What is this in my M2 viewfinder? Help..

[fixbones]

Hi people,

Bought an M2 from a reputed dealer about 3 weeks back.
Was going through my second roll of film today and noticed this (see attached) in my viewfinder.

What is this? Serious? What should i do?

[hans voralberg]

Honest it's shaky and blurry but I guess it's haze or condensation?

[elshaneo]

Yeah it looks like condensation. It should not be there for long though ;-)

[fixbones]

I doubt its condensation.
Sorry about the image quality but i think that is as close as my digicam would go.

...there is this black 'crazing' pattern that is only obvious when you are not looking directly through the viewfinder (don't know if this makes sense)

[Bill58]

If the VF is plastic and it appears to be on the outside, you can clean it up Q-tips and w/ Polywatch-a product for polishing watch crystals.

[fixbones]

i am quite certain that its inside.
Tried cleaning the front and back of the viewfinder earlier and the mark is still there

[elshaneo]

Maybe glass separation then? Let's hope someone will know exactly what it is ;-)

[fixbones]

glass seperation.... please not.........

[fixbones]

no one?
...... coz i am kinda worried here

[elshaneo]

Try to contact the seller and ask, maybe the seller will know ;-)

[Bill58]

'Sounds like you got a warranty issue. That's why you buy from a reputable shop and pay a little more than eprey.

[maddoc]

Did you check for prism deterioration / separation ? Hold the camera with the eye-piece against a bright light and look from the front-side of the camera into the left small RF window. If there are any black spots or patterns visible, either the silvering has deteriorated or the prism start separating.

[fixbones]

Contacted the seller today but don't think i'll get a reply till monday

[fixbones]

Going to give this a bump and see if anybody else can help me out.

[Vickko]

Can you tell if this is on the front window, or on the rear lens? Your photo isn't that great, but you've got a few guesses that it is haze. Did the camera get wet, either by direct fluid, or by exposure to humidity?

If the haze is on the inside of the rear lens, the lens just unscrews, and can be wiped clean. Easy operation.

If it is on the front window, or on the prism surface in front of the rear eye lens, then the top cover has to come off, and then the surfaces wiped off. Not rocket science, but you do need the correct tools and care to do it right.

If you just bought the camera, I'd advise taking it back to them and having them correct it.

The beauty of the M's is that they are fabulously maintainable.

[hans voralberg]

Have you tried the shining-light-through yet? If it's crazing pattern it's likely glass seperation

[Vickko]

If it is prism separation, like another person has suggested, then it is bad news. Eventually it will go black. Prisms can be re-cemented, but it is a big job.

Essentially, the separated prisms need to be pushed out of the rangefinder assemly, cemented again and then reassembled back into the rangefinder.

Big job.

And not cheap.

Best of luck.

Vick

[fixbones]

I don't think its water condensation. Never got wet.
never dropped or banged the camera either. I've only had the camera for slightly more than 3 weeks.

The black pattern looks like it is on the prism surface in front of the rear eye lens - the piece of glass that looks diagonal when looked at from a certain angle (makes sense??).

Will try to take better pictures tonight if possible.....

[normclarke]

Hi,
I guess a lot of hype surrounds prism separation, which I'm afraid you have. My suggestion is that your prism has been repaired and the adhesive has started to react with the silver. This is not such a big deal that many would say. The prism needs to be removed from the R/F assembly, split apart realuminised and reassembled. Not beyond the whit of a good repair person. There are several people out there who can affect this service.

Best,

normclarke.

[Turtle]

I say get a refund if you can. CRR luton redo prisms but it will still come in about $300+ or so.

[normclarke]

Hi,
CRR's current charge is $240 for this exact service.

Best,

normclarke.

[fixbones]

Thanks for all the help and advice so far.
Somehow, i have a feeling that it is probably prism separation...... how unlucky... sigh.... and i thought i could avoid all this by paying the slight premium and buy from a dealer.......

Attached are more pictures (better quality)...





Would be grateful for any further advice. Still waiting for dealer to reply.
It certainly doesn't help that i am from Australia and the M2 was bought from the states

[Kozhe]

It looks to me like it´s on the rear window glass, not in the prism, so it might be a simpler and way less expensive fix. Ask the dealer anyway, if he´s reputed enough he should be aware of most of the problems you can find in these cameras.

If you´re really worried about it you might ask for a refund or a change, if it´s not a practical issue but aesthetic I would not worry too much about it.

Is the camera still L sealed? It might be it was not dry or clean when someone put the covers back.

[Ronald M]

Does separation only effect the the RF patch? This appears to be something on the inside of an eyepiece glass component.

[nobbylon]

First things first eh? Unscrew the eyepiece and clean it. This looks similar to one i've seen and someone had used something nasty to clean the glass and it buggered the coating up leaving strange patterns. I just polished it off with some fine toothpaste and it was fine. It looks too uniform over the area to be seperation which usually from what i've seen starts at the bottom or top edge as you look through the front large r'h side window. If you shine a torch from the back you may see small gold like beads on the edges. The finder then progresses to patches of black as you look through it but not uniform in pattern. Can affect the whole finder.