Viewfinder mucky?

Hello,

I have found very noticeable black specks and small grey splodges behind them in my viewfinder. The camera is a DS about 2 1/2 years old. There is no dust showing up on the photos. I have given the insides a blow with a Q ball but the 'dirt' is still there.

I took the camera to a local pentax dealer today. He shook his head and sucked his breath in . ..."The seal around the viewfinder has gone, you have got dirt and possible some damp in" he then cheerfully offered to send the camera for cleaning at a cost of around £90 possibly more.

Unfortunatley, he also said that this might not be a good idea as the repair shop would have to dismantle the viewfinder and prism to get to the dirt. This would then render the the area to becoming prone to dirt in the future as it could never be sealed properly again.

Has anyone views on:
1. How the dirt could get in to what is supposed to be a sealed unit?
2. Is having a £90 clean worth it?
3. If I have the viewfinder cleaned will I really make it worse in the long run?

A depressed and slightly confused Davem

The guy is talking utter bollocks. The viewfinder is NOT a sealed unit. The DS focussing screen is removeable and therefore crud does get in. It is easily removed but it is very easily damaged so you could make things worse if you are not careful. Looking into the camera body there is a little catch on the front edge of the screen frame. Gently push it in and the frame drops and the screen can be CAREFULLY removed with tweasers. Dont touch it with your fingers. Blast it with air and put it aside on a very clean dust-free surface. Blast the inside of the camera with air and re-assemble

Just to emphasise what Gartmore said

"Dont touch it with your fingers"

Thanks

I will have a go with trembling hands and tweeezers and let you know how i get on.

I thought the shop was not being quite truthful....something did not ring right. Even if I cannot clean the camera i will not leave it in their care!

Davem

Davem,

I dont want to make you nervous but dont go in with 'trembling hands'

Seriously its not so difficult just take care and it mmight take a few attempts. Just DONT TOUCH IT


Ken

I managed it ok with a pair of rubber tipped fly tying tweezers!........I had a jack russel hair in mine!........they get everywhere!....................Ken

If it's anything like an MX it's fairly easy to do as I used to change/clean mine regularly. Be careful also not to touch the underside of the pentaprism, 'cos THAT will cost you if you damage it. Remember that even if you damage the focusing screen that will be relativeley cheap to replace.
If you are really nervous about doing it don't bother 'cos after all it won't affect your pictures, and you can learn to accept the marks in your viewfinder.

hello

Just thought that I would report back that i have successfuly cleaned the viewfinder. It was a little tricky like most jobs you do for the first time - you are never quite sure how much pressure etc.

Thanks for your help. My daughter is now a pentax convert and the proud owner of the DS and I have moved on to a K10d.

By the way Ken good to meet up with you in Bradford earlier in the year. The Anglo Scottish pentax forum should meet again.

Davem

Glad it worked out well. Shall I post the snaps from the International meeting? Thanks for the tip about the Impressions Gallery, I enjoyed it very much.

Ken

Thats good news Dave but on the next Yorkshire meet we'll ALL be carrying K10D's. It'll look like we got a job lot

PS: wasnt it easy cleaning the screen, I discovered how to do it on my IstD some time ago and promptly investigated all my other bodies, my MZ7 and 5n both have the same set up and I was able to remove the crud from those as well.

you guys want to hear something bizzarre?
with two k10's in the studio, my ds2 still gets used an awful lot.
the ds2 does work with my ttl flashes (my pentax ringflash, and 500 ftz), has better noise control at high iso (800), and now that my software (aperture) reads those pef files, I don't hesitate to grab my old fast primes, and head out for available light shooting with the ds2.

for those that don't know, the ds2 has a glass pentaprism, and works with both p-ttl flashes and ttl (although the 500 ftz, must have -1.7 exposure comp, set at the body to work right.). the metering with manual lenses works better than on the k10, and the ds2 + 50mm 1.4 makes for a nice compact set-up.