Rebel XS - Diopter/Viewfinder out of focus

[iuaassoc]

My well used Rebel XS dropped from about 5 feet and now the eye-piece is out of focus, however it still takes perfectly focused pictures. It will come back into focus by tipping the camera upwards slightly - you can hear a slight "flap".

I took out the focus plate out and reset it, but that was not the problem. With the focus plate out I looked inside the diopter area and when the camera is tilted you can see a glass lens that cna move. It is actually inside the diopter unit - behind a fixed lens. When the diopter wheel is adjusted the focus "jumps" so presumably the lens that I saw is somehow attached (or perhaps now detached) to the diopter adjustment knob.

I can actually tilt the camera up slightly and to the left and if I tap it slightly it will maintain viewfinder focus for a little while when the camera is returned to level.

I cannot figure out how to access that lens/knob connection area to see about correcting the issue.

Any suggestions short of sending the camera for repair (concerned about cost)?

[jrhoffman75]

I suspect it's in need of repair. Given the age of the camera my suggestion is look into a refurb at the Canon eStore and pursue a trade-in via the Loyalty Program. They have a T1 for $243.