Brian Harris Posted June 13 Share #1 Posted June 13 Advertisement (gone after registration) I'm seeing dust accumulate INSIDE my viewfinder on my 5 year old Leica M10 which I use professionally. The camera is always wrapped in chamois leather when in my bag. It got really bad this weekend when shooting a story involving low angled sunlight to the point where i couldn't see to focus so just guessed the distance, fortunately i was using a 21mm so most frames were in focus. Is this a known problem ?? This is my 4th or 5th Digital M camera...all have failed in the past...but my 35 year old M6 still works fine...what does that say about technology or build quality ? Leica Mayfair are supposed to be getting in touch ASAP...lets hope this gets resolved soonest....the Fuji or Sony system beckons ??? Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
pedaes Posted June 13 Share #2 Posted June 13 (edited) 1 hour ago, Brian Harris said: I use professionally Welcome to the Forum. Are you THE Brian Harris who spoke at the TLS weekend in Nottingham a couple of years ago? If you are, I enjoyed reading your book (and studying the images) that I bought on the day! https://www.fleetstreetsfinest.com/artist/brian-harris/ I have a M10 and haven't had any dust problems, nor have I heard about any here - and we do tend to hear about any issues quickly! It should be an easy fix, but more interesting thought is how dust is getting in. Good luck with it. Edited June 13 by pedaes Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jakontil Posted June 14 Share #3 Posted June 14 The m10 should have been well sealed but im afraid it might wear off to slip in dust into viewfinder as time goes by some actually experience such in the early days Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
nuc001 Posted June 14 Share #4 Posted June 14 Yes this happens. I got one the size of a sesame seed in there once, smack bang in the middle of the viewfinder. Don't know how it even got there in a 2 year old M10-P but it did. Time for a CLA. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adam Bonn Posted June 15 Share #5 Posted June 15 Dust finds its way into most places eventually... when you change the battery, the SD card, the lens. If Mayfair will sort it that's great. AFAIK M top covers are only held on with two screws, for those with mechanical minds and steady hands it's not beyond the home mechanic armed with a rocket blower. Just be careful with the ribbon cables, the trick would be to separate the top cover from the body only as little as as it needs to get a blower (or even a little vacuum device, something you might own if you were pretty serious about wrist watch servicing) in there. I wouldn't go unplugging the cables and separating the top plate completely Of course for cameras in warranty or for people who's time and money budget allow for the official/reputable CLA, that's the way to go. FWIW My first X-Pro1 picked up as much dust as a Dyson inside the VF, so it's not really a Leica thing, and I suspect EVF only cameras just hide it better. (If it's not on/in the EVF panel you won't notice it) Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
PhongNguyen0196 Posted June 16 Share #6 Posted June 16 I bought a used M10 at the local Leica Store, there were fungus inside the viewfinder, found out about it right after I got home. Send in for CLA, took almost 3 months of waiting. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
pedaes Posted June 16 Share #7 Posted June 16 Advertisement (gone after registration) 2 hours ago, PhongNguyen0196 said: there were fungus inside the viewfinder, Difficult to believe, but I would have taken it back for a refund. If it has been kept in an environment that would produce fungus in a viewfinder, what about the rest of the camera. idusidusi 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
PhongNguyen0196 Posted June 16 Share #8 Posted June 16 10 hours ago, pedaes said: Difficult to believe, but I would have taken it back for a refund. If it has been kept in an environment that would produce fungus in a viewfinder, what about the rest of the camera. Here you go, it was the only M10 that they have. Send it back for a full CLA free of charge, they had to replace the glass on the viewfinder. Why would I lie about such thing? Hello guest! Please register or sign in to view the hidden content. Hallo Gast! Du willst die Bilder sehen? Einfach registrieren oder anmelden! Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jakontil Posted June 17 Share #9 Posted June 17 13 hours ago, PhongNguyen0196 said: Here you go, it was the only M10 that they have. Send it back for a full CLA free of charge, they had to replace the glass on the viewfinder. Why would I lie about such thing? Hello guest! Please register or sign in to view the hidden content. Hallo Gast! Du willst die Bilder sehen? Einfach registrieren oder anmelden! Nobody said u r lying, he only thought, it is hard to believe an M10 inherits fungus since it’s released not so long ago, especially from a leica store where storing it in a well controlled environment, anyway glad it’s sorted out though the waiting time played a part pedaes, PhongNguyen0196 and 6bender 2 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
timo01 Posted June 17 Share #10 Posted June 17 Dust in the viewfinder is possible. You can clean it yourself in a few minutes. I would not send the camera to leica as the dust is sure to come back in a few months... Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bangrossi Posted June 22 Share #11 Posted June 22 On 6/17/2022 at 6:49 PM, timo01 said: Dust in the viewfinder is possible. You can clean it yourself in a few minutes. I would not send the camera to leica as the dust is sure to come back in a few months... Can you please share step by step tutorial how to clean dusty M10 viewfinder? I read in other thread, in order to clean virwfinder we need to remove top plate by removing two trox screws on bottom of camera. Then use rocket blower to clean up the dust. Is that correct? thank you Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
timo01 Posted June 22 Share #12 Posted June 22 There are two screws on the bottom. One in the battery compartment and one on the opposite side (Torx). After that, the cover can be removed very easily. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
yukosteel Posted July 3 Share #13 Posted July 3 For some cases even official CLA doesn't always work to clean all the dust. I sent one M10 to Leica USA for repair (which they did excellent) and CLA, and got it back with same dust particle in viewfinder front window and note "some dust particles could not be removed". Well, yes, that particle was not under the glass of top cover, but under first glass element of the viewfinder. It required removing of electronic board above the viewfinder and a small plastic frame to get access. Took me 15 min to clean. And the second spot shown on picture is a dried moisture drop on the inner side of the top cover window - was easy clean as well. So I'm guessing Leica USA really has lots of work, and it's not always possible to clean things perfectly. For such cases it's useful to know how to clean dust by your own. From the other side, such minor dust particles are purely cosmetic and should not cause troubles, unless camera is used in very humid environment and not properly stored, which may lead to fungus development from organic dust particle. Hello guest! Please register or sign in to view the hidden content. Hallo Gast! Du willst die Bilder sehen? Einfach registrieren oder anmelden! Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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