Edgar Dubrovskiy Posted February 2, 2008 Share Posted February 2, 2008 Hi! I'm shooting a short film on week-end using university's Bolex H16. All cool and shiny. However. I have a trouble - some dust and a lot of other rubbish in the viewfinder. I know, I know! It won't affect the picture. I'm just asking if there is any possibility to clean the Bolex viewfinder. For sake of aesthetics. Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Glenn Brady Posted February 2, 2008 Share Posted February 2, 2008 The viewfinder assembly on these cameras can be easily disassembled with a small slotted screwdriver. When cleaning the optics, I've used a small vacuum cleaner and a clean, small, soft painter's brush to remove dust & dirt successfully. I would discourage any use of compressed air as this routinely drives dust and debris deeper into the mechanism. The reflex prism is hinged and can be accessed by rotating the turret out of the way, so this can be cleaned in the same manner as the viewfinder optics. When removing the viewfinder assembly, note carefully the manner in which the indexing pin engages the optical assembly at the rear. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Edgar Dubrovskiy Posted February 2, 2008 Author Share Posted February 2, 2008 The viewfinder assembly on these cameras can be easily disassembled with a small slotted screwdriver. Do you mean the screw (x1) next to a diopter? Or ones (x4) on top? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Glenn Brady Posted February 2, 2008 Share Posted February 2, 2008 All screws on the viewfinder assembly are slotted screws. To get at the optics, you'll need to remove the four screws securing the viewfinder cover and the four screws revealed when that cover's removed. The second set of four screws secures the viewfinder housing to the camera. The housing has to come off so that you can access the optcs at the rear of the finder and the aperture in the camera body that receives the viewfinder 'snout'. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Millar Posted February 2, 2008 Share Posted February 2, 2008 (edited) If you're actually seeing crud in focus then the dust is on the main prism, or possibly the periscope prism (slightly out of focus = bottom face, slightly more out of focus = top face and so on) - I suppose by racking the diopter you can focus on different areas of the finder assembly and figure out where it is coming from - have fun but really once it is correctly focused on the ground glass further cleaning of the optics in the finder assembly should only result in a increase in contrast if there was any crud in there in the first place - I reckon its sweet to use compressed air up there and personally use it around the turret periscope optics also, but can respect others wish not to do so ... You dont mention what model your Bolex is - the mag mount ones need long long drivers to get through a little access hole for the back left screw - annoying, as jewelers drivers usually wont reach, once I've removed mine (borrowed a long driver) I snapped off the thread and simply glued the top back on as a light trap, three fasteners are all that is necessary ... If its an EL watch out for the LED assembly in the finder ... Easy to bend/snap, harder to fix. Edited February 2, 2008 by Chris Millar Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Edgar Dubrovskiy Posted February 2, 2008 Author Share Posted February 2, 2008 Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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