Cleaning Focusing Screens

Question:

How do you clean a focusing screen?
Answer:
First I blow off the screen with compressed air. Screen is out of camera when this is done. Air compressor has 2 water traps one at each end of the line, I've never had trouble with water in the line with this setup. I suggest never blowing compressed air into the body, it can wreck the meter, in some cases knocking the galvanometer off its pivot.

Then, if there are specs on the screen, I brush the screen with a goose feather. If specks are stuck to the pentaprism I clean first with lens tissue and alcohol. Persistent specks are picked off with the tip of a dental hook. I look into the lens opening with a loupe and gently touch the hook to the speck. Surface "moisture" makes speck stick to the hook.

contributed by John Hermanson