EX1: Brownish shaddow in viewfinder

[Markus Klatt]

Hello,

some weeks after getting my EX1 I discovered a brownish shaddow in my viewfinder. Its not visible on display or recorded on footage. It is definetly somewhere in the upper part of vf/the glasses, because one can move the head/eye and the shaddow will slide away. I never use viewfinder (film at night on tripod only) so I almost never look into it - that's why I noticed it so late.
The shaddow is clearly visible when connected to USB or in thumbnail menu (black background), but it is (almost?!) not visible when filming.

Is this somehow normal and if not, what caused it? Will changing the vf-glass remove it? For what costs I should prepare when changing the glass/vf?

I myself do not care about it, but I will sell EX1 for EX1R and fear the questions of the new owner...

Thanks a lot,
attached two photos to show the shaddow and the different positions at a different views.

[Alister Chapman]

If it moves relative to the screen as you change viewing angle then it's in/on the optics. Probably just dirt.

[Markus Klatt]

Thanks Alister.
Yes, I assume its not a big thing, but its no dirt one could wipe away from outside. So it seems to be something in the optics glass or between different glasses in vf. The strange thing is, that its a "optically bend" shaddow, somehow the shape like a rainbow beam - its no "blob" of dirt.

I will check manual if one can take viewfinder off and polish all sides of glass.

[Daniel Zenzel]

Originally Posted by Alister Chapman

If it moves relative to the screen as you change viewing angle then it's in/on the optics. Probably just dirt.

Alister, as I am awaiting my EX1R, can you tell me if the viewfinder is removable? Can the unit be used without it reliably? My use is also tripod-based and likely not with viewfinder as much.... and wondering if that is just something that is not necessary.... in a previous picture, it appeared that it is just locked on something similar to a hot-shoe?

thanks for any insight....

Dan Z

[Alister Chapman]

The rear viewfinder itself is not removable. You can slide off the lens and hood which makes it a little smaller.

[Simon Buxton]

I have the same. For me i think it is from the sun being magnified through my underwater housing and damaging the optics in the viewfinder.

[Marty Welk]

that is the first thing i thought of, SMOKED, if it has plastic smoke on the tiny screen or the magnifyer there, from a shot of sun blasting the plastic.
only takes a few seconds in the sun and the regret lasts for a long time . mabey you can find the actual darkening location, and remove it with a swipe or the right chemicals?

can you see if there are any tiny "melting" spots where the sun has hit the plastic around it to determine if it has been smoked? could be soot, or plastic re-condensation. soot would wipe off, plastic condensations would be removed with chemicals (chemicals that can destroy more easily).

if it was a backlight spreader/diffusion problem (now with lcds not with crt) where the diffuser behind the lcd got warped/wacked that would be so far back behind the lcd that it would not be easily fixed :-(

if its only on the glass, and it IS actually glass, then it would be able to be removed (even with harsh chemicals) , assuming you can get TO it without causing even more damages. if its plastic, then probably have to replace the plastic instead.

another reminder of how important it is to turn down or shade the viewer/magnifying lens, thanks needed that.

[Markus Klatt]

So you think the sun hit the viewfinder from above, not through the electronics? I didn't even know that this could cause any problems. So I will put black tape on the viewfinder since for my applications I never need it, just the LCD screen.

It looks like some kind of transparent brownish rainbow. So nothing to really "feel". Its inside the tube, not on the outer VF-lense, not on the VF-LCD-Screen, its somewhere on the lenses inside of the VF and I can see no sharp corners, no meltings, no droplets. Its somehow ghosty. Its obvious when USB is connected or the machine is in thumbnail player modus (black backgrounds) but it really seems not to be visible when camera is on at normal daylight.

So, can I "open" the tube for cleaning?

[Marty Welk]

i dont know what it takes to get behind there.
i just know we have smoked at least 3 viewfinders out of 15 cameras, the same magnification for the eye to view the screen is just about right for concentrating the sun to a point, burning the plastic inside, which leaves a dark brown smoke streak.

the "rainbow" (like your saying) could be an "oil film" being plastic is made from crude oil, and oil can be vaporized and condenced, it sounds even more like it may have been a plastic melt. ( the rainbow could also be due to effected anti-reflective coatings and other stuff too).

we learned not to do it, before the tiny viewers existed, repairing the old ones was a piece of cake, because you could get at things. i just cleaned the stuff inside, leaving the pock mark in the melted plastic.

[Sean Popke]

I have the same issue on my EX1, but I don't believe it's because of the sun burning the lens. It's really only visible when the LCD is displaying black, which leads me to believe it might be a LCD viewing angle issue. It's probably curved because one of the lens elements is probably curved, too.

Can anyone else close down their aperture completely and see if they also see the brown streak?

[Chris Norman]

I have the same issue.. I took camera back to Sony dealer & they checked it against one of theirs and it looked the same. I think it's very common but perhaps many people don't notice it.

[Markus Klatt]

So, this happens in my brand new EX1R too, it is maybe even more obvious than it was in the EX1, but now its bend from lower left to upper right corner ;)

I will just irgnore it, since it seems to be really "normal"...