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How to Clean a Camera's Prism

Your camera's prism is what lets you see, from the viewfinder, exactly what picture the camera will take. When you look through the viewfinder you are actually looking at the prism, which redirects the image that comes through the shutter. It is the reason SLR, or single-lens reflex, cameras have a bulky structure on top of the main body of the camera. Occasionally your camera's prism will get dirty from dust that gets into the camera's body when you change lenses. When it does, it is time to clean your camera's prism.

Things You'll Need

Blower bulb
Lipstick brush

Instructions

- 1
  Remove your camera's lens. Press a the lens release button on the camera's body, then turn the lens until it comes loose.
- 2
  Hold your camera with the lens mount facing the ground, as if you were taking a photograph of the ground. Aim the blower through the lens mount hole and toward the top of the camera body, where the prism is housed, and squeeze it a few times to blow loose dust off the prism.
- 3
  Brush the prism with a lipstick brush. Blow on the brush first to dislodge any dust that has accumulated in it, then carefully brush the prism. If you aim the camera at yourself with the lens off, the prism is the glass-like thing at the top of the hole in the camera's body, nearest the top of the camera. Take care not to touch anything but the prism with the brush.

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