Have I killed my OM10?

Dollyrocker

Dollyrocker

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Hello all, I'm new here and desperately seeking advice!

I'm currently using an Olympus OM10 35mm film camera, I hadn't taken much with it of late and decided to take it down to Hastings with me for the May Day run on the bank holiday just gone (loads of motorbikes congregating at the seaside for those who aren't familiar)

I finished up the film that was in the camera and went about changing it for a fresh one, however, I stupidly forgot to move the switch to enable the film to be released and as a result there were some unpleasant gribnding noises and when I opened the back the filw was torn in two I managed to get it out and when I got home I was too gutted to bother changing the film so I left it a couple of days.

Wednesday I decided to put in fresh film, ready for the weekend but it wouldn't wind in and the button didn't push down properly to click the shutter and wind it on, I realised then that I'd left the camer on and flattened the batteries

This morning I put fresh batteries in and it turned on fine but the button still won't click and the winder still won't wind.

Does anyone know enough about these cameras to tell me if I've killed it or, if not, how on earth to fix it?
 
Hi Dollyrocker, welcome to the forum.

Sorry to hear of you film problems. With no film in the camera and the back open, have you tried putting the rewind selector switch into rewind mode and trying the film advance lever? When these things happen the camera will often end up in a kind of 'no mans land' stuck between fully advanced and cocked.
 
Hello,

Yes, I did try fiddling with that switch but to no avail, I did notice the shutter curtain (?) looked a bit wonky, could that be a symptom of something or have something to do with it no working?

Thanks for the sympaty Tina C :)
 
Difficult to say but if you have managed to tear the film in two as you rewound it :eek: then you have put to much strain on the winding mechanism and possibly done some serious damage.

You can get it fixed Luton Cameras is a place that deals with Olympus gear or Newton & Ellis in Liverpool (they fixed my OM4) but if it is bust then it is down to cost and how much you could pick another on up for against how much it would cost to fix.
 
Dollyrocker said:
Hello,

Yes, I did try fiddling with that switch but to no avail, I did notice the shutter curtain (?) looked a bit wonky, could that be a symptom of something or have something to do with it no working?

Thanks for the sympaty Tina C :)
Click to expand...

Does it look like the curtain is fully across, you just try gently easing it straight.

Can you see just the fabric of the shutter or is the metal strip visible?

Also with the lens off is the mirror stuck in the open position?

Just for your info, when cocking the shutter the fabric should move left to right and when the shutter button is pressed the two shutter curtains move right to left. This is certainly true of the OM2 and I'm pretty sure the OM10 is the same.
 
Try opening the camera (with no film in it) and turning the little cogs that wind the film on in the correct direction, they should move fairly easily and click/stop in the right place (don't force), chances are the film didn't wind all the way on the last shot and the shutter hasn't cocked properly. Whether leaving it like that has done any damage is hard to say.
 
I'd take string up on that offer, to be honest the cost of an OM10 doesn't justify repairing it unless you can do it yourself and need no parts. At a guess I'd say the spool the film winds onto is probably knocked out of alignment casuing the gear mechanism to be out of alignment, so Swanseamale's is a good idea.

For the record an OM10 with fresh batteries behave the same way regardless of whether there's film in it or not.
 
Thank you all for your replies,you're all very kind.

All the spooly cog bits move freely (apologies, I have no idea what the correct terminology is)

The shutter curtain is across if I look at it from the filmside and there are no metal bits showing however, if I take the lens off it looks as though the curtain is half way back (I'll try and take a photo with my digital)

I can't see anything that looks like a mirror

String,that's very kind of you, if all else fails I will definitely take you up on your offer
 
Pics

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Yep the mirror is in the up position.

It almost seems like the battery died first. Do you have a manual? See if it describes if the mirror locks up on battery failure. I was sure there was a proceedure to bring the mirror down again on battery failure

WHATEVER you do, DO NOT TRY dismantling anything!
 
I took the bottom off then got scared and googled repair shops !

I took it to a local camera repair place this morning and they've said they'll have a look and let me know if it can be fixed

Thanks all again for your help :)
 
i think if the batterys are new then you need to reset the camera ( i have only had little experience with the OM-10 but on the OM-2n you have to move the on switch further than off, like push it on and the mirror flips down, wait, i'll find if you can reset yours...
 
ok, can't find it, sorry for getting your hopes up. also it looks like your shutter curtain may be out of line but i can't properly see?
 
Just an off the wall thought. Switch your camera off. Then unplug the manual adapter. Then switch on again and see if the mirror drops or the shutter will fire.

Just something that came into my head.....

Except its at the shop! lol

Idiot i am :)
 
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If it doesn't get sorted I have a spare OM10 body that I was given recently, I haven't had the time to check it out yet, but you'd be very welcome to have it for free.

PM me and we can sort something out.
 
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