What is wrong with my Olympus OM-1?

FishyFish

FishyFish

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Nige
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My OM-1 has a fault. It seems intermittent, but has gotten worse and this morning it seems to happen on every activation of the shutter.

When the shutter is fired, the mirror remains up. Winding the advance lever drops the mirror again but the shutter does not cock. The only way to release it is to advance the lever a second time, which somehow also fires the shutter a second time, meaning a lot of wasted shots. I like the OM-1 and would be prepared to have it repaired, but I don't want to throw good money after bad if the problem is too hard to fix.

Any ideas?

Also - where are people sending cameras for repair these days?

Thanks. (y)
 
I found a thread on Photrio Nige, and the 2 suggestions were

1) Most likely the mirror is sticking to rotting foam "cushions". You likely need all foam seals and cushions replaced. A common issue.

or

2) The grease that lubricates the camera has turned to wax. The mechanical cameras do need ocassional service.

I have a shutter problem with my OM-2 which seems to fire only when it feels like it, but that may well be a battery issue which your OM-1 won't have.

There's also your own thread from 2019 of course ;) https://www.talkphotography.co.uk/threads/olympus-om-1-shutter-film-advance-problem.699412/
 
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Does it have a coin battery to show your ev and some other info in viewfinder.
I have an old OM20 and though not properly used for many years I was checking it still worked and unsurprisingly the battery was very weak and it kind of locked up until I bought new battery and put it in.
 
The OM-1 has a completely mechanical shutter. The camera has a battery, but it just powers the meter. Everything else will work without it. Nothing to do with capacitors!
 
Thanks for the replies everyone.

It's definitely not a battery issue - the only thing the battery does in the OM-1 is power the meter. It can be used without a battery if desired. The OM-10 does lock the mirror up if the battery dies though, so that's a good suggestion, just not the case here.
It's not the foam either - it had a CLA only a few years back and new seals fitted. Even if the mirror was sticking to the seal, then that wouldn't cause the double-stroke and shutter issue that is occuring.
Similarly, I don't think it's lubrication. Again given the fairly recent CLA, but also because there is no indication of anything seizing.

My own completely uneducated guess is that a gear has stripped or something somewhere, causing the fault.

However...

I rang a local repair place today to see how much they would charge. After a brief discussion where the guy told me it wouldn't be worth it, and that I should just use a digital camera :LOL: he mentioned that he'd just had an OM-1 come into the shop with a box of other stuff and that I could have it, sold-as-seen, for £40. So I drove over and picked it up - it's an OM-1N model and probably needs new seals, but all seems to be working fine and it's in very nice cosmetic condition. It's missing the hotshoe (and it turns out that the one on my OM-1 doesn't fit the OM-1N, but as I've never used the OM-1 with a flash in all the time I've had it, that's not an issue). It also expects the original voltage battery for the meter (my OM-1 had been modified to meter with 1.5v batteries), but I can just stick hearing aid batteries in there to get an accurate reading. Assuming it doesn't suddenly keel over, I though £40 was a very good price given what they fetch on eBay or from dealers at present, and I can probably recoup that by selling my OM-1 for spares anyway.

Just need to change the seals and take it for a test run now.
 
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Dont you just love it when , as a dedicated film user, you receive advice to shoot digital ?!!!:banghead::LOL:
 
FishyFish said:
Thanks for the replies everyone.

It's definitely not a battery issue - the only thing the battery does in the OM-1 is power the meter. It can be used without a battery if desired. The OM-10 does lock the mirror up if the battery dies though, so that's a good suggestion, just not the case here.
It's not the foam either - it had a CLA only a few years back and new seals fitted. Even if the mirror was sticking to the seal, then that wouldn't cause the double-stroke and shutter issue that is occuring.
Similarly, I don't think it's lubrication. Again given the fairly recent CLA, but also because there is no indication of anything seizing.

My own completely uneducated guess is that a gear has stripped or something somewhere, causing the fault.

However...

I rang a local repair place today to see how much they would charge. After a brief discussion where the guy told me it wouldn't be worth it, and that I should just use a digital camera :LOL: he mentioned that he'd just had an OM-1 come into the shop with a box of other stuff and that I could have it, sold-as-seen, for £40. So I drove over and picked it up - it's an OM-1N model and probably needs new seals, but all seems to be working fine and it's in very nice cosmetic condition. It's missing the hotshoe (and it turns out that the one on my OM-1 doesn't fit the OM-1N, but as I've never used the OM-1 with a flash in all the time I've had it, that's not an issue). It also expects the original voltage battery for the meter (my OM-1 had been modified to meter with 1.5v batteries), but I can just stick hearing aid batteries in there to get an accurate reading. Assuming it doesn't suddenly keel over, I though £40 was a very good price given what they fetch on eBay or from dealers at present, and I can probably recoup that by selling my OM-1 for spares anyway.

