1dX dust in viewfinder

[wycmfdm]

I just noticed something on my 1DX. When pointing to some bright area I saw several specks and lines in the upperright corner througth VF. From what I read those would be on either the mirror or focus screen and should not show on the pictures taken (which they did not). Regradless this is annoying especially considering this is Canon's "chosen one". Tried rocket blower and did not help. Just noitices there were hard to clean specks on the eype piece on the back of the VF as well. Resonating with the other thread complaining on dust on sensor, shouldn't Canon do a better job cleaning the camera before shipping out? The camera is only a couple of weeks old with almost no field exposure, so I doubt the dust was due to my use.
Anybody else has this issue? 

[bdunbar79]

Yeah I had that when I first bought the 1Ds Mark III.  There was a lot of garbage in the viewfinder and so I sent it in to Canon and they checked it over and also found dust on the sensor (which when I looked, DID show up in my photos).  Canon cameras seem easy to get dust on the sensor as well.  My 5D Mark III is already showing some around f/16.

[jacktaka]

Hi wycmfdm,

Dust in the viewfinder can only come from two places: the focusing screen, and the glass behind the focusing screen that leads to the pentaprism. Any dust on the mirror or eye piece will be too far away from the focal plane. I recommend taking out the focusing screen and giving it a thorough cleaning with a lens pen, eyeglass cleaning kit, etc. The glass behind the focusing screen cannot be removed, so it's tricky to clean. I cleaned mine using a SensorKlear pen, which is basically a tiny lenspen.

Hope that helps,
Jack

[Mt Spokane Photography]

Usually, a rocket blower will clean off the dust, on my 5D MK III, it did turn out to be on the mirror, and cleaning it solved the issue.
You can ask Canon to clean it as well.

[Cannon Man]

I use a canon anti-fog eyepiece. It's just a regular eyepiece with a glass in between. No dust gets to the optical glass behind it but the view is just a little darker and the anti-fog coating smudges really quick but i think it is worth using to protect it from rain and other elements.

[victorwol]

I just noticed something on my 1DX. When pointing to some bright area I saw several specks and lines in the upperright corner througth VF. From what I read those would be on either the mirror or focus screen and should not show on the pictures taken (which they did not). Regradless this is annoying especially considering this is Canon's "chosen one". Tried rocket blower and did not help. Just noitices there were hard to clean specks on the eype piece on the back of the VF as well. Resonating with the other thread complaining on dust on sensor, shouldn't Canon do a better job cleaning the camera before shipping out? The camera is only a couple of weeks old with almost no field exposure, so I doubt the dust was due to my use.
Anybody else has this issue? 

I have both, a 5D MKIII with a little fibre inside of the prism, and a 1DX with spekcles of well adhered dust into the sensor that will not come off with a rocket blower and also fibre inside of the prism. I'm VERY disappointed with Canon QC at the moment.... Both cameras where like that right out of the boxes.

Even a Canon rep suggested it was improperly stored by the dealer... To which I LMAO but is sad they can suggest such an idiotic thing... Shows you the people answering our questions at Canon know nothing about cameras... Well.. Not all... But some should not be doing that job...

[sandymandy]

Just send it in get free cleaning.....profit!

[DB]

Most likely it is the focusing screen, which are made of quite soft material and have an uneven surface so are incredibly difficult to clean. Rocket blowers can push the dust etc. further into the camera. The best policy is to take it to a Canon camera center and pay the $70 to $80 to have it replaced in a dust-free environment.

[ratnev]

Same thing with my 5D Mk's III. First one got a speck on the focusing screen after two lens changes.
The second body had a speck on the focusing screen (inside) right out of the box. 
As a recommendation: don't use an air blower. Things may go worse. I pulled lot of specks and tiny fibers on my focusing screen trying to clean it with air blower. 
Now I'm trying not to think about it, just focus on the pictures I take.

[victorwol]

Most likely it is the focusing screen, which are made of quite soft material and have an uneven surface so are incredibly difficult to clean. Rocket blowers can push the dust etc. further into the camera. The best policy is to take it to a Canon camera center and pay the $70 to $80 to have it replaced in a dust-free environment.

Both times I send the cameras to the CPS center to be cleaned, they came back dust free... But with cleaning fluid smudges on the sensor, so I had to re clean it myself..  But experience on that so far... I'll be sending soon again my 5D MKIII to see if the 3rd time is the lucky one....

[neuroanatomist]

My 1D X came with dust on the focus screen and on the sensor.  For some reason, B&H didn't list that under 'what's in the box' but then, Canon didn't charge extra for 'particulates to demonstrate effectiveness of the dust delete feature', so maybe I shouldn't complain?

Fortunately, a blower took care of the focus screen dust, and an Arctic Butterfly 724 took care of the sensor dust, and everething's clean (for now...).

[wycmfdm]

Thanks for everybody's response. I guess I should feel guilty by saying "I am pleased to know I am not alone",  . But seriously I am surprised to see this is such a common problem in Canon's high end and highest end offering.

A couple of you mentioned sending to Canon for service is an option. Where would I send it to ( I am in southest US)? Sorry for the newbie question but photography is my long time passion but recently getting serious hobby. Also should the cleaning be free as it is entirely due to their poor QC?

Jack - thanks for your valuable suggestion, but there seems too much risk to clean it by mysefl at this point, as right now it is just a nuance and does not affect pictures.

I should also say that despite this unexpected "feature" (per Neuro), the camera is really working like a charm! Used it for a Sea World trip and almost all pictures were worth to keep and there are thousands of them. And that is another "problem" I am having with this camera,  .

[victorwol]

My 1D X came with dust on the focus screen and on the sensor.  For some reason, B&H didn't list that under 'what's in the box' but then, Canon didn't charge extra for 'particulates to demonstrate effectiveness of the dust delete feature', so maybe I shouldn't complain?

Fortunately, a blower took care of the focus screen dust, and an Arctic Butterfly 724 took care of the sensor dust, and everething's clean (for now...).

How is you experience with the Arctic Butterfly? I was always afraid of brushes for sensors. I still havent seen one that doesn't make it worst.

[neuroanatomist]

Works great, IMO. I'm not worried about dry brushes, but I've not yet needed to do a wet cleaning.

[victorwol]

Works great, IMO. I'm not worried about dry brushes, but I've not yet needed to do a wet cleaning.

Have to give it a try then... Thanks.