OM4 problems

RaglanSurf

RaglanSurf

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I've just taken delivery of an OM4 and it appears to have some problems and Im not sure if they're terminal or curable with a little help from the tapping stick.

When it arrived it had no batteries so I popped a couple in and the shutter returned to its correct position.

I used the battery check lever to make sure it had power, that worked.

I stuck a bog standard 50mm lens on the front, set it to auto and the shutter is open for far too long. If I put it in manual the shutter speed does seem to vary but probably at about 30% speed across the range.

I've had a varity of OM's over the years and they've always been pretty much bomb-proof so is it likely to loosen with use or shall I just return it whence it came and get a refund?
 
I had a sticky shutter on a 20. I had to open the shutter box in the bottom of the body to clean some gunk off the electromagnet with methylated spirits still working a few months on.
 
steveo_mcg said:
I had a sticky shutter on a 20. I had to open the shutter box in the bottom of the body to clean some gunk off the electromagnet with methylated spirits still working a few months on.
Click to expand...

Thanks Steve, is it an easy job?
 
RaglanSurf said:
I've just taken delivery of an OM4 and it appears to have some problems and Im not sure if they're terminal or curable with a little help from the tapping stick.

When it arrived it had no batteries so I popped a couple in and the shutter returned to its correct position.

I used the battery check lever to make sure it had power, that worked.

I stuck a bog standard 50mm lens on the front, set it to auto and the shutter is open for far too long. If I put it in manual the shutter speed does seem to vary but probably at about 30% speed across the range.

I've had a varity of OM's over the years and they've always been pretty much bomb-proof so is it likely to loosen with use or shall I just return it whence it came and get a refund?
Click to expand...

Were you doing this test with film in? If not the shutter will stay open for a very long time indeed as the exposure is measured from light reflected off the film itself. No film = very long exposure! To test, try it at F22 with no film see how long it takes, wind on and try it again - but this time open the film door and the shutter should immediately shut.
 
Alan Clogwyn said:
Were you doing this test with film in? If not the shutter will stay open for a very long time indeed as the exposure is measured from light reflected off the film itself. No film = very long exposure! To test, try it at F22 with no film see how long it takes, wind on and try it again - but this time open the film door and the shutter should immediately shut.
Click to expand...

OK, thanks Alan that does make sense. That does explain the unfeasible amount of time that the shutter was open for in 'auto' mode but there is definitely a sticky shutter thing going on, so onto Steve...

steveo_mcg said:
Yup, took half an hour. Managed to crack the box a bit but it's never affected performance and you don't see it.
Click to expand...

Where might I find the shutter box and the magnets within? I've had a bit of a google but I cant find any illustrations or YouTube demo's.
 
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