Olympus OM4ti help needed - new owner

cymruchris

cymruchris

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I've recently picked up an Olympus OM4ti along with a few accessories. There were a couple of issues when I inspected it, firstly the previous owner had managed to superglue the back closed while trying to restick the leatherette.. That's now released and everything on that front is fine..

When I was looking through the viewfinder - the 'display' at the bottom of the screen was blueish from memory.. Then the batteries gave up.

Today I have fresh batteries and now the display appears to be more yellowy brown.

Does the colour change depending on lighting conditions? I couldn't see a mention of it in the manual?

That's the easy things out of the way - now for the tricky..

I know the camera has a 'manual' no battery use mode for B and 1/60th of a second.

In the no battery 1/60th of a second mode, the camera operates normally - and can even be fired by the winder, which the instructions say it can't.

Press the button - up goes the mirror, down goes the mirror, wind on. Perfect.

Now when I take the camera back into 'Normal' operation mode, Auto or Manual - doesn't matter what shutter speed or aperture, I wind on, activate the shutter, the mirror goes up, and stays there.

The only way I can get it to drop, is by pressing the lock button, and sliding the shutter speed ring back to the manual 1/60th setting.

The batteries are new this evening. I've checked the manual. I've searched online. Am I supposed to do anything when new batteries are inserted? Any kind of reset?

Has anyone come across a similar issue?

I find it unsual that in 'non-battery mechanical mode' it operated normally - but in normal mode with fresh batteries the mirror sticks up on every exposure... They are SR44 batteries by the way not LR44 batteries - as I believe this can also make a difference...

Any ideas from the technical wizzes? Thanks :)
 
Right he said reaching for an OM4...

1. Was the camera sold as fully functional or buyer beware?
2. Was the seller the previous user of the camera and do you have either contact or comeback?
3. These batteries: where've you got 'em from and how many have you put in? If you take the batteries out, turn the camera to Auto, hold the camera upside down and put the batteries back in do you get any signs/signals when the battery compartment lid makes a circuit? You should get a tone.
4. Batteries correctly fitted what happens when you set the lever beyond Auto to "battery check"? You should get a tone.
5. The metering display will be pale blue in ambient light but yellowy when you push the "display illuminate" button which is right where the tip of your right index finger falls below the prism. Yes? Sounds like you're nudging that without knowing it?
6. Mirror staying up sounds like an electrical fault. Might be battery related or might be mother board related. One's more painful than the other. If your batteries can be proven to work in another camera I'd be taking the camera back for a refund.
 
Thanks for the reply :)

1. It was bought as a 'kit of bits' for a lower price bearing in mind a repair may be required.
2. The seller was the previous owner, but hadn't used it for some time..
3. Batteries are Rayovac Quartxz Silver SR44's freshly delivered this morning (made in Sweden)
4. Yes - I get the test tone, and the red light on the front of the body..
5. Maybe as it's pretty dark here right now I can only see the yellowy brown display, and yes to get it I nudge the button on the right hand side..
6. I only have one body - the first I've gotten in many years...

I've discovered there is a CPU reset for the 4ti - which rests between Auto and Battery test - a different tone of beep is briefly heard as you move the dial from Auto to Battery test.. But that hasn't done much..

It was purchased with a couple of lenses, motor winders and flashguns, which we valued and then took a £130 off to cover a repair if it was required, but looking to make sure I'm not missing something obvious first, by asking anyone that has one that might have experienced something similar... So I'm guessing yours hasn't done this before?
 
My OM4 has perspex slot over the top of the pentaprism to back-light the meter display.
Colour shift / brightness may be simply you moving the camera around under different light through that window.

When mirror locks up.... are you firing in 'Auto' apature priority mode or 'manual'?

You can set 1/60th on the white shutter scale, but if the camera is in Auto mode, that setting ring is doing bugger all..... meter sets the shutter speed.

Meanwhile, famed ability of the OM's was its off the film 'During Exposure' metering... in Auto, it would display say 1/60th as the shutter speed, before you pressed the shutter, BUT, if it got darker as the shutter released, metering off the film, the AE program would hold the curtain open to lengthen exposure.... which was what made the camera a favourite for long exposure images.

So..... if you have a low ASA setting on the film speed selector, and have it in Auto, no matter what you have set on the shutter selector ring, the meter could be setting hour long or more exposures, that to YOU look like its gone into mirror lock.
 
Thanks - that explains the colour difference - when I hold the camera in front of my monitor the display changes colour, I thought it was backlit in the traditional LCD way, but have now learnt that it's the colour of the light that passes through that perspex window that guides the colour of the display.. Interesting :)

The mirror locks up in both manual and auto modes when the shutter speed is set to any white or blue setting on the body. However when you press the lock button and move to the red 1/60 and B area, the mirror releases again. At 1/60 on red, the camera mirror and shutter appear to function normally.

