Once and for all, is it ok to clean the mirror...

[jojo77]

and focus screen of your camera with a lens towel??

[psk4363]

No, no, no, no, no, no, and and errr NO! :shock:

They are far too delicate to clean yourself! Stay well clear!

Barry

[ron chappel]

Yes,you can clean it with anything sensible . BE GENTLE and only do it rarely.
It could be possible to wear the silver coating off or scratch it.It is even possible to break it, but one would have to be really clumsy to do that.

I've cleaned lots of mirrors with no bad effects at all.
Focus screens are a different story :shock:

[DaveG]

and focus screen of your camera with a lens towel??

NEVER clean the mirror!

It's surface coated with silver, not backcoated like a bathroom mirror and you could easily damage it. More to the point NO crud, none, not a bit, NOTHING; that gets on that mirror can be seen by you when you look thought the pentaprism. And obviously NONE of it can possible be recorded on the CMOS sensor. Any of the grebes that you see when you look though your camera are on the focusing screen and this you can clean (carefully) with a blower brush.

[KennyG]

Use a blower, not blower-brush. The latter will deposit more dirt than it removes.

[jojo77]

once again we got totally opposite answers. this happens to me from stores too.

[ArtierSquare]

I've been having similar advice on cleaning from Jessops and all I will say is this...

Touch the mirror and you could scratch it. Blow the dust around in there and whilst some is blown out some is blown into corners to gather for later...

They tell me a Jessops, Canon do a free dust service! True or not, I don't know.

Personally, unless it's dire, I'd leave it...

Pete

[Jim_T]

It's best not to touch the mirror with anything.. You have to realize that the EOS mirror does FAR more than reflect light up to the viewfinder.

If you look carefully at the mirror under a bright light, the first thing you'll see is that there is a pattern to the surface. It isn't a plain mirror. The pattern you see results from the fact that parts of the surface are essentially 2 way mirrors that reflect light and also allow some to pass through to what lies underneath the surface.

Beneath the surface of the mirror are the cameras autofocus and exposure sensors. These sensors correspond with the red squares you see in the viewfinder. They're the heart and soul of Canon's autofocus system.

The surface of this"2-way" mirror is fragile. It's not near as hard as the covering on the sensor or the glass of a lens... If you're not extra careful you risk scratching it or even peeling it off and screwing up a sensor area.

Not only that.. but the mirror must be precisely aligned to work as it should.. If you press on the mirror too hard, you risk knocking it out of alignment.

Note that some dust on the sensor won't noticeably degrade performace.. As a matter of fact, a bit of dust won't be noticed by the camera at all. There's no way you can see mirror dust in the viewfinder because it will be way out of focus.. Dust on the mirror won't show up in your photos either.

Just use a brushless blower to clean the mirror.. If it gets extra dirty the dust could interfere with the sensors, but I've never heard of this happening.. Most of the time a blower will clean the mirror suitably.. If the blower doesn't work, then consider sending it to a professional for cleaning.

You probably can get away with cleaning it with an extra soft cloth, but I feel it's too much of a risk for no appreciable increase in camera performance.. I'll wet swab my sensor with Photosol and Sensor swabs.... But I won't touch my mirror with anything..

[roanjohn]

:shock:

OMG!!! I noticed a few specs of dust on my viewfinder this weekend. So first I thought it was the lens.........But I tried different lenses and it was still there at the exact location.

SO GUESS WHAT??!!!??

I took a blower/brush and used it to clean my mirror and the autofocus screen right above it!! YIKES!!! I hope I didn't do any permanent damage!!! I though its okay to do this knowing that the sensor is right underneath the mirror.

...........my camera is still functioning though............for now.

Ro1

[timmyquest]

once again we got totally opposite answers. this happens to me from stores too.

Just dont touch the mirror, trust me...i can tell you first hand that it is bad for it.

[Jim_T]

:shock:

OMG!!! I noticed a few specs of dust on my viewfinder this weekend. So first I thought it was the lens.........But I tried different lenses and it was still there at the exact location.

SO GUESS WHAT??!!!??

I took a blower/brush and used it to clean my mirror and the autofocus screen right above it!! YIKES!!! I hope I didn't do any permanent damage!!! I though its okay to do this knowing that the sensor is right underneath the mirror.

[

When you look in the viewfinder, you WON'T see specks dust on the lens or the mirror. You won't see it in theimages either. Dust on the lens or mirror just won't focus..

But.. You *will* see every hair and speck of dust there is on the glass viewing screen. :)

[roanjohn]

[But.. You *will* see every hair and speck of dust there is on the glass viewing screen. :)

Thats what bothered me!!!

But look at what I found!!!

http://www.pbase.com/image/31610946/large.jpg

From a PP magazine......

http://www.pbase.com/image/31610948.jpg

I knew I didn't just make it up!!!

