Mirror needs cleaning.... HELP.

I was doing a regular sensor cleaning(blowing off some dust) and noticed the mirror has a filmy look to it. I haven't touched it yet because I'm scared to. I shoot at the beach a lot and the filmy residue looks like your windows look after you've been around the beach. Am I making any sense? Do I dare try cleaning this my self? My viewfinder is all fuzzy/dusty too(but I caused it when I tryed to clean it)now I just deal with it, but I don't like it. I'm wondering about how to clean the mirror?? Any advice??
Thanks
BG

Sounds like you may have salt accumulation from the sea air.

The first option is to take/send it to a reputable camera center where they can clean the whole lot for a moderate fee.

The mirror can be cleaned with the same materials as the sensor. ie Pecpad and Opteka (methanol) or similar.

As for the viewfinder, of course you can use a cotton bud for the outside but if there is dust or other stuff in the prism chamber then its best done professionally.
Good luck,

lens cleaning fluid and lens cleaning tissue should do the trick, a decent camera store will have some

Thanks evandavies & calicokat, I was thinking I'd send it to canon for a complete cleaning but I hate to be without my camera for weeks. And we have no camera stores close by. I'll have to go find a good store in San Jose.

I wouldn't touch the mirror myself since it is very easy to damage. If you have anything on the mirror that is annoying or hampers your ability to take a photograph I'd send it in to get cleaned.

I use a pecpad and the same solution as I use for cleaning the sensor. Yep the mirror can be damaged but if you don't press to hard then there really shouldn't be too much to worry about. The mirrors really are a lot more robust than they appear. The speed that they move when flipping up when shooting coupled with the sudden stop still results in a fair amount of stress on the mechanism and the mirror itself. They can withstand more than light pressure from a pecpad.

Just be aware that they look a "bit strange" from new.
The first time I saw my mirror I did a double take as it looked dirty.
It was not - it's just the way it looks.

Yes semi-transparent mirrors do look strange. Check out another mirror to be sure you really have a problem. It is not a problem for me unless it creates a technical malfunction. Salt I would be concerned about but if the mirror got salt film then the front of your lens should have a very thick coat as well. Any dust specks you see are most likely on the focusing screen the mirror ones could not be seen from looking through the viewfinder.

The usual advice regarding mirror cleaning is "DONT". Although the mirror mechanism is quite robust the mirror itself is surface silvered so it isn't like cleaning your bathroom mirror where you are cleaning a glass surface, what you will be cleaning is the reflective coating which is very easily damaged. What makes it even more delicate is that it is a very thin coating because it is made to allow some light to pass through to the autofocus sensors.

A normal 350D mirror looks shiny when viewed straight on, but if viewed from an angle you will be able to where it is semi-transparent, when viewed like this it can appear to have a filmy look.

I have used SLRs for many years and have never yet needed to clean a mirror apart from blowing the odd bit of dust away, yet I have seen many cameras with scratched mirrors because of unecessary cleaning.

Have you ever actually exposed the mirror to salty spray at the beach by taking the lens off while you were there ? If not, you shouldn't have any beach stuff on the mirror.

I agree with Quad and Choderboy.. The mirror isn't a regular mirror like you have in your bathroom. It's semi transparent. This allows some light to pass through to the focusing sensors. If you examine the mirror in direct sunlight, you'll see there are little squares and lines in it and other stuff you don't see in a bathroom mirror

I would drop by a camera shop and ask if you could compare your mirror with a similar display model....

Jim_T wrote:
Have you ever actually exposed the mirror to salty spray at the beach by taking the lens off while you were there ? If not, you shouldn't have any beach stuff on the mirror.

I agree with Quad and Choderboy.. The mirror isn't a regular mirror like you have in your bathroom. It's semi transparent. This allows some light to pass through to the focusing sensors. If you examine the mirror in direct sunlight, you'll see there are little squares and lines in it and other stuff you don't see in a bathroom mirror

I would drop by a camera shop and ask if you could compare your mirror with a similar display model....

Hi Jim T, I never change the lens (I only have 1 lens) so no I've never exposed it to salt air. But it looks like the car windows after we go to the beach. I don't know, I'll just have to send it to canon i guess. There are no camera stores close to me.

And Thanks to everyone else for the advice.
BG

beachgirl wrote:
Hi Jim T, I never change the lens (I only have 1 lens) so no I've never exposed it to salt air. But it looks like the car windows after we go to the beach. I don't know, I'll just have to send it to canon i guess. There are no camera stores close to me.

If what you are seeing isn't affecting your ability to auto focus accurately or giving you problems seeing the subject when looking through the camera, forget it. If you have neither of the problems I mentioned, the expense of shipping the camera and the time without it would be a total waste, in my opinion.