What's wrong with my lense?yellowish stain? *picture*

[mrsb2009]

The camera is a monalta maxxum XTsi.it was my father's and he passed away last year so it's extremely important to me since besides a class ring it's all I have left of him.i noticed today that it has developed a yellowish looking stain on the bottom when I look through the viewfinder.its still there when i switch out the lenses so im not sure where it could be at other than the viewfinder?will this mess up my pictures?Thanks in advance for any suggestions

 

[tirediron]

If it's there, unchanged when you change lenses, then you can probably safely assume that it's ot in the image path. It could be yellowing of the adhesive holding the pentaprism in place, on the focusing screen, or the mirror. If you remove the lens and look into the mirror chamber, you should be able to determine if the mirror is clean, then look up at the underside of the focusing screen. If it's not visible in either of those, then it's pretty much got to be the prism.

 

[dxqcanada]

As per tirediron ... look here: The Chens: The User's Review: Minolta Maxxum XTsi (Dynax 505 si Supper) and STsi (Dynax 404 si) 35mm SLR Cameras in images
with the lens removed.

 

[mrsb2009]

I checked the mirror and focusing screen.both look clean and according to the blog post link i guess it is the view finder.thanks for the replies.i appreciate it.

 

[timor]

Things happens, I have this in two cameras, but they are still very much usable.

 

[minicoop1985]

How does the mirror look? I'll bet it's on either the main mirror or in the viewfinder. It's probably not going to affect images, but there's only one way to find out, of course. Good luck-sounds like there's some serious sentimental value there.

 

[compur]

If it's still there when you remove the lens then it's just in the camera's viewing system and won't affect the images at all.

 

[HurleyPhoto]

First... Sorry about the loss of your father. Lost mine in 2001 and still seems like just last year. But with time it gets better. Compur is 100% correct. The only thing between your subject and the film is the lens. Once you press the "button" to take a photo, the mirror will raise and the shutter will open leaving nothing between your subject and film. Pictures should be fine. The main thing is, you have HIS camera. Take care.