# 1dX dust in viewfinder



## wycmfdm (Aug 18, 2012)

I just noticed something on my 1DX. When pointing to some bright area I saw several specks and lines in the upperright corner througth VF. From what I read those would be on either the mirror or focus screen and should not show on the pictures taken (which they did not). Regradless this is annoying especially considering this is Canon's "chosen one". Tried rocket blower and did not help. Just noitices there were hard to clean specks on the eype piece on the back of the VF as well. Resonating with the other thread complaining on dust on sensor, shouldn't Canon do a better job cleaning the camera before shipping out? The camera is only a couple of weeks old with almost no field exposure, so I doubt the dust was due to my use.
Anybody else has this issue?


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## bdunbar79 (Aug 18, 2012)

Yeah I had that when I first bought the 1Ds Mark III. There was a lot of garbage in the viewfinder and so I sent it in to Canon and they checked it over and also found dust on the sensor (which when I looked, DID show up in my photos). Canon cameras seem easy to get dust on the sensor as well. My 5D Mark III is already showing some around f/16.


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## jacktaka (Aug 18, 2012)

Hi wycmfdm,

Dust in the viewfinder can only come from two places: the focusing screen, and the glass behind the focusing screen that leads to the pentaprism. Any dust on the mirror or eye piece will be too far away from the focal plane. I recommend taking out the focusing screen and giving it a thorough cleaning with a lens pen, eyeglass cleaning kit, etc. The glass behind the focusing screen cannot be removed, so it's tricky to clean. I cleaned mine using a SensorKlear pen, which is basically a tiny lenspen.

Hope that helps,
Jack


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## Mt Spokane Photography (Aug 18, 2012)

Usually, a rocket blower will clean off the dust, on my 5D MK III, it did turn out to be on the mirror, and cleaning it solved the issue.
You can ask Canon to clean it as well.


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## Cannon Man (Aug 18, 2012)

I use a canon anti-fog eyepiece. It's just a regular eyepiece with a glass in between. No dust gets to the optical glass behind it but the view is just a little darker and the anti-fog coating smudges really quick but i think it is worth using to protect it from rain and other elements.


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## victorwol (Aug 18, 2012)

wycmfdm said:


> I just noticed something on my 1DX. When pointing to some bright area I saw several specks and lines in the upperright corner througth VF. From what I read those would be on either the mirror or focus screen and should not show on the pictures taken (which they did not). Regradless this is annoying especially considering this is Canon's "chosen one". Tried rocket blower and did not help. Just noitices there were hard to clean specks on the eype piece on the back of the VF as well. Resonating with the other thread complaining on dust on sensor, shouldn't Canon do a better job cleaning the camera before shipping out? The camera is only a couple of weeks old with almost no field exposure, so I doubt the dust was due to my use.
> Anybody else has this issue?



I have both, a 5D MKIII with a little fibre inside of the prism, and a 1DX with spekcles of well adhered dust into the sensor that will not come off with a rocket blower and also fibre inside of the prism. I'm VERY disappointed with Canon QC at the moment.... Both cameras where like that right out of the boxes. 

Even a Canon rep suggested it was improperly stored by the dealer... To which I LMAO but is sad they can suggest such an idiotic thing... Shows you the people answering our questions at Canon know nothing about cameras... Well.. Not all... But some should not be doing that job...


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## sandymandy (Aug 18, 2012)

Just send it in get free cleaning.....profit!


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## DB (Aug 18, 2012)

Most likely it is the focusing screen, which are made of quite soft material and have an uneven surface so are incredibly difficult to clean. Rocket blowers can push the dust etc. further into the camera. The best policy is to take it to a Canon camera center and pay the $70 to $80 to have it replaced in a dust-free environment.


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## ratnev (Aug 18, 2012)

Same thing with my 5D Mk's III. First one got a speck on the focusing screen after two lens changes.
The second body had a speck on the focusing screen (inside) right out of the box. 
As a recommendation: don't use an air blower. Things may go worse. I pulled lot of specks and tiny fibers on my focusing screen trying to clean it with air blower. 
Now I'm trying not to think about it, just focus on the pictures I take.


