Dust in viewfinder of G2

[jsmisc]

Hello G2 users.
I have been meaning to ask people about this for some time but having just used my G2 again it has reminded me.
What looks like a small hair has appeared in the viewfinder of my G2 and although not too obvious,it is annoying.
I wondered if anyone else had experienced this and if so is there a means of getting rid of it, other than having the viewfinder replaced.
I do not think that dust or other detritus should be able to get into the viewfinder as it should be properly sealed and I do not think that it should have been there from manufacture to appear at a future date. But I suppose that nothing is perfect.
I had hoped that it would move and go away of its own accord but so far it has not.
John

 

[jsmisc]

Hello G2 users.
I have been meaning to ask about this for some time but using my G2 again has reminded me.
What looks like a small hair has appeared in the viewfinder and although not too obvious, it is annoying.
I wondered if anyone else had experienced this. I don't suppose that there is any means of getting rid of it, other than having the viewfinder replaced or cleaned but I think that opening it up for cleaning might cause even more problems.
I do not think that dust or other detritus should be able to get into the viewfinder as it should have been properly sealed and I do not think that it should have been lurking there from manufacture waiting to appear at a future date. But I suppose that nothing is perfect.
I had hoped that it would move and go away of its own accord but so far it has not.
I did ask a dealer over the telephone how much he might give me for my G2 when I was considering swapping it a while ago. He asked me if there was any dust or anything in the viewfinder and when I told him of this, he declined to take it. So the problem is in fact more far reaching than just being a nuisance.
John

 

[jsmisc]

Hello, Just wondered if anyone had any thoughts on my earlier post now that email notification is back on. Maybe I have just been unlucky and am the only one to suffer the problem but from the dealer's question, I think that it must be quite common. I suppose it is no more annoying than dust in the viewfinder of an SLR but it's still annoying.
John

 

[dirk]

Hi John,

I had never dust in my G2-viewfinder and I also never heard of that problem. I do not know when you purchased your G2 and whether there is still a warranty on it.

The fact that the dealer is asking for dust etc. is nothing abnormal. The dealer where I buy from time to time used equipment, is asking that question for all brandnames. Contax equipment as second hand is currently very hard to sell, same even worse than Leica gear right now. But this is excellent for buyers out there. This will probably only change after photokina in September, if there is new light in the information darkness about new products

I would stick with that G2 untouched or get it repaired under warranty, but I would not pay for a repair, if that hair does not bother you really.

 

[jsmisc]

Thanks for your reply Dirk. That's reassuring. My G2 is long out of warranty unfortunately. I bought in Singapore in 1997, so I will just have to put up with it and hope it goes away like a blob of dust did which appeared under my watch glass but has now moved somewhere else.
I wonder why Contax gear is hard to sell at the moment probably the digital revolution and it being in non mainstream.
Cheers,
John

 

[dirk]

IMO the major problem is the silence of Kyocera. At times where you can see everywhere Canon advertisment, you have to fight for your potential buyer and give him arguments why he should buy a different product. The lack of advertising, new products and communication is a combination, which leads to a very high entry barrier for new costumers.

I hope this will change soon, since we have seen already improvemnets (See the ads here and the limited edition model), but who knows what will happen in 2-5 months...

 

[lotusflower]

John,

I once had a very annoying situation where a white spec attached to the inside of the viewfinder of one of my non-Contax camera's. I was so desparate to be rid of pesky thing; and being that the camera was out of warranty, and not worth the cost of repair, I quite insanely used the blower/suction on my vaccumm cleaner (LOL). Naturally I removed the bag before hand, and cleaned the hose, LOL.

I seriously would not recommend this (unless your as nuts as I am) but in my case it worked and no damage was done to the camera as I used a new, soft bristled attachment.

Sometimes a little igenuity does the trick but does come with risks so one should be extremely careful. My desparate and insane logic at that time being that the white spec got in somehow due to an area where sealant was weakest so there must be a way to blow the darn thing out.

I did say it was insane, LOL.

 

[jsmisc]

G,
Thanks for your reply. Well I have to say that I had not thought of using the vacuum cleaner! But I might just give it a go. Your idea has also made me think that I might also try a compressed air duster gently first. All I have tried so far is (fairly gently) tapping the camera to try and move the speck/blob out of the way. I'll let you know how I get on when I've plucked up courage.
Thanks again,
John

 

[lotusflower]

John,

In my situation I had tried every soft method I could devise, tapping, minor shaking and the tiny vaccume I use on my laptop keyboard but that spec was not tiny and proved immovable.

The method I resorted to was more out of insane frustration of having failed at other solutions. Had I considered the camera essential I can assure you I would have thought long and hard before resorting to such a drastic step. so I quite understand your reluctance, LOL

G. Ashton

 

[jsmisc]

Thanks G.

I shall try everything else first but I'll let you know if I get rid of that annoying blob!

Cheers,

John