| Skill Level: |
  |
| Cost: |
Free - Approx £1.50 |
| Models: |
4900Z
6900Z
|
Equipment
Needed: |
- Small flat blade screwdriver (watchmaker's size)
- Small Phillips ( + ) screwdriver (watchmaker's size)
- Isopropanol alcohol cleaning fluid (from a camera cleaning kit) - optional
- Lens cleaning tissues / cloth
- Strip of sticky tape
|
DISCLAIMER
! Note:
Anything you do to your camera is of your own volition. Don't come running
to me if you ruin a lens / filter / camera etc.
This project in particular will invalidate any warranty you may have on
your camera. If you need to do this and your camera is in warranty, get
the FujiFilm Repair Department to fix it.
YOU
HAVE BEEN WARNED !
|
Dust inside your LCD viewfinder can be a major annoyance depending upon
how much has found its way there. It shows up as black specs when the
camera is on and pointing at light subjects and moves around with the
camera. Don't confuse this with dead pixels which are damaged pixels in
the viewfinder LCD itself.
This project involves opening up your camera to clean this, which invalidates
any warranty you may have. If you've a warranty left on the camera, then
get the nice people in the Fuji Repair Department to give the camera viewfinder
LCD a clean on your behalf (they may choose to charge you for this, but
offer to extend your warranty as part of the deal - the choice is yours).
Otherwise, you can open up the back of the camera and clean the dust off.
It's a relatively simple task, but I've given it a 4 star rating as you'll
need a steady hand and nerves of steel and have to keep an observant eye
on which way around the parts are inside the viewfinder compartment).
Remember - that's a few hundred pounds worth of kit you're about to get
inside. If you've any doubt about opening the camera up, then back out
now - it's not too late.
If you're still reading this, then I take it you're wishing to go ahead
with the project - anything you break is of your own doing. Treat the
camera with the gentleness and respect it deserves, it's a fine piece
of delicate electronics, not a rubgy ball  .
Read these instructions at least 3 times before even picking up the screwdriver.
You should be fully conversant with the procedure before commencing.
|
1. First clear a good sized worksurface and gather together
all your parts.
Make a loop with the sticky tape (sticky side outside) and stick
it to your worksurface. This is your small screw "holder"
that'll help to stop those pesky small screws slipping off the worksurface.
Whenever you remove a screw, place it onto the sticky tape and it'll
not be lost during your time inside the camera.
IMPORTANT: Remove the battery and any SmartMedia card inside the
camera.
|
|
|
2. Next, remove the 6 screws holding the camera back on.
These are located within the yellow circles on the next three diagrams
(remember to put the screws onto your tape holder).
|
|
|
3. Now GENTLY remove the back of the camera. There is a
small (approx 6cm long) white ribbon cable that connects the back
buttons to the main electronics circuit board - do NOT break this,
otherwise it's "camera in the bin" time. Do NOT try and
unplug the ribbon cable from the circuit boards, you'll more than
likely break the tabs and it's not necessary.
Once the back is opened up, you can see the LCD viewfinder unit
above the main LCD monitor.
|
 |
|
4. 4 black wires are hooked over a clip on the right hand
side of the viewfinder unit. Gently unhook them (not disconnect
them!) to free the unit a little more.
At this point, you will need to GENTLY wiggle the viewfinder unit
out of it's compartment. A couple of wires connect the LCD at the
back of the unit, DO NOT disconnect these either.
Four clips (2 on each side) hold the unit together. Use your flat
blade screwdriver to unclip these and open up the unit SLOWLY. There
are 4 parts inside the unit and you don't want to lose ANY of them.
|
|
|
5. Inside the viewfinder unit are four parts, from back
to front:
1) Rear plastic protection square. Note the orientation of this
as it's got a couple of angled strips that keep the LCD screen at
an angle. Thickest parts at the top.
2) LCD monitor screen itself - about 1cm²
3) Concave lens |( shaped. Flat part facing the LCD monitor. Note
that this has a notch out of one side. Remember which way this came
out as the unit won't go back together properly it it's put back
incorrectly.
4) Convex lens |) shaped. Flat part facing the LCD monitor. Again,
this has a notch out of it and needs putting back in the correct
way round.
Clean any / all parts gently and replace the parts back in the
correct order / orientation.
Clip the unit top back on. If you need to force this to clip it
shut, you've probably got something aligned incorrectly. Consult
the diagram for help with this.
|
|
|
6. Once step 5 is complete, gently put the viewfinder unit
back where it came from and re-hook the 4 black wires over the viewfinder
clip on the right hand side.
Replace the back cover.
There are a couple of points worth mentioning here:
1) The left hand strap clip (looking at the back of the camera)
can sometimes fall out, be sure to put it back in before closing
up the camera
2) There are a couple of wires (pink and white on my camera) down
by the tripod screw adapter. Make sure these don't get trapped between
the back & front casing sections when closing up.
Replace all the screws, then SmartMedia and battery into your camera
and switch on.
|
|
|
Your camera should now have a clean LCD monitor again. If the camera
doesn't appear to switch on again, check the usual (flat battery
/ you did put the battery back in afterwards didn't you?) and open
up the back again to check you've not dislodged something you shouldn't
have. If the camera still doesn't switch on, you may have broken
something inside the camera, in which case a professional repair
is most likely necessary.
If you wish to do this project, yet don't trust yourself to not
break the camera, phone a friend who you know is able to carry out
the task, invite them over for a beer or two in return for them
completing this project for you.
|
|
