----- Original Message ----- From: "Hugo Kok"
Subject: cleaning focusing screen / pentaprism
Hello dear people,
<tale of woe snipped> Anyway, Hope you guys have some ideas.
Try drying the bottom of the prism with a cottom swab (Q-Tip). You might leave a few strands of cotton on the prism, but they can usually be blown off.
The screen is easy to clean, once out of the camera.
Get a small bottle of distilled water (not purified, but distilled, there is a difference).
Put a half litre or so of fresh water (distilled isn't necessary) into a bowl with a drop of dish detergent, and mix well.
Use this solution to clean the screen, in much the same way you would wash dishes. The screen goes into the water, and use your thumb (well wetted and under water at all times) to "scrub" the screen.
Be gentle.
Rinse the screen several times in distilled water, and allow to dry.
When everything is dry, all you will have to do is blow off whatever dust has accumulated on the screen, blow off the underside of the prism and reinstall the screen.
Use canned air for dusting, as it is clean.
It's pretty difficult to remove all traces of dust from a viewsceen, it is pretty pernicious stuff.
William Robb