I'd read something about it metering off the film - so just to make sure, I've put my first poundland film in, but no difference, the mirror still locks up...

Looks like it'll be a send off job at this rate :)

Thanks for the reply...
 
I'm sure it'll make no difference - but worth mentioning - I noticed that on the bottom of the camera, where the winder drive connects, there should be a cover, but the previous owner has lost it. The cover for the battery compartment fits this space as well, same thread. Are they actually the same covers fitted to both holes?

IMG_9996_zpsbca8beb9.jpg


This is the one currently fitted to my battery compartment, is this the same as yours?

IMG_9997_zpsffcf9d89.jpg


IMG_0001_zps8d05f871.jpg



I'm guessing this isn't the original battery cover either, as it's a slightly different colour to the body...

So do your battery and winder drive covers share the same colour, size and thread?
 
Battery cover looks okay and you've already confirmed that it closes the circuit when screwed into place. Absence of a motor drive cover is not unusual and won't affect the electrics.
Another thought: how does it behave without a lens fitted? Does the mirror flip up and down? Have you tried all of your lenses? (I have one Olympus lens which on one body (though not a 4) behaves erratically with the mirror sometimes not coming down again. This might happen 3 or 4 times in a film. I don't know what causes it: I've wondered about light levels, I've tried new batteries. As the lens works fine on other bodies I simply avoid pairing the lens and body.)
So, you mount a lens, the shutter speed metering gives a "normal" 125th/60th, 250th or whatever, you press the shutter button and the mirror flips up and stays up? What happens if you now demount the lens - does the mirror release and drop down?
I'm rapidly running out of suggestions to be honest but does the shutter speed dial setting make any difference (other than knowing you can set it to manual and shoot sunny 16-style)?
Oh and in case you get the bug for more OM bodies I get no issues with ebay cheapest possible batteries:)
 
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I have a 50mm 1.8 and a 28mm 2.8 - and the body behaves the same way whether either of the lenses is fitted, or no lens is fitted at all. I've opened the back end while firing at 1/60th on batteryless mode and can see the curtain swiping across... but on battery mode it doesn't... The meter shows correct information... Setting shutter speed shows movement on the meter bar - but has no impact on the shot... Fire the camera, up stays the mirror, until I switch to batteryless mode... I'm thinking it might be time to send it off to someone like Luton cameras for a quote... As it appears not to be a common issue.
 
cymruchris said:
I have a 50mm 1.8 and a 28mm 2.8 - and the body behaves the same way whether either of the lenses is fitted, or no lens is fitted at all. I've opened the back end while firing at 1/60th on batteryless mode and can see the curtain swiping across... but on battery mode it doesn't... The meter shows correct information... Setting shutter speed shows movement on the meter bar - but has no impact on the shot... Fire the camera, up stays the mirror, until I switch to batteryless mode... I'm thinking it might be time to send it off to someone like Luton cameras for a quote... As it appears not to be a common issue.
Click to expand...

Just ad a quote from them and be ready for a chock, they quoted me £95 for cleaning my OM1 and changing the seal. with postage added i was at £120 and not worth it.
 
fred2511 said:
Just ad a quote from them and be ready for a chock, they quoted me £95 for cleaning my OM1 and changing the seal. with postage added i was at £120 and not worth it.
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Pretty high then... Did you find any other options?
 
Just bought the seals on ebay and replace them myself.
You should give a call to ffordes in inverness they are really good and i"m sure will guide you to a cheaper alternative for repair.
Is a guy in wales who does Leica service and rangefinder alignment for £50 and it was very good so i felt like 120 for my OM1 was really taking the @£$%
 
I have an OM1 lying around with no lens but in good nick you can have for free if you want,it will keep you going.
 
fred2511 said:
I have an OM1 lying around with no lens but in good nick you can have for free if you want,it will keep you going.
Click to expand...

That's an amazingly generous offer.. I'm wondering how long a repair will take.. I haven't actually shot a frame of film since 1996 - this was my first route back in, but looks like it'll be delayed...
 
s162216 said:
Try Miles Whitehead, he usually charges much less than other places but does a fantastic job. I was quoted £65 + return postage by one place for a CLA of my Spotmatic F, he did it for £45 and the servicing was excellent.

http://www.mwcamerarepairs.co.uk/
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Thanks - have sent enquiries to Luton cameras, Sendean cameras in London and now Miles at the web address above.. Only Miles has responded so far, and he gave a good suggestion which was tried, but made no difference.. So now I need to work out which of the three will be best to send it to...
 
cymruchris said:
That's an amazingly generous offer.. I'm wondering how long a repair will take.. I haven't actually shot a frame of film since 1996 - this was my first route back in, but looks like it'll be delayed...
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Just send me a message with your address and I will try to post it tomorrow ,I have the manual somewhere to.
 
cymruchris said:
Thanks - have sent enquiries to Luton cameras, Sendean cameras in London and now Miles at the web address above.. Only Miles has responded so far, and he gave a good suggestion which was tried, but made no difference.. So now I need to work out which of the three will be best to send it to...
Click to expand...