Just need to change the seals and take it for a test run now.
Click to expand...
That's quite a steal. I bet the other one can be serviced, but probably not for £40.
 
Great find. Just to add that Miles Whitehead did a sterling job on my OM2n a couple of years ago for what amounted to (if I remember correctly) about 60 quid shipped back to me. Is he still in business?
 
trypdal said:
Great find. Just to add that Miles Whitehead did a sterling job on my OM2n a couple of years ago for what amounted to (if I remember correctly) about 60 quid shipped back to me. Is he still in business?
Click to expand...

MWCameraRepairs

Repairs to professional and amateur camera equipment.
www.mwcamerarepairs.co.uk
"After almost 48 years of repairing photographic equipment I am no longer taking on new clients as I am hoping to slow down the business, I suggest you contact 1st Aid Repairs or Thomas Camera Services both based in Tunbridge Wells if you require equipment repairs / servicing"
 
trypdal said:
Great find. Just to add that Miles Whitehead did a sterling job on my OM2n a couple of years ago for what amounted to (if I remember correctly) about 60 quid shipped back to me. Is he still in business?
Click to expand...

Miles has serviced a number of my cameras in the past but, sadly, as @Retune 's post shows, he's now retired.
 
FishyFish said:
My OM-1 has a fault. It seems intermittent, but has gotten worse and this morning it seems to happen on every activation of the shutter.

When the shutter is fired, the mirror remains up. Winding the advance lever drops the mirror again but the shutter does not cock. The only way to release it is to advance the lever a second time, which somehow also fires the shutter a second time, meaning a lot of wasted shots. I like the OM-1 and would be prepared to have it repaired, but I don't want to throw good money after bad if the problem is too hard to fix.

Any ideas?

Also - where are people sending cameras for repair these days?

Thanks. (y)
Click to expand...
This sounds common enough. I believe more emphasis was put on light weight and small size than durability. I think any repair parts will also be insubstantial. In my opinion, these cameras weren't made for serious photography.
 
FishyFish said:
Thanks for the replies everyone.

It's definitely not a battery issue - the only thing the battery does in the OM-1 is power the meter. It can be used without a battery if desired. The OM-10 does lock the mirror up if the battery dies though, so that's a good suggestion, just not the case here.
It's not the foam either - it had a CLA only a few years back and new seals fitted. Even if the mirror was sticking to the seal, then that wouldn't cause the double-stroke and shutter issue that is occuring.
Similarly, I don't think it's lubrication. Again given the fairly recent CLA, but also because there is no indication of anything seizing.

My own completely uneducated guess is that a gear has stripped or something somewhere, causing the fault.

However...

I rang a local repair place today to see how much they would charge.
Click to expand...

Not sure what that means: "local repair place": I can only dream......fantasise....

FishyFish said:
After a brief discussion where the guy told me it wouldn't be worth it, and that I should just use a digital camera :LOL: he mentioned that he'd just had an OM-1 come into the shop with a box of other stuff and that I could have it, sold-as-seen, for £40. So I drove over and picked it up - it's an OM-1N model
Click to expand...

Dear God! If ever a sentence switched emotions from despair to joy.........

FishyFish said:
and probably needs new seals, but all seems to be working fine and it's in very nice cosmetic condition. It's missing the hotshoe (and it turns out that the one on my OM-1 doesn't fit the OM-1N, but as I've never used the OM-1 with a flash in all the time I've had it, that's not an issue). It also expects the original voltage battery for the meter (my OM-1 had been modified to meter with 1.5v batteries), but I can just stick hearing aid batteries in there to get an accurate reading. Assuming it doesn't suddenly keel over, I though £40 was a very good price given what they fetch on eBay or from dealers at present, and I can probably recoup that by selling my OM-1 for spares anyway.

Just need to change the seals and take it for a test run now.
Click to expand...

Are you just naturally lucky?
Brilliant story, looking forward to the photos.....
 
Winslowe said:
This sounds common enough. I believe more emphasis was put on light weight and small size than durability. I think any repair parts will also be insubstantial. In my opinion, these cameras weren't made for serious photography.
Click to expand...
There are many professional photographers who would disagree with your assertion, as do I. I have always found my model to be well constructed and reliable. I would choose to take my OM-1 on a lengthy assignment instead of any of my other cameras.
 
NickT said:
There are many professional photographers who would disagree with your assertion, as do I. I have always found my model to be well constructed and reliable. I would choose to take my OM-1 on a lengthy assignment instead of any of my other cameras.
Click to expand...
Naturally the fanboys are going to ignore the facts.
 