Ro1

[ron chappel]

once again we got totally opposite answers. this happens to me from stores too.


Yep
This is normal anytime something fragile is discussed such as mirror/sensor/focus/lens cleaning

poeple aren't sure of your skill levels or just don't want their advice to cause you to do something you might regret

i can assure you that if you are quite carefull you will have no problems cleaning a mirror
BUT (and i should have mentioned this before) do all the other options first such as a blower or just ignoring the dust (it can't hurt anything there)

[jojo77]

Ok just to let you guys know, I asked a professional camera repair guy about this and he said it was fine to wipe the mirror and focus screen. But I would still first try and blow it before wiping. From my first hand experience, wiping mirror and focus screen did not seem to affect my pictures at all. Just FYI

[roanjohn]

Ok just to let you guys know, I asked a professional camera repair guy about this and he said it was fine to wipe the mirror and focus screen. But I would still first try and blow it before wiping. From my first hand experience, wiping mirror and focus screen did not seem to affect my pictures at all. Just FYI

..........whew!!!..........

Ro1

[psk4363]

At the risk of repeating myself - NO, NO, NO, NO, DO NOT TOUCH THE MIRROR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!

Barry

[RichardtheSane]

OK, there are no hard and fast rules.

You will hear people scream don't touch the morror ever or your right arm will drop off and you village will get poisoned.... ;) and those who say it is fine to clean it....

They are both right. Except for the village poisoning bit. If you can avoid it, don't touch the mirror. Use a blower brush. If you have to touch the mirror don't use anything that can exert any pressure on it... it must be very lightly done.

All in all it is your camera, so treat it how you feel comfortable.

[KennyG]

I knew I didn't just make it up!!!

Ro1

You will note that this referred to a film camera and that's why a blower brush is being used. The brush is a real no-no for the 10D and 300D in particular, where the fine engraving on the focus screen is on the 'outside' and thay can easily be damaged and will hang onto bits of dust like they were superglued there. The 1 series cameras are different and the focus screen is designed to be handled.

For all the current digital range you should not touch the mirror as it is the most delicate part of the light path, even more so than the sensor. There again I have seen pros breathe on the mirror and polish it with a handkerchief. However, in those cases it wasn't their personal camera.

[slin100]

From the 10D manual:
(6) Use a commercially available blower brush to remove any dust that accumulates on the camera lens, viewfinder, mirror, or focusing screen. Do not use cleaners that contain organic solvents to wipe off the camera body or lens. If the camera is very soiled, consult your nearest Canon dealer.
Bold text is my emphasis. Unfortunately, it doesn't say specifically what to do with the blower brush (i.e. just blow or just brush). OTOH, it doesn't specifically warn against touching the mirror.

If, however, the mirror is as delicate as Kenny says it is, then I'll probably live with just blowing off the bigger specks of lint.

[Cadenza]

Well, I've touched my mirror three times already,
and the camera is still doing it's thing fine.

[DaveG]

Well, I've touched my mirror three times already,
and the camera is still doing it's thing fine.

So your plan is to keep touching the mirror until you break it?
Have fun.

[mourningshadow]

I have had the same problem as Roan, there is something I can see through the viewfinder, I cleaned that and the lens but it is still there, I used a blower on the mirror and it is still there, I have no idea where it is but it doesn't show up on any pictures, I took a shot of a light just to check and it wasn't there. Any ideas on where this spec of dust is and how I can get rid of it?

[iof]

morningshadow: Look above the mirror to the focus screen. I had the same problem and a very small speck on the screen looks like a boulder thru the viewfinder. A couple of blasts with the Giotto pocket rocket and it was gone. I was concerned that if I dislodged it from the screen it would find its way to someplace that might cause more problems, but so far so good.

[Lamplight]

I bought a Giottos Rocket-Air blower as I had seen several members here recommend. It makes my old blower brush seem like a gentle little fart. :lol: Well worth $10. :)

[roanjohn]

What if those dust from the mirror gets blown to the sensor!!! Then you're even more screwed!!!

I just thought of this and I am not blowing anything in that area again.

Ro1

[Jon]

What if those dust from the mirror gets blown to the sensor!!! Then you're even more screwed!!!

I just thought of this and I am not blowing anything in that area again.

Ro1

It'd have to get past the shutter first, wouldn't it? And they do tell you how to clean the sensor.

[Neophyte]

Uh-oh....after having read through this thread, I'm more confused than ever!

Any new ideas on this one since July '04??? (I certainly hope so!)

[Mark_Cohran]

There's probably nothing new. I've been playing around with DLR's and DSLR's for almost 30 years, and I don't touch the mirror or focusing screen at all. A Giotto Rocket Blower is usually all you need to clean either. The mirror is surface coated and can be scratched or mis-aligned fairly easily, especially if you're not used to working with delicate mechanical devices.

Mark