# spec inside the camera body! need help.



## blitzkrieg69 (Feb 1, 2010)

Im a noob, as you can see. looking through the the camera i seen a spec. cleaned both ends of lense and i think its on the reflection thing in the camera body. can i use my brush to try to clean it off there? didnt know if i would mess it up somehow.

Thanks in advance


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## Big Mike (Feb 1, 2010)

> and i think its on the reflection thing in the camera body


That 'reflection thing' is called the mirror.  

You can try to clean the mirror, but be very very careful.  If you knock the mirror out of alignment, it will be a big problem.

If you can live with the spec, it's not a big deal as it won't affect the image at all.  When you press the shutter release, the mirror flips up and out of the way...it's only there so you can see out of the lens with the viewfinder.


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## Derrel (Feb 1, 2010)

The spec is most likely located on the underside of the viewfinder screen, which is located above the mirror. DO NOT CLEAN, or even touch or brush the angled mirror inside your camera--the mirror is very fragile,very delicate,and its precise location is critical for autofocus accuracy. A mirror can be quite dusty and dirty and filmy,and not affect the viewing image very much. You can NOT, I repeat, can NOT see dust or lint or fibers on the mirror surface--that surface is not in focus; what you see is on the viewfinder screen, above the mirror.

Yeah, there could be a speck of lint (sweaters and knitted hats, gloves, etc, anything made of yarn are particularly bad for this, BTW) on the viewfinder screen. Remove the lens and then blow hard on your hand three or four times, to make sure no little spittle drops go flying, and then blow the lint or fiber off the viewfinder screen. Replace lens. Be happy!

Just as an aside--there are going to be more specks in the future. That is guaranteed. You might as well get used to it and not worry until there are many of them.


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## blitzkrieg69 (Feb 1, 2010)

ok so dont mess with the mirror? and its showing up in the pictures. small but its there. i will post an example in a minute


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## Josh66 (Feb 1, 2010)

blitzkrieg69 said:


> ok so dont mess with the mirror? and its showing up in the pictures. small but its there. i will post an example in a minute



That must be a separate piece of dust (on your sensor).

If you can see it through the viewfinder - it will not show in the pictures.
If you can see it in the pictures - it will not show in the viewfinder.


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## blitzkrieg69 (Feb 1, 2010)

here some pictures. red circles around the spec. i see it in the viewfinder also though
but its not blurred in the viewfinder. its a small black spec when i look through the viewfinder


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## Josh66 (Feb 1, 2010)

If you can see it in the viewfinder, and it shows up in pictures - it has to be on the lens.


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## blitzkrieg69 (Feb 1, 2010)

ok, if i look through the viewfinder and start to turn the lense to take it off will the spec move?

thanks for all your help


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## Josh66 (Feb 1, 2010)

If the lens is turning, the spec should be too...

Do you have a second lens to check it with?

I would take the lens off and hold it up to a bright light - see if you can see anything.


Take a picture of your wall at f/22...  That will show you the dust on your sensor.


If it's not on the lens, the only thing I can think of is that you have a spec on the mirror (or focusing screen) AND the sensor, in almost the same place.

Anything on the mirror/focusing screen will not be in the light path during exposure, and you can't see the sensor through the viewfinder.


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## blitzkrieg69 (Feb 1, 2010)

i only have the kit 18-55 lense.

and when i turn the lense, the spec does not move


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## Josh66 (Feb 1, 2010)

...hmm


Well, it doesn't really look like sensor dust to me...

Not my picture, but this is what sensor dust looks like:
http://iseenothing.com/pictures/sensordust.jpg

It _looks_ like a spec of dirt or oil on the front of the lens (or a filter).

I'm out of ideas, lol.  Unless you have a spec on the sensor _and_ focusing screen...


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## blitzkrieg69 (Feb 1, 2010)

its a dark spec like those when i look through the viewfinder. but blurred on pictures


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## Derrel (Feb 1, 2010)

Those circled spots ARE sensor dust. At small f/stops like f/11,f/16, and f/22 the biobs are very small and tiny. At larger apertures like f/5.6 and in that range, the blobs are larger and less sharply-edged. The gift unwrapping shots--those ARE sensor dust spots.
Art wide apertures like f/1.4 to f/3.5, the blobs are very diffuse,and actually kind of hard to see. The smaller the hole you shoot through, the smaller and clearer and sharper-edged the dust on the sensor's AA filter array is.


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## blitzkrieg69 (Feb 1, 2010)

should i bother taking it to a camera store? can they even fix that?

again, thank you guys for all the help


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## Josh66 (Feb 1, 2010)

They can, or you can do it yourself.

I like these sensor cleaning kits:
Copper Hill Images

The shop will charge at least that much to clean it, once.
I recommend learning to do it yourself, but a lot of people would rather take it to a shop.  Your call.


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## blitzkrieg69 (Feb 1, 2010)

ok, glad to know it can be fixed one way or another. 

thanks guys


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## Garbz (Feb 2, 2010)

A piece that size will likely give way if you set the camera to cleaning mode, turn it upside down and gently blow into it. I highly suggest getting a blower bulb to do that though since the last thing you want to do is accidentally gob on it.

I think it's a coincidence that you have both sensor dust and sensor in your viewfinder. Likely two separate pieces. Dust on the lens rarely make a visible difference to the image.


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## blitzkrieg69 (Feb 2, 2010)

ok so i looked in the camera. looking directly in i see the mirror. i look up into the body and seen what ever is above the mirror like in front of the viewfinder(is this the sensor?). and i see the spec. so use the copperhill image sensor cleaner for that?


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## Garbz (Feb 3, 2010)

No. That's the focusing screen. The sensor is behind the mirror and behind the shutter curtain. Set your camera to cleaning mode and then look into the body. The mirror will flip up and the shutter will open. This will likely reveal ANOTHER spec, the one that actually shows up on the photos.


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## TCimages (Feb 3, 2010)

Looks like sensor dust to me.  Must be pretty big to show up at f5.3.  Put the camera in mirror lock-up mode (this will hide the mirror) and look at the sensor.  As others have suggested, get a blower and try to blow it off.


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