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Old 19-03-12, 11:31 PM
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jet_kit jet_kit is offline
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Join Date: Feb 2011
Location: London
Posts: 601
OK Chris,

I spotted that you'd solved the problem, but you didn't tell us how. No matter.

You said you cleaned the mirror. This is not wise.

First of all, the cleanliness of the mirror will have no effect on your images at all, because it flips up, out of the way, when you fire the shutter (that's why the viewfinder blacks-out).

Secondly, the mirror is surface silvered. Not like the mirror in your bathroom which is silvered on the back and there's 4 or 5mm of glass between you and the silver-surface. On a camera mirror the silvering is on the front to avoid any distortions created by any glass in the light path. This silvering is VERY fragile and easily scratched. If you must clean it, do so with gentle puffs of air holding the camera upside down so any dust falls out of the camera. If it's very bad you can very gently stroke the surface with a camel-hair brush. It it's really bad, put it in the hands of a specialist.
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Chris

The day you think you've found perfection is the day you stop looking, then someone else will find it and move in front of you.

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