I suspect that the stuff I've seen growing on the (metal!) coating of the
mirror a
couple of times in the past was some rare and exotic type of fungus -- at least
it
_looked_ very similar, if not identical, to some of the varieties of fungus
we've
seen growing on optics. It's been so rare, though, that I can't recall if there
was any notable damage to the mirror after cleaning.
(BTW, on a slightly different topic, I _have_ seen instances where after the
mirror
had been left "locked up" so it was pressed against the foam bumpers at the top
of
the finder for an extended period of time (years?) that the foam (the same
material
above the prism in most early OM-1's and 2's) had "eaten through" (dissolved)
the
coating of the mirror at the corners....)
Fungus in the finder is not quite as unusual, but still rare. Most often, if it
occurs, we see it between the screen and the prism, much less often between the
eyepiece and the prism. As a rule, these cameras are obviously abused, having
been
stored improperly (like the OM-1 that was left without a lens face-up in a
garage
for years...). Generally, removing the prism and cleaning is all that's needed.
Maybe this (the rarity of fungus in bodies) is because there's better
circulation
in the body, as compared to the lenses. Maybe it's the coating, or lack of it,
on
the prisms. I don't know for sure....
Dean wrote:
> Clint,
> Just to be sure, so that even I can understand it, fungus on the mirror or
> viewfinder is rare. Is it easy to remove the fungus from the viewfinder?
> That is, if a qualified technician does do? thanks.
> -dean
>
> At 07:09 PM 12/6/01 -0600, you wrote:
> >Very, very rare, but it happens once in a while.
> >
> >Dean wrote:
> >
> > > I've read lots about fungus in camera lenses, but I've read/heard little
> > > about fungus on a camera mirror and viewfinder. Aren't these surfaces
> > > threatened by fungus? Or, are they just less susceptible to fungus?
> > > thanks.
> > >
>
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