350D Internal Damage?

[SammyG]

So I was trying to clean the viewfinder of my 350D, because it has some dust particles on it. It was not affecting picture quality, but it still bugged me.

Anyway, in the process, that little piece of sticky foam that runs across the top part of the rectangular "hole" within which lies the mirror and other internal parts, that little strip started peeling off. A little less than half of its length got peeled off, but I've nudged it back into place, and thanks to its sticky backing, it looks like its staying there for now.

If it eventually does start falling off, is this going to cause a big problem? How much to repair would I be looking at?

(And what is the official name for that little strip of stick foam?) Hopefully you guys know to what I'm referring.

Thanks!

[dvincent]

It's dampening foam to help keep mirror vibrations down and quiet the camera. If it unsticks again, any good camera shop should be able to fix it.

[McG]

My 350D suffers from the same crud on the view finder problem which I find irritating.
What were you using to clean it?

Mark

[SammyG]

A Qtip with the cotton head wrapped in lens cleaning paper. However, it seems to have added dust, not taken it away. But I will have to live with it for now.

Thanks for the replies!

[dvincent]

A Qtip with the cotton head wrapped in lens cleaning paper. However, it seems to have added dust, not taken it away. But I will have to live with it for now.

Thanks for the replies!

Focus screens are composed of thousands of tiny bubbles that can trap dirt and stuff. The easiest way to clean them is to use something like a rocket blower. The best way to clean them is to remove the screen and place it in a tube of water and some very mild detergent and "shake it up" as it were. Blot it dry with a high quality microfiber cloth and your focus screen will be as clean as new. I wouldn't do this yourself if you don't have experience, though.

[SammyG]

I have a hand pumped blower, but it does absolutely nothing.

I guess I will have to have it removed by a pro one day if I really want it cleaned.