focusing screen but i did it. and there's a considerable amount of gunk stuck on the surface of the focus screen. i've already tried water, lens solution, and a general glass cleaner but none of them worked. any suggestions on this? and how do you guys clean the mirror?
--

-Jan Paul Yap-

http://flickr.com/photos/64528308@N00/

 

[goDez]

Umm using adhesive tape to remove hairs and dust sounds pretty over the top.

I suggest getting a rocket blower or lens cleaner cloth for such cleaning stuff.

With focus screen you do mean the screen that can be taken out of the camera through the front whole, and not the viewfinder glass at the back of the camera, right?

As to remove the adhesive tape gunk, try cleaning with alcohol, however I'm not sure if that might do damage to your screen.. Anyone here who thinks it might? I'm not sure but if lens cleaner/water don't work I'd resort to alcohol.

how do you guys remove adhesive tape gunk from the focus screen, if
ever this has happened to you? i know it's dumb of me to use an
adhesive tape to remove dust and small hair from the focusing
screen but i did it. and there's a considerable amount of gunk
stuck on the surface of the focus screen. i've already tried water,
lens solution, and a general glass cleaner but none of them worked.
any suggestions on this? and how do you guys clean the mirror?
--

-Jan Paul Yap-

http://flickr.com/photos/64528308@N00/

 

[John Bean (UK)]

how do you guys remove adhesive tape gunk from the focus screen, if
ever this has happened to you? i know it's dumb of me to use an
adhesive tape to remove dust and small hair from the focusing
screen but i did it. and there's a considerable amount of gunk
stuck on the surface of the focus screen. i've already tried water,
lens solution, and a general glass cleaner but none of them worked.
any suggestions on this? and how do you guys clean the mirror?

Alcohol for the screen, but if all else fails you can always buy a new one.

Don't ever try to clean the mirror. I mean it - don't even think about it or even touch it, it's surface-silvered and very easy to permanently damage.

--
John Bean [BST/GMT+1] ('British Stupid Time')

PAW 2007 Week 25:
http://waterfoot.smugmug.com/gallery/2321711/2/166030423/Large



Index page: http://waterfoot.smugmug.com
Latest walkabout (21 March 2007):
http://waterfoot.smugmug.com/gallery/2641073

 

[Chris Nielsen]

NEVER NEVER NEVER use alcohol for the focusscreen. It will turn opaque white instantly and it can then be used for only one thing: The dustbin!

Use a blower to remove the things and if that doesn't work, you will have to decide if the scratches left by a very soft brush will be larger than the gunk. You might be lucky that no scratches will be done, but the risk is there.

Replacement screens are available for USD 40.

Cheers
Chris

 

[jpol]

too late. i already cleaned it yesterday. ugghh! now i just have to hope nothing happens with the mirror. if i damage the mirror, will the effect show up immediately or within a certain span of time? i hate what i did! i might have just left the small spec of dust in the focus screen. all i did was complicate things. thanks for the replies guys. i'll just have to hope that nothing bad happens to my mirror and focus screen.
--

-Jan Paul Yap-

http://flickr.com/photos/64528308@N00/

 

[JeffJS]

I clean front surface mirrors all the time on medium format cameras. It isn't something that needs to be done real often as in this case, they are in an enclosed compartment (twin lens reflex cameras). However, with Those, you Really have to work at it to damage them. I cannot imagine our small SLR mirrors being That much different. Usually just wiping them down with a lens cloth does the trick. Disclaimer here, I've never had to clean the one on my K10d..
--
http://photobucket.com/albums/v285/jjmel FZ20
http://s134.photobucket.com/albums/q109/jjkyle/ K10D
Still happy with the K10d (in spite of the pixel peepers)
Someone in Poland is enjoying my FZ20 now.

 

[John Bean (UK)]

too late. i already cleaned it yesterday. ugghh! now i just have to
hope nothing happens with the mirror. if i damage the mirror, will
the effect show up immediately or within a certain span of time?

Probably no long term effect that doesn't show immediately if you just used a brush or dry cloth/tissue. Leave well alone, minor stuff on the mirror has no effect on images - the mirror isn't in the light path during exposure. But a damaged mirror surface can impair the view through the viewfinder and/or affect the accuracy of the meter.

Mark it down to experience: don't attempt to clean things inside the camera unless there's a compelling reason to do so, just use a bulb blower instead.

--
John Bean [BST/GMT+1] ('British Stupid Time')

PAW 2007 Week 25:
http://waterfoot.smugmug.com/gallery/2321711/2/166030423/Large



Index page: http://waterfoot.smugmug.com
Latest walkabout (21 March 2007):
http://waterfoot.smugmug.com/gallery/2641073

 

[JeffJS]

Meant to add that those MF focus mirrors are 3-5 times the size of the K10 mirror and are removable. While too much contact can probably damage the silver coating (it'll start chipping away or CAN be scratched off if not careful), a light wipe down once in awhile isn't going to hurt it. Do be careful though about what else you get up against while in there.
--
http://photobucket.com/albums/v285/jjmel FZ20
http://s134.photobucket.com/albums/q109/jjkyle/ K10D
Still happy with the K10d (in spite of the pixel peepers)
Someone in Poland is enjoying my FZ20 now.

 

[Lacerta]

NEVER NEVER NEVER use alcohol for the focusscreen. It will turn
opaque white instantly and it can then be used for only one thing:
The dustbin!

I did that once with my SFXn!

Fortunly I could acquire a new focus screen from the rep and change it myself saving some money.

--



I build EOS* but shoot Pentax
(* I mean the cars not the cameras )

 

[John Bean (UK)]

NEVER NEVER NEVER use alcohol for the focusscreen. It will turn
opaque white instantly and it can then be used for only one thing:
The dustbin!

Really? In that case it's good advice. I certainly wouldn't use just any alcohol-based solvent/cleaner that comes to hand, a lot of them also contain far more aggressive solvents than alcohol. But I've used Eclipse (pure methanol) on old, filthy film-camera screens without the slightest problem. Maybe alcohol isn't the real culprit here. or maybe its only some types of alcohol and/or some screen materials.

So when in doubt, play safe I guess ;-)

--
John Bean [BST/GMT+1] ('British Stupid Time')

PAW 2007 Week 25:
http://waterfoot.smugmug.com/gallery/2321711/2/166030423/Large



Index page: http://waterfoot.smugmug.com
Latest walkabout (21 March 2007):
http://waterfoot.smugmug.com/gallery/2641073