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## victorwol (Aug 18, 2012)

DB said:


> Most likely it is the focusing screen, which are made of quite soft material and have an uneven surface so are incredibly difficult to clean. Rocket blowers can push the dust etc. further into the camera. The best policy is to take it to a Canon camera center and pay the $70 to $80 to have it replaced in a dust-free environment.



Both times I send the cameras to the CPS center to be cleaned, they came back dust free... But with cleaning fluid smudges on the sensor, so I had to re clean it myself.. But experience on that so far... I'll be sending soon again my 5D MKIII to see if the 3rd time is the lucky one....


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## neuroanatomist (Aug 18, 2012)

My 1D X came with dust on the focus screen and on the sensor. For some reason, B&H didn't list that under 'what's in the box' but then, Canon didn't charge extra for 'particulates to demonstrate effectiveness of the dust delete feature', so maybe I shouldn't complain?

Fortunately, a blower took care of the focus screen dust, and an Arctic Butterfly 724 took care of the sensor dust, and everething's clean (for now...).


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## wycmfdm (Aug 18, 2012)

Thanks for everybody's response. I guess I should feel guilty by saying "I am pleased to know I am not alone", . But seriously I am surprised to see this is such a common problem in Canon's high end and highest end offering.

A couple of you mentioned sending to Canon for service is an option. Where would I send it to ( I am in southest US)? Sorry for the newbie question but photography is my long time passion but recently getting serious hobby. Also should the cleaning be free as it is entirely due to their poor QC?

Jack - thanks for your valuable suggestion, but there seems too much risk to clean it by mysefl at this point, as right now it is just a nuance and does not affect pictures. 

I should also say that despite this unexpected "feature" (per Neuro), the camera is really working like a charm! Used it for a Sea World trip and almost all pictures were worth to keep and there are thousands of them. And that is another "problem" I am having with this camera, .


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## victorwol (Aug 18, 2012)

neuroanatomist said:


> My 1D X came with dust on the focus screen and on the sensor. For some reason, B&H didn't list that under 'what's in the box' but then, Canon didn't charge extra for 'particulates to demonstrate effectiveness of the dust delete feature', so maybe I shouldn't complain?
> 
> Fortunately, a blower took care of the focus screen dust, and an Arctic Butterfly 724 took care of the sensor dust, and everething's clean (for now...).



How is you experience with the Arctic Butterfly? I was always afraid of brushes for sensors. I still havent seen one that doesn't make it worst.


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## neuroanatomist (Aug 18, 2012)

Works great, IMO. I'm not worried about dry brushes, but I've not yet needed to do a wet cleaning.


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## victorwol (Aug 19, 2012)

neuroanatomist said:


> Works great, IMO. I'm not worried about dry brushes, but I've not yet needed to do a wet cleaning.



Have to give it a try then... Thanks.


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## Virgil Quick (Aug 19, 2012)

Wycmfdm -- I live in a small town in the southeast and there is not a qualified Canon service facility within a hundred miles. For that reason I send all my service work to the Canon factory service center in New Jersey. With second day air service from UPS it really makes no difference where you live. Using second day air service I can usually have the camera back in my hands in about a week.

You can go to the Canon web site for more information on service and repairs.


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## RunAndGun (Aug 19, 2012)

They have a service center in VA, as well.


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## ramon123 (Aug 19, 2012)

Dust on the AF focus screen is incredibly irritating but is something that one needs to live with! Rather don't touch as this may very well make it a lot worse, better take it into a canon service center.


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## Virgil Quick (Aug 19, 2012)

I read somewhere on the Internet that you really need to be careful and turn your camera off before changing lens to help prevent dust on the focus screen. The reasoning, as I remember, was that when the camera is on that there is a small electrical charge on the screen that attracts dust.

Anyone know if this is truth or fiction? I try to always make sure mine is off before swapping lens but from time to time will get in a hurry and forget.


