GRR, inside viewfinder bit ruined

  • Thread starter Thread starter rico83
  • Start date Start date
R

rico83

Guest
well i havnt even had ma camera a month and already its f**cked.

its an EOS 350D.

i was trying to clean a dirty inside viewfinder (you know, the bit of plastic that has the 7 AF points and near the mirror).

i was using a small brush (like a paintbrush but not sure what it was originaly for) and trying to get into an angle and the metal part (that holds the bristles) scratched it, so now theres a big scratch when you look through the viewfinder. i think it may even be affecting the auto focus, and the light bits (for the AF points) doesnt seem to work anymore. well. it does sometimes but not everytime it "beeps".

I'm so peed off right now.

whats the chances of the canon warranty covering it? And if its not covered what would be a rough guestimate to fix it?

:(:( (ignore any sp erros and punctuation, im so not in the mood to check it)
 
sounds like a back to canon job, no idea on cost though
 
Hi - you could try replacing the focus screen with a custom one like the Katz Eye though it isn't exactly the cheap option & sounds like you would need someone else to fit it for you :nono: - There is another one I read about called a Haoda Fu which is a bit cheaper ...
HTH - Paul :thumbs:
 
I think the 'light up bits' are underneath (behind) the focusing screen so you won't have damaged them.
 
Oh dear! If it's any consolation, you haven't done anything I haven't done, but it's an expensive way to learn a lesson. Never poke about inside the camera, you can do untold damage. Apart from scratching the focusing screen, the mirrors in SLRs are usually surface coated (unlike conventional mirrors which are coated on the back), so the slightest touch will mark them.

Even if your focusing screen is removeable, my advice is leave well alone as far as dust and hairs are concerned. Unless the prism is removeable, it's a very tricky job to replace the screen through the lens opening, and you're likely to get it back with more dust and fingerprints than you started with. If it really annoys you, take it to a service centre.

I once removed the focusing screen from a brand new Nikon F4 and attempted to blow a hair off the screen (knowing full well it was a dumb thing to do) and managed to deposit a huge gob of spit on the matte side of the screen which dried in a horrible gooey mess. I couldn't live with it and took it to my repair guy fully expecting to have to fork out for a new screen. He disappeared into the back of the shop and five minutes later returned with the screen as clean as new. He never charged me either, but for months afterwards, I had to endure... "Gobbed in any good Nikons lately Cedric?" whenever I saw him. :D
 
Dust inside the viewfinder is annoying but doesn't affect the images, so best advice? Put up with it. Use a blower (but not the brush) to get the worst of it out if it gets really rubbly.
I once had little bugs living in the pentaprism of an F3 - now that was annoying!!!
They used to live off the gelatin on the film apparently...
 
I have an old EOS600 which I bought in 1990. Since 1992 it has had a bug in the viewfinder and I actually forgot about it until someone shrieked after looking in the viewfinder :)
 
Cheers everyone for your replies, its cheered me up a bit hehe.

I got an email back this morning from www.lehmannsdirect.co.uk;
The dude said it will cost £30 so things are looking good.


Regards
 
Yeah Lehmannsdirect is a canon certified repair base in Stoke. I hear great things about them. It will be a simple job of a quick metering screen replacement.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top