What is that dark spot in the viewfinder? How do i clean it?

[FixitFelix]

Hi, i recently bought an Olympus 35sp and found this dark spot in the viewfinder.

I am very new to this, but it does not look like fungus i have seen in other gear, it looks like something else maybe? What could it be?

What can i use to clean it up with without damaging the internals of the viewfinder?

 

[bluesun267]

It's hard to judge where the spot is within the viewfinder from your photo but it looks to me like fungus. The SP is easy enough to remove the top plate and clean the VF glass without having to disassemble it. Often the safest (and most effective) way to clean viewfinder internals is with condensation from your breath and a q-tip. But with fungus you may need a stronger cleaner (such as window cleaner diluted 2-3x with distilled water). Then if that doesn't get rid of the offending spot, you might try hydrogen peroxide (on a q-tip of course). The important thing is to avoid aggressive cleaning of any semi-transparent mirrored surfaces (usually they have an opalescent blue/yellow hue). As always if you're not sure you can do it without screwing things up, take it to a professional. The SP is a wonderful camera

 

[FixitFelix]

I lifted up the top and found this black cover over the viewfinder. It is glued down. Can i just safely cut around it to get it off and glue it back together again?

 

[bluesun267]

It's been a while since I worked on this camera and your picture is so small it's hard to see.


I believe that cover is either black paper or metal, and yes, you can remove it gently, try not to tear it. You'll want to glue it back after cleaning. Rubber cement works best

 

[Dan Daniel]

xxxxxxxxxx

 

[FixitFelix]

Wow! Thank you all! Bought me some 3% hydrogen peroxide and soaked the viewfinder and rubbed it off with a cotton bud.

And yes, it was probably fungus...

Now it looks so clean, except that i now notice all the things on the 45 degree rangefinder glass that reflects the patch and the framelines. I´ve heard this piece has a super delicate silvercoating on it or something, so i do not think that is something i want to mess with.

When i put my eye to the viewfinder i do not see it anyway.

Thanks for the help!