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## wycmfdm (Aug 19, 2012)

Virgil Quick and RunAndGun:
Thanks for the info. I will check it out. Some mentioned CPS which will not be suitable for me. I am by no means full time professional..
Thanks


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## tx8koibito (Sep 5, 2012)

had a small dust on my viewfinder after using high speed mode........thought i could quickly blow out the dust with the rocketblower.....but to my surprise somehow that pushed dust right into the pentaprism....OOPSSS...!!!

Luckily I am a CPS GOLD member.........brought it back to Canon in Melbourne, they disassemble my camera to clean the dust as good will (free)......however they unable to clean the dust so they end up replacing a brand new pentaprism for free....that over $1000 worth of service right there...now my VF is spotless...!!!

I LOVE CPS....!!!


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## Studio1930 (Sep 5, 2012)

I have dry and wet cleaned my 1Ds3 and 1D4 (Arctic Butterfly as well). No problems but you really need to learn what you are doing (3 different wet solutions to do it right). I have not needed to clean the 1DX yet. The new sensor cleaner wave technology thingie is working like a champ. I saw some big particles on a few images and then they were gone probably due to turning off and on the camera which made it clean the sensor. ;D


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## victorwol (Sep 7, 2012)

Studio1930 said:


> I have dry and wet cleaned my 1Ds3 and 1D4 (Arctic Butterfly as well). No problems but you really need to learn what you are doing (3 different wet solutions to do it right). I have not needed to clean the 1DX yet. The new sensor cleaner wave technology thingie is working like a champ. I saw some big particles on a few images and then they were gone probably due to turning off and on the camera which made it clean the sensor. ;D



Really? May be mine is not working... The before and after test I've done, always come the same dust wise... It's like the dust doesn't even move...


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## Studio1930 (Sep 7, 2012)

Doing a little cleaning...


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## R1-7D (Oct 1, 2012)

I managed to change lenses a few times today and some dust must have blown into the camera. I had dust on both my sensor and focusing screen when I got home, despite trying to be careful. 

I was able to get the dust off the sensor no problem, but the dust on the focusing screen turned out to be another issue altogether. 

I took a rocker blower and tried to gently blow the dust out; unfortunately what happened was more dust got blown behind the glass leading to the pentaprism. There's no way to get to it. 

Does anyone think it's worth taking the camera in to have it serviced, or is it something I should live with? There are I'd say at least 20-30 small particles.


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## M.ST (Oct 1, 2012)

Use the CPS Service or the cleaning liquid from Visible Dust.


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## Shawn L (Oct 1, 2012)

For those who have to send the camera away for cleaning, how do you pack it? And then how do you ship it (UPS, FedEx, next day, etc)?

I live in the bay area, and the closest Canon service is near LA.

I'll admit that physically sending my camera somewhere seems unsettling to me.

Thanks.

Shawn L.


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## neuroanatomist (Oct 1, 2012)

Shawn L said:


> For those who have to send the camera away for cleaning, how do you pack it? And then how do you ship it (UPS, FedEx, next day, etc)?



I've never shipped a camera to Canon, but I've loaned a 7D to a friend. Wrap it in bubble wrap, then place that in a box large enough for a few inches of packing material on all sides. If sending to Canon, do not include anything but the camera (no battery, no strap, etc.), ship it with the body cap installed. 

Ship UPS or FedEx so you can get a tracking number that means something (USPS reports delivery, but does not actually track regular shipments). Enter the proper declared value and pay the insurance.


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## Shawn L (Oct 2, 2012)

Thank you, neuroanatomist.

Shawn L.


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## Studio1930 (Oct 2, 2012)

I have shipped several cameras to Canon. Keep in mind that you will need to insure the camera and when you are talking about an $$ body like the $8000 1Ds3 (back when it was $8K) or the 1DX, that gets very expensive. Lots of bubble wrap inside of lots of peanuts (pink non static) inside a box inside of a box. Body cap on, battery removed, memory cards removed. Not sent in original box.


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## Shawn L (Oct 2, 2012)

Thanks, Darrin.

Shawn L.


