jamesryanc Anyone able to help me with this issue?
The smearing (loss of high frequency data) looks very much like dew on one of your glass surfaces, or ice on the sensor itself. They tend to start from the coldest spot (hence the center of the piece of glass) and then spread outwards.
An objective that has dew will defocus pretty much the entire image, not just the center, even if the dew only forms in the center of the objective. A camera window dewing will tend to affect the entire image too.
You didn't show enough of the image for the rest of us to tell if the edges of your image appear defocused too. This is probably why no one bothered to answer you.
If only the center smears, and especially if it is affected by camera cooling, then the most likely cause is it is ice on the camera sensor.
Check if it starts as small dark spots before turning into full blown smearing. That is a sure indication it is on the sensor. You should be able to see the dark spots clearest by pretending to take a flat calibration image.
Change the desiccant; there is too much moisture in your camera chamber.
If the smearing is over the entire image, check the camera window too. You may need a camera window heater if your camera did not come with one.
when I try to loosen it is starting to strip the screw head out.
The best thing to do is to change to a brand new Allen wrench whenever you deal with expensive equipment. A worn out wrench can cause the hex hole to be rounded. If you have not yet totally destroyed the hex head, try a brand new high quality wrench of the correct size, and see if it will "bite" better. Apply inwards axial force before turning. A hex driver with a screwdriver handle or T handle might work better, since you can apply the inwards force.
Short of that, there are special drill bits for extracting screws with stripped heads. They look like special left-handed drill bits that bite into the hex hole when you turn in the reverse direction.
The dealer that you bought the camera from probably can pull the stripped screw out if you cannot -- an experienced dealer has probably already done it many times before -- and you can also ask them to replace the desiccant tablets while at it.
Chen