Should I clean my focusing screen?

[Netskimmer]

I have managed to get some dirt on/in my focusing screen. It's not that bad, more of an annoyance, but I'm not sure if I should risk cleaning it. I have read everything from a q-tip and distilled water to don't ever touch it with anything. I looked into a split prism replacement from KatzEye but it's over $100.

So the questions are:
Do you clean your screen?
What technique do you use?
Is it really worth springing for an aftermarket screen?

 

[cgipson1]

I have the split prism from Katzeye.. and it is great! Love it.. especially for macro.

I have never tried to clean a screen.. have heard too many horror stories about destroying them while trying to clean them. Good luck!

 

[Netskimmer]

I love doing macro so maybe it's a worthy investment... It didn't look like it was difficult to swap out, did you have any trouble? Did you spring for the OptiBrite feature?

 

[cgipson1]

I love doing macro so maybe it's a worthy investment... It didn't look like it was difficult to swap out, did you have any trouble? Did you spring for the OptiBrite feature?

It was fairly easy to change out.. no big deal! Yes.. I did get the Optibrite... and would say that it made a noticeable difference compared to the OEM screen.

 

[Netskimmer]

I may just invest in one. Can you use the camera without a screen? I was considering just trying to clean it and if I fail, replacing it with aftermarket. The only problem would be the down-time waiting for replacement.

 

[Rephargotohp]

While they are plastic and easily scratched, I'm not sure what you think will happen ptherwise that you couldn't use it till you got a new one. Most times the chamber just need to be blown out of dust that has gotten in there with a Giotto rocket. I've done it a few times with never a problem

 

[Netskimmer]

Tried blowing it out with no luck. I might try to remove it and clean it outside the camera. (Good practice if I do replace it) I wasn't sure if the camera would "know" that the screen was missing and throw an error or something if it was powered on without a screen installed.

 

[KmH]

Are you sure it's dust on the focusing screen?

I would be surprised if dust was able to get on the pentaprism side of the focusing screen, and if it did I would be sending to Nikon as a warranty issue.

I have only ever seen dust/debris on the mirror box side of a focusing screen, that was easily brushed or blown away.

 

[Garbz]

Can you use the camera without a screen?

No you can't. The camera will still function just fine but you won't see anything through the viewfinder.

That said go nuts. I find it hard to believe that anything you do would actually damage the screen to the point where the camera no longer functions. Hell I have a big arse scratch down mine and dust all over and my camera hasn't missed a beat.

 

[Netskimmer]

It's on the mirror side, I tried brushing it and the original specks dissapeared but the brushing seemed to make it worse. I will mess around with it this weekend. Like I said, it's not that bad and I may just leave it be.

 

[Netskimmer]

I finally worked up the testicular fortitude to pull and clean my focusing screen. It was pretty easy to do even though it was a little nerv racking. it's pretty clean now, I did manage to get a little speck of somthing or other between the screen and prism but it's way up in the corner so I don't think I fuss with it unless it migrates to somewhere more annoying. Took a few test shots and evertything is working normally.

 

[analog.universe]

Congratulations!

(but if you ever focus manually, yes the aftermarket screens are worth it.. I'll never go back. (I will probably try different options though))

 

[unpopular]

For big chucks of crap I just take a a lens cleaning cloth and fold it into a corner and very lightly dab away the dirt one speckle at a time, then I very lightly brush with a new lens cloth loosely wrapped around a cuetip to just barely let the cloth touch the screen.

I have no idea if this is the "right way" or not. But it works ok.