Smudge mark on mirror.

[GlasgowGunner]

Hi there i noticed today that there is a smudge on my mirror along the bottom half, Now the camera was bought used for my wife and i have noticed (and posted here) about the viewfinder looks rather dull&cloudy when framing a shot so i was wondering could this be a cause.

If not what could be the results of this smudge being here and is it easy enough to clean if i take good care of what im doing.


thanks.

 

[krazy_horse]

I would have thought that it is the mirror's smudge that is causing the blurryness through you view finder, but as for cleaning it yourself, i think that is a big no-no, i'm not even sure a "professional" would clean it as it is quite fragile and you will never get it perfect again.

If you can live with it, leave it, if not take it in for a clean/or replacement mirror.

Jonathan

 

[CT]

A good rule with SLR mirrors is never to touch them with your fingers or anything else. Unlike conventional mirrors, the mirror coating is often on the surface rather than on the back. This usually means that the mirror is easily marked, with fingerprints for example often being etched into the coating.

If the smudge is heavy/dense enough I suppose it could be severely reducing the amount of light being reflected up into the prism and might be responsible for your dull viewfinder. It sounds as though the mark has been caused by some careless handling and could even be the result of a previous attempt to clean it.

A lot depends on the type of mirror and surface coating, but I'd be inclined to get it looked at professionally. If all else fails the mirror could be replaced of course which might be the best option.

What camera is it?

 

[GlasgowGunner]

A good rule with SLR mirrors is never to touch them with your fingers or anything else. Unlike conventional mirrors, the mirror coating is often on the surface rather than on the back. This usually means that the mirror is easily marked, with fingerprints for example often being etched into the coating.

If the smudge is heavy/dense enough I suppose it could be severely reducing the amount of light being reflected up into the prism and might be responsible for your dull viewfinder. It sounds as though the mark has been caused by some careless handling and could even be the result of a previous attempt to clean it.

A lot depends on the type of mirror and surface coating, but I'd be inclined to get it looked at professionally. If all else fails the mirror could be replaced of course which might be the best option.

What camera is it?

The camera in question is a Canon 30d...