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## nightbreath (Oct 25, 2013)

I've experienced the same kind of issue with my copy. The only difference is that I've got only one irritating speckle in the viewfinder which is always noticeable. It doesn't look like dust, but Canon-authorized service center wants to charge $250 to remove the speckle. Official response from the service center is: "Dust and dirt in the block of mirrors due to careless use".

Attached image is a reproduction of how I remember the speckle (dark long line). Could anyone confirm that this is likely to be my fault or is there a chance that it is an internal oil / lubricant particle?


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## nightbreath (Oct 25, 2013)

nightbreath said:


> I've experienced the same kind of issue with my copy. The only difference is that I've got only one irritating speckle in the viewfinder which is always noticeable. It doesn't look like dust, but Canon-authorized service center wants to charge $250 to remove the speckle. Official response from the service center is: "Dust and dirt in the block of mirrors due to careless use".
> 
> Attached image is a reproduction of how I remember the speckle (dark long line). Could anyone confirm that this is likely to be my fault or is there a chance that it is an internal oil / lubricant particle?


Anyone?


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## Nazareth (Oct 29, 2013)

that almsot looks like a fiber of soem kind- kinda hard to tell though from small photo- most likely oil spots or particle spots from the defective mirror box assembly would be rounder- although an oil splotch could smear out liek that- but it does rather look liek a fiber of soem kind-


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## mrsfotografie (Jan 1, 2014)

Today I noticed some black specs in the viewfinder of my new 5D Mark III. I decided to take a relatively powerful rocket blower to the focusing screen and blow them away, but it was no use. In fact it seems a little worse and now there is a tiny hair lodged in one corner. Not really very noticeable but still, I hate it when new equipment turns out not to be 'perfect'. I compared the situation to the viewfinder of my Mk II and it, too has some black specs that built up over the years (it was perfectly clean when I got it). The situation in both camera's is now similar save the little tiny hair in the Mk III and I know now that I should leave it as there is a change I might make it worse, after all it's not possible to take the focusing screen out of the Mk III and I'm afraid I'll blow the tiny hair further into the viewfinder (it may be behind the focusing screen already). Just go out and shoot, and accept the inevitability of dust building up in the camera despite careful use... But still I feel the pain...


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## Sporgon (Jan 1, 2014)

mrsfotografie said:


> Today I noticed some black specs in the viewfinder of my new 5D Mark III. I decided to take a relatively powerful rocket blower to the focusing screen and blow them away, but it was no use. In fact it seems a little worse and now there is a tiny hair lodged in one corner. Not really very noticeable but still, I hate it when new equipment turns out not to be 'perfect'. I compared the situation to the viewfinder of my Mk II and it, too has some black specs that built up over the years (it was perfectly clean when I got it). The situation in both camera's is now similar save the little tiny hair in the Mk III and I know now that I should leave it as there is a change I might make it worse, after all it's not possible to take the focusing screen out of the Mk III and I'm afraid I'll blow the tiny hair further into the viewfinder (it may be behind the focusing screen already). Just go out and shoot, and accept the inevitability of dust building up in the camera despite careful use... But still I feel the pain...



This is inevitable with a fixed screen camera. Rule of thumb: if the dust is dark and sharp it's on the inside, if it's soft and blurred it's on the outside. Gentle blowing may dislodge it from the outside; aggressive blowing can push it inside. Brushing the screen with a lens brush can charge the screen with static turning it into a dust magnet.
One of the little camera vacuum cleaners is best. Dust in a modern DSLR is to be avoided, not because of the screen, where it has no effect, but you don't want a dusty AF sensor. 

I much prefer cameras that have user interchangeable screens for this reason. They get dirt on the inside of the screen more quickly but at least you can whip it out and give it a blow. With a fixed screen camera you just have to ignore dust specs on the inside and then maybe have the camera cleaned by a proper service centre every year or so.


