Focusing Screen Fell Out
 

Yesterday I picked up my camera and looked through the viewfinder and saw... debris. That's a sinking feeling.

Remove the lens to see the focusing screen sitting on the mirror. Was at the beach, and NOT a good place to do intricate, lens-removed work that I'm not familiar with.

Got it home and did some research. No real instructions on how to replace this, although some complaints online about it happening. Removed the lens and was able to click the screen back into place.

No damage as far as I can tell. I am not an IQ perfectionist to begin with (don't hang me), so there may be stuff I'm not seeing.

I'm not thrilled about my focusing screen rattling around inside my camera for... I don't know how long. Not really sure what to call and demand from Canon. I am within a drive of their Irvine service center.

Thoughts?

Definitely take it to the service center with the lens you had on. Have them check that it did not get chipped as well, as the mirror.

I am sure they will be very helpful. It is a good idea to call them first.

We had this happen on set last month with a 5D. First day of principal photography. The owner/cam. op. was mortified! I just laughed. We put it back and finished the movie. Having it "fall out" is pretty sad, but unless you did something strange, there should be no problems.

I remember when these things were DESIGNED to be taken out and changed.

My mates Canon 5DMkII arrived brand new with the thing fallen out/rattling around inside - which worried him at first but he just put it back in and has had no issues since. I just hope it does not ever happen to my 7D though (as, sure as eggs are eggs, it'll be at an awkward moment/in front of the client etc!)

They still are aren't they? I know I swapped my original for a super-precision focusing screen near day one of owning the 5D2. Easy as pie...

It's been a while, but I think we used to do it from the top of the pentaprism. Not from inside the guts of the camera. That's awkward.

What is this screen you speak of though. I'm interested.

You can get the other focusing screen for the 5D at B&H.

Not really that awkward, it's pretty easy once you see how it works. There's a tray that opens and then you can just change it out. The "super precision" focusing screen gives you more clarity on DOF and what's in focus for fast lenses (f2.8 or faster). The downside is it results in a darker viewfinder for f4 lenses or slower. You also need to change a custom function to let the camera meter differently (the focusing screen affects metering a bit). That said, none of this really matters for video really.