Re: [Leica] How can I avoid permanent viewfinder fogging?

[Walter S Delesandri <walt@jove.acs.unt.edu>]

I think the only way you'd fog a finder with freon spray is to 
remove the cover...the front glass isn't coated, and any residue 
will simply clean off with windex......same with smoke....I've used 
Leica M for 24 years now, and I assume you mean cigarette smoke...

I smoke, my wife smokes, and I play guitar in small blues bars...
have for 20 years....wife NEVER goes without M cameras, and mine 
have been sitting around bars for all that time....these are bars 
in seedy areas, they don't have "smoke" eaters (filters) and there's 
no regulations on same in Texas...(thank goodness-they'd be out 
of business...hehehe)....I keep my cameras extremely clean....my wife 
NEVER cleans hers....about every two years, I take her cameras and 
lenses to work, and clean every kind of crap imaginable off the 
bodies and lenses....and they're bright and clear again...
There is, however, a "film" that collects, mostly on the INSIDE 
of the outer glass, which I clean every few years, or whenever a 
camera needs service...this is not a "smoky" residue, as I've 
seen it on a body that I bought NOS which had been in the box...
Since the RF (out of the box) was slightly off vertically, I removed the 
top, cleaned the windows, and adjusted the RF...after three years 
of hard use, it's still bright and clear, and also still perfectly 
adjusted. (M4P)

I think, as Ted and Tom and Tina would agree, I'm sure, that you 
should just use the damn things up....when they need cleaning or 
service, get it done, and in the meantime use the hell out of them...
use common sense about care, don't "destroy" them, and you'll get 
a lifetime of service out of them.

BTW, most of the "permanent" hazing and fogging I've seen has been 
in UNUSED cameras and lenses, minty condition otherwise, that had 
been "closeted" for 30 or 40 years.....so perhaps the "excessive" 
care that many Leica owners give their gear is actually NOT good 
for them?....just a thought!

Walt

On
Sun, 1
Oct 2000, Tristan Tom wrote:

> I've heard two stories on this list so far about owner's M6 
> viewfinder permanently fogging. One was due to severe smoke exposure, 
> and the other was due to the owner using canned air spray.
> 
> I'm wondering if the viewfinder is so sensitive such that I should 
> avoid shooting photos in a smokey bar for example? I've already shot 
> photos when there was a lot of smoke in the air due to a fire a few 
> doors down from me.
> 
> I don't want my viewfinder to get messed up so I'm wondering under 
> what conditions could it become fogged permanently? Am I being overly 
> worrisome?
> 
> 
> 
>