Dirt Everywhere!

Deleted.

Well Merp, dirt you see through the viewfinder is not on the sensor. Dirt on your sensor, you won't see through the viewfinder, just on your photos. Dirt on or in your lens is always out of focus, so at most a lot of dirt on your lens will show up just barely visible as a light grey blotch on your photos.

So if the dirt you see is only through the viewfinder and is clearly sharp and like black specks or whatever, it is likely on the focusing screen. If it is on the mirror, again it will be at most a grey blur cause it's out of focus.

Now you've got your choices. Ignore it and just keep on taking pictures cause that's what the camera is for, or if seeing it drives you nuts, get hold of a new or dry and clean bulb blower and try to blow it out. The focusing screen and mirror are very delicate, so the tail of your T-shirt stretched over a finger isn't the best idea, nor blasting it with compressed air.

What you do, inside somewhere where there's not too much dust flying around, is take the lens off and holding the camera with the opening facing down, puff in the opening with the bulb blower, take a look through the viewfinder to see if anything moved, then puff some more and see if your are getting anywhere.

Caution! Don't blow in there with your breath, you'll spit on everything, for sure! If the bulb blower has a snout on it, do not stick it in there, you'll hit and damage something!

If you can't find a bulb blower (syringe?) at the PX or somewhere, go see the Meds, maybe they've got something, even a new shot syringe, but no needle! Don't poke anything in there, just puff in there to blow it out from the rim of the opening.

If this doesn't work, just live with it if your photos are clean. Sending it to Canon just for dust on the focusing screen is an overkill. Of course you can send it in, ask your APO how to do it, but you probably won't have it back for a month and if the camera is no longer under warranty it'll cost you over a hundred bucks all in all.

Hope this helps.

=P helps a lot thank you!

Merp, I just want to say, "Thank you for your Service" I salute you!!!

What Stormin_24 said!!!

John_T hit it on the head.

if you see the dirt in the viewfinder...it is in the mirror box and not on the sensor. That won't hurt the image.

If there are spots on the sensor (as viewed by the image on a PC) then there is dirt on the sensor. Take a shopt of the blue sky at f22 and look at it on the PC. That's tell ya what you have.

That syringe without a needle idea as a blower is brilliant.

...and yes, send your gear in to Canon when you get back. They'll clean it all up for you.

Now excuse my while I stand up and salute...thanks for your service my friend. Be safe.