Sendean is usually staggeringly expensive. Yes, I know CLAs and the training needed to be a competent service technician do not come cheaply, but they can't do something that Miles Whitehead can't.

Just make sure you ask Miles about his current backlog - he gets a lot of work (which is a good sign!) so it is usually a few weeks before he gets the chance to service your camera. He CLA'd my Pentax MX and my now sold Nikon FE, and the job he did on both was superb.
 
freecom2 said:
Sendean is usually staggeringly expensive. Yes, I know CLAs and the training needed to be a competent service technician do not come cheaply, but they can't do something that Miles Whitehead can't.

Just make sure you ask Miles about his current backlog - he gets a lot of work (which is a good sign!) so it is usually a few weeks before he gets the chance to service your camera. He CLA'd my Pentax MX and my now sold Nikon FE, and the job he did on both was superb.
Click to expand...

Miles has told me that if it's a straightforward repair it's achievable, and that if it's a circuit board there's no chance... As he doesn't carry spares...

So I'm just going to get another couple of batteries from another source just to make sure that it's not dud batteries that I've bought, and then if it's still playing up, I think Miles will be the next port of call...

Thanks to everyone who's input so far.. I WILL get back into film :)
 
cymruchris said:
Miles has told me that if it's a straightforward repair it's achievable, and that if it's a circuit board there's no chance... As he doesn't carry spares...

So I'm just going to get another couple of batteries from another source just to make sure that it's not dud batteries that I've bought, and then if it's still playing up, I think Miles will be the next port of call...

Thanks to everyone who's input so far.. I WILL get back into film :)
Click to expand...

My thoughts are that if you're getting battery tone when you put the battery cap on with the camera on auto or battery test, you get a tone off the self timer - and a blinking red light, you get metering in the display, all of these point to the batteries being okay. And besides the 4-Ti is not supposed to have the battery drain issues of the other models.

Stick with it, you'll get there but maybe this one's for the parts bin. Keep your lenses for now - you should raise about £30 per lens on Ebay, possibly more. I think that OM1, 2 and 4 bodies are rising in price on ebay at the moment whereas the XX series cameras don't fetch much at all. The way prices are going you might just want to pitch into an OM1 or 2 to inflation-proof yourself.

Keep us posted eh?
 
One of the points that Miles mentioned (to his credit - he hasn't even seen the camera yet) was that it's possibly corrosion in the battery wire, if the batteries were left in place for some considerable time without the camera being used (which I know was the case) - not necessarily at the battery contact points, but further along, and that the sticky shutter could be a symptom of this, as the battery power is trickling through rather than running through, so all the tests show as the batteries ok, and all the beeps work wonderfully, but at the point of shutter release a 'surge of power' is required to flick the mirror back, and it may not be able to get it hence it's freezing.

That sounds plausible to me - although it could be something far more expensive...

Fred has kindly offered to send me an old OM1 for the moment.

There is a bit of a story behind this body the old owner told me.

When the Tsunami hit the Far East a couple of years ago, this was one of two bodies he had with him when there.. One body was washed into the ether never to be seen again, this one was boxed up and in a container that survived that amazingly didn't let any water in... The owner told me that it worked perfectly afterwards, but after the experience he lost interest in photography and travel and that it had sat in a cupboard since..

I'm hoping to bring it back to life! Let's see what happens with the well recommended Miles.

I'll keep you updated as to how I get on... Thanks for taking the time to post helpful replies...
 
Well the OM4ti is now with Miles awaiting inspection. I'd like to say a public thanks to Fred here who has without question completed a very considerate and kind act in sending me one of his OM-1 cameras to begin using in the meantime.. So it's off to shoot some film now.. It'll be a bit of a learning curve again, as it's been around 15 years I think since the last film shoot. Let's see if I've still got it :)
 
Great thread, great result, now lets see you'er photo,s, we cannot wait.(y)
 
I know this it's an old thread, but I was wondering what the outcome was? What was wrong with the camera and how much did Miles charge to fix it? Thanks in advance
 
Guydio said:
I know this it's an old thread, but I was wondering what the outcome was? What was wrong with the camera and how much did Miles charge to fix it? Thanks in advance
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It went to Miles - He told me it was unrepairable - I never saw it after.....
 
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