i have an annoying viewfinder problem

[Harley DiBlasio]

recently my view finder got some dirt in it, ive removed the rubber eye cup and taken off the screws so i can possibly get into the viewfinder and clean it, but ive used q-tips and other little stuff to try and get the debris out, but its really in there, does anyone know waht to do, or anyway to solve this easily and with out bringing it to a repair shop

[Rob Lohman]

Welcome aboard DVInfo.net Harley!

Is there no-one that can help Harley out?

[Mike Rehmus]

I just leave mine as-is. But the dirt should respond to normal cleaning processes although I think Q-tips may not be the best idea since they will leave debris behind.

The viewfinder is an optical system so it should respond to your favorite lens cleaning techniques. The viewfinder is one place where a little dust-off application shouldn't hurt anything..

[J. Stephen McDonald]

<<<-- Originally posted by Harley DiBlasio : recently my view finder got some dirt in it, ive removed the rubber eye cup and taken off the screws so i can possibly get into the viewfinder and clean it, but ive used q-tips and other little stuff to try and get the debris out, but its really in there, does anyone know waht to do, or anyway to solve this easily and with out bringing it to a repair shop -->>>
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Harley, there's a bad design flaw in these viewfinders, that causes small bits of lint to be held on the inner display surface by a static charge. Using a cleaning cloth will just add more debris.
I foolishly slid off the outer, magnifying shell on my new VX2100 viewfinder and the screen surface was soon covered with lint from the air. I eventually was able to carefully pluck each tiny bit off the surface with the small end of a toothpick. I had to wear a 3.25X pair of diopter eyeglasses and put my eye right next to the screen, to see the lint. I had the camera and viewfinder turned on. It took hours to get it cleaned to a functional level and I had to keep pulling the magnifying shell on and off to get bits I had missed. I haven't had to clean it since and I'll never again remove the outer shell, unless absolutely necessary.

There's no easy or quick way to clean it and you have to be very careful with the delicate, flexible display surface. If anyone has such a viewfinder that doesn't have any lint inside, don't open it! I don't understand why you removed any screws, as the outer shell slides off without doing this. Perhaps you opened up a deeper level of the viewfinder than was necessary to reach the display surface. The only way to see these bits of lint, is with the magnifier in place and the viewfinder working or by using the diopter glasses within a few inches of the opened screen. Maybe there's some magic little plucking tool that would work better than a toothpick.