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## mrsfotografie (Jan 1, 2014)

Sporgon said:


> mrsfotografie said:
> 
> 
> > Today I noticed some black specs in the viewfinder of my new 5D Mark III. I decided to take a relatively powerful rocket blower to the focusing screen and blow them away, but it was no use. In fact it seems a little worse and now there is a tiny hair lodged in one corner. Not really very noticeable but still, I hate it when new equipment turns out not to be 'perfect'. I compared the situation to the viewfinder of my Mk II and it, too has some black specs that built up over the years (it was perfectly clean when I got it). The situation in both camera's is now similar save the little tiny hair in the Mk III and I know now that I should leave it as there is a change I might make it worse, after all it's not possible to take the focusing screen out of the Mk III and I'm afraid I'll blow the tiny hair further into the viewfinder (it may be behind the focusing screen already). Just go out and shoot, and accept the inevitability of dust building up in the camera despite careful use... But still I feel the pain...
> ...



Thanks, I guess I have to accept it as is; am just a little mad at myself trying to resolve the issue by blowing onto the focus screen and now have made it a little worse. Should have consulted the forum before but treated the situation like it was my 5D2. 

My 7D also has no interchangeable screen but I never felt it had dirt to the extent that I wanted to try to remove it; that camera however has a little speck of dust behind the rear lens of the viewfinder. On my 5D2 which has an interchangeable focus screen It was completely clean when I bought it and then managed to install my precision matte screen without any dust entrapment so with that camera at least my need for 'perfection' was satisfied when it was new.

At least the shutter is normally closed when you take off the lens and use a blower inside the camera, so I hope my sensor is still clean.


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## Canonite (Jan 2, 2014)

Why don't you just remove the screen, clean it and reinstall it?

Here are instructions on how to remove the screen.

http://www.focusingscreen.com/work/5d3en.htm


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## mrsfotografie (Jan 2, 2014)

Canonite said:


> Why don't you just remove the screen, clean it and reinstall it?
> 
> Here are instructions on how to remove the screen.
> 
> http://www.focusingscreen.com/work/5d3en.htm



Thanks, but that's the type of extensive operation I prefer to keep until it becomes absolutely necessary to clean the screen...


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## nightbreath (Jan 14, 2014)

Canonite said:


> Why don't you just remove the screen, clean it and reinstall it?
> 
> Here are instructions on how to remove the screen.
> 
> http://www.focusingscreen.com/work/5d3en.htm


According to the feedback from service center particles are in the mirror box, not on the focusing screen.


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## mrsfotografie (Jan 15, 2014)

nightbreath said:


> Canonite said:
> 
> 
> > Why don't you just remove the screen, clean it and reinstall it?
> ...



I guess nothing in life is perfect, now we have to accept that and live with it


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## danski0224 (Jan 15, 2014)

neuroanatomist said:


> Shawn L said:
> 
> 
> > For those who have to send the camera away for cleaning, how do you pack it? And then how do you ship it (UPS, FedEx, next day, etc)?
> ...



Probably a little late here, but it is worth mentioning that all of the freight companies have packaging guidelines.

If these packaging guidelines are not followed, the freight companies will not pay out on the insurance that you paid for in the event of damage. Actual loss is different if the package is not recovered. I have received "improperly packaged" damaged freight that was insured (and coverage refused) and have had packages outright disappear from UPS (only once, but I would have been SOL if I didn't insist on insurance from the shipper, and the investigation took a month). 

If you do not have a shipping account, insurance gets expensive pretty quickly. In my experience, the local shipping depots in the strip malls mark up insurance rates 2x over doing it yourself online (which are still overly expensive retail rates), as long as the coverage limit isn't reached. UPS, USPS and FedEx all have insurance limits for online transactions and UPS has additional forms that must be filled out by a UPS employee once a certain threshold is reached (route driver or UPS depot- the strip mall centers don't count).

The replacement value of a 5DIII and a 70-200 II lens can come close to the insurance limits for retail customers.

Big companies shipping expensive stuff may not insure the packages- they have separate insurance to cover loss and the cost of shipping is exceeded by the cost of the carrier insurance rates. 

For those that ship camera stuff regularly, it may be worthwhile checking into a shipping rider for your insurance.


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