camera maintenance

[ronin2307]

stupid quick question:
on the mirror in the camera body i see some dust. I assume it is safe to blow that away, or should i not mess with that at all?
thx

[Jimmy B]

On the mirror be careful, on the sensor be really careful. Dust on the sensor means you get good at using Photo Shop to remove the stuff off your pictures:-).
Rule # 1 for changing lenses, face the camera body down so if there is something inside it may fall out and haveing it down keeps crud from falling in.
Jimmy B

[ronin2307]

On the mirror be careful, on the sensor be really careful. Dust on the sensor means you get good at using Photo Shop to remove the stuff off your pictures:-).
Rule # 1 for changing lenses, face the camera body down so if there is something inside it may fall out and haveing it down keeps crud from falling in.
Jimmy B

blowing the mirror lightly with a blower should be fine i hope?

[SmartWombat]

yes, with a squeezy blower
not with canned air - bad
nor just blowing with your mouth - really bad

[ronin2307]

yes, with a squeezy blower
not with canned air - bad
nor just blowing with your mouth - really bad

im guessing i should never touch that mirror with a cloth or something?

[SmartWombat]

I wouldn't, no.
They're usually semi-silvered and pass a precise amount of light through to the AF and exposure metering systems. Quite a delicate surface and not something I'd try to clean even with lint-free cloth and cleaning solution.

[ronin2307]

you scared my straight...not touching the mirror.
thx

[freygr]

It's not a good idea to clean the mirrors unless you have the special cleaning supplies. The mirror should have a deposited ware/optical coating on it. Dust on the mirror is not a problem to begin with dust on the sensor is!

Never use can air it can pop of the non-reflective paint inside the camera and deposit paint chips in the camera's view finder or between the IR filter and the sensor or other places where the camera has to sent to the repair shop to be disassembled and cleaned!