Reliable or not, they can be a bit flimsy if you are less than careful. I managed to break two back in the day before switching to Nikon (actually one OM-1n and an OM-2n).
Nikon are obviously heavier but less prone to impact-related damage, in my experience. Both of my Ollys suffered crushed pentaprisms...
 
I've had my OM1 since 1973 and my OM1n since '78 and neither have ever had a problem. They may not have been aimed at professionals in their day, but they've certainly proved hardy enough for me. I do like to look after my kit though, not something a working pro can always do.
 
Sky said:
I've had my OM1 since 1973 and my OM1n since '78 and neither have ever had a problem. They may not have been aimed at professionals in their day, but they've certainly proved hardy enough for me. I do like to look after my kit though, not something a working pro can always do.
Click to expand...
How many films a week have they averaged in that time?
 
Sky said:
Do you really think I'm going to try and count back over the last fifty years to answer that question just for your benefit? :rolleyes:
Click to expand...
It's OK if you don't wish to embarrass yourself.
 
TimeOut-Twitter-Card.jpg


Winslowe said:
It's OK if you don't wish to embarrass yourself.
Click to expand...
You can take a break before YOU embarrass yourself even further.

And as you aren't offering any helpful or meaningful posts, in this thread.
I've sorted that out too.
 
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Sky said:
I've had my OM1 since 1973 and my OM1n since '78 and neither have ever had a problem. They may not have been aimed at professionals in their day, but they've certainly proved hardy enough for me. I do like to look after my kit though, not something a working pro can always do.
Click to expand...
Well I initially bought mine after a well-known conflict and documentary photographer claimed they were better suited to his style of photography - one I wished to emulate as much as possible (I think we all go through stages of thinking that having the right sort of camera will make us better photographers.... If I have Photographer X's cameras, I will take photos like Photographer X...)
On speaking to him again a few years ago (he didn't remember our first encounter - and why would he?), I mentioned this and he laughed. He was sponsored by Olympus back then and used to get through at least one major item of equipment on pretty much every assignment.
Since returning to film photography last year, I've been using my old Nikon F3s, but I came across a used OM-1 in a shop recently and I was astonished at how small they are... After 20 years of using large frame DSLRs (and motor-driven pro SLRs before that) it felt really wierd. Even the F3 feels tiny compared to the Df and D750 bodies which I had been using most recently...
 
Kingsman said:
I came across a used OM-1 in a shop recently and I was astonished at how small they are...
Click to expand...

Indeed - that was their attraction and Olympus' intention. At the time, it was the world's smallest and lightest 35mm SLR which is why I bought it. :)

I'd lusted after a Nikon F2, but that was far too expensive and there is no way at that time I'd have been able to afford lenses for it if I had managed to buy one. I have one now though (as well as an F4). ;)
 
Retune said:

MWCameraRepairs

Repairs to professional and amateur camera equipment.
www.mwcamerarepairs.co.uk
"After almost 48 years of repairing photographic equipment I am no longer taking on new clients as I am hoping to slow down the business, I suggest you contact 1st Aid Repairs or Thomas Camera Services both based in Tunbridge Wells if you require equipment repairs / servicing"
Click to expand...

Damn.

I've sent a few lenses to him and found him good and amazingly cheaper than others I've used. He'd said he was going to retire but it's still a shock if he's gone ahead and done it.
 
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woof woof said:
Damn.

I've sent a few lenses to him and found him good and amazingly cheaper than others I've used. He'd said he was going to retire but it's still a shock if he's gone ahead and done it.
Click to expand...
Always a shame to lose one of the really respected technicians! I wonder if anyone has used either of the companies he suggests?:

1st Aid Repairs - Camera Repair Shop UK | DSLR, SLR Camera & Camcorder Repair Centre, Kent

At 1st Aid Repairs, we're passionate about what we do. We specialise in the service and repair of camera and video equipment for the photographic industry and individuals
1staidrepairs.co.uk 1staidrepairs.co.uk
www.thecameracentre.com

Camera Repair Centre incorporating Thomas Camera Services Limited

Our technicians are trained by Canon and are able to repair all your camera equipment to the highest standard required to be an authorised repair agent
www.thecameracentre.com
 
I put new light-seals in the OM-1N yesterday and took it out today with a roll of Agfa APX 100 (the cheapest stuff I had in the house to test the camera - gone are the days of Poundland Agfa...). The camera seems to be working well, there are no signs of light-leaks, and the meter appears to measure pretty well with a hearing aid battery. I hope I'm not tempting fate saying it, but the £40 I paid was a pretty good deal I think.
 
It tickles me, thinking about it now. But, back in the day it seemed to me that you were either an Olympus or a Pentax sort of person. I turned my nose up at the Olympus, I have to admit. I'd quite like one now though.
 
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