Most photographers, pro and amateur, are quite rightly terrified to fish around inside their digital cameras. Whereas little could go wrong with a film camera that couldn't be fixed with a huff of breath and a handkerchief, the inside of a modern DSLR is a minefield of sensors and semi-silvered mirrors.
But Sony A55 owner Dario is fearless. When he damaged the semi-transparent pellicle mirror inside his camera with cleaning fluid, he went for broke. While waiting for a new €70 replacement mirror to show up, he rigged a temporary mirror using plastic food wrap.
Apparently, according to photographs sent by Dario to the Sony Alpha Rumors site, plastic wrap works fine as a low-tech substitute. Dario says that it flares out when bright light is in the frame, and that auto focus performance is impaired, but it's better than having no camera.
I'll continue to be scared of my cameras innards, I think. After all, if Dario hadn't already been poking around inside of his A55, he wouldn't have ruined the mirror in the first place.
No! See how you can replace a damaged semitransparent mirror! [Sony Alpha Rumors]
