A tiny fleck of dirt on the inside of my viewfinder

[georgeinci]

I see a tiny (it is tiny) dot through the viewfinder (not on the photographs!).Has anyone else had this problem? This has happened to me before and I tried to clean it - gasp - the outcome was so not good - I required a new view-finder! A very traumatic experience..LOL x
However, I have another speck of dirt - I do not want to even attempt to remove it but I am becoming a little suspicious of how it got there. I hardly ever, ever change my lenses and am very careful when doing so. My 50mm spends pretty much all the time on there! Could there be a problem with the sealing of the camera?? I have a Canon 500D and it is just over a year old.
Just wondered if anyone else has had this problem and how they solved it!
Thanks Georgina

[anke]

hmmm, I did have a little fleck at one point and I could see the piece of dirt inside when I took the lens off. I was able to remove it carefully. Did you check the inside mirror? I used a microfiber cloth corner and just dotted it lightly. I wouldn't attempt anything more involved though.
You could send an email to Canon and see what they say...

[dugarner]

No matter how carefully you change the lens, unless you do it in a clean room, dust is eventually going to make its way onto the sensor. I have about 40 spots now (even after having my sensor cleaned last year) but I am a prolific lens-changer. (Even at the ocean . . . gasp!) You could try sending an email like Anke suggested. Cleaning my sensor isn't something I'm willing to try on my own just yet, but neither am I willing to dish out $60 to have Sony do it, either. We don't have any camera service stores anywhere near where I live.

[hendon]

I had to get my nikon cleaned a couple of months ago as I even had dust or whatever inside the lens [under the glass, and I have a filter on it too]. The more I tried to clean/blow away any specks on the sensor/mirror the worse they got. Nikon told me to always change lenses with the camera pointing at the ground so nothing gets in there [it's quite hard to do that upside down].

[Amy L]

I had my camera cleaned at the local camera store for about $30.00. I think I'll plan to do it on a regular basis as I can't seem to keep those pesky specks from finding their way in there!

[georgeinci]

Thanks girls - I'm glad it isn't just me with 'pesky dust' but as it's not affecting my photographs, I think I'll leave it for now and take it for a service at my local camera shop after the summer.

[earlofoxford]

Like Amy, I've had my camera cleaned at a local camera shop for a reasonable price. They do it in one day which I like very much -- can't stand to be without my camera. I also bought one of the bulb squeeze things to "dust" my lenses when I change them, and I always try to put my camera body face down on a cleaning cloth while I'm changing lenses.

[dugarner]

I don't mind the spots so much---they only show up when I've taken a picture of all sky. Then I spend time in Photoshop brushing them out. But it's more of a frustration when I'm looking through the viewfinder and can see them everywhere! I wish we had a camera store here in town. I can't bear the thought of taking it to a shop while on vacation, then I'd have a day on vacation without a camera and that would likely cause my world to implode.

[georgeinci]

LOL, I know what you mean about being without your camera. I was without mine for 3 weeks - ahh, 3 whole weeks. I have never been so excited to have a parcel through the mail!

[tylertooo]

I am bringing my camera in for a well deserved cleaning this afternoon. I too cringe at the thought of being without it. I expect to have to clean mine regularly because I take a major amount of photos at horse clinics, and there is no way I can keep it clean at the stable. I come home with layers of finely pulverized dust all over me, so I can image just how horrible my camera is. I am lucky to have a repair shop locally that does nothing but camera repair. Have to bring my 50mm lens in as well as it doesn't seem to want to work any longer - hoping contacts are dirty.