| Author |
Message |
    
Oli
Tinkerer
Username: Oli
Post Number: 1
Registered: 01-2009
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Sunday, January 04, 2009 - 09:44 am: | 
|
After getting my hands on an OM10, and giving it some rather libral use over christmas, it seems to have gone belly up. Being a bit of a newbie to this I'm not too sure whats wrong..the mirror is stuck halfway and won't wind on or fire. Took the bottom off to have a poke around and if i prodded the little v shaped lever it freed up again, only to jam again. Replaced the batteries after searching around for a bit, and now i'm at a loss for what to do, so I thought I'd ask :D
Thanks in advance |
Cooltouch
Tinkerer
Username: Cooltouch
Post Number: 2
Registered: 01-2009
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Sunday, January 04, 2009 - 12:10 pm: |
|
I have an OM10 and mine is doing exactly the same thing. The wife picked it up for next to nothing at a yard sale, and after installing fresh batteries in it, it worked fine. Then it got put into the closet with the on-off switch left on for months, so the batteries are dead now. Haven't replaced them yet, but I expect that it should work again.
Given that you're experiencing the same thing I am, I gotta ask, since it's the most obvious question -- did you make sure you installed the batteries so they are oriented correctly?
Best,
Michael |
Adrian
Tinkerer
Username: Adrian
Post Number: 213
Registered: 08-2006
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Sunday, January 04, 2009 - 02:49 pm: |
|
There's some quite active Olympus OM groups, and a rather less active OM10group, on flickr - just do a search and click the "groups" tag and you should find them. I can't promise anyone will be able to help, but a bunch of OM users in one place has to be a good place to try.
Adrian |
Lucas
Tinkerer
Username: Lucas
Post Number: 86
Registered: 07-2006
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, January 05, 2009 - 03:16 am: |
|
It needs SR-44 silveroxide batteries, not the more usual LR-44 alkalines. Perhaps that makes the difference. |
Adrian
Tinkerer
Username: Adrian
Post Number: 214
Registered: 08-2006
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, January 05, 2009 - 05:46 am: |
|
It might make the difference if they are getting low, but I'd used LR44s for years before I discovered you should use SR44s instead. Incidentally, Cooltouch, it should turn itself off after so many seconds (just long enough to annoy me...), so unless your batteries were getting old anyway there might be a problem...? |
Lucas
Tinkerer
Username: Lucas
Post Number: 87
Registered: 07-2006
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, January 05, 2009 - 09:41 am: |
|
Mine started acting up with LR 44 and never a problem anymore with SR 44 untill I upgraded to OM2 and got rid of it. If you are playing around with it now without film it will want to do long exposures reading the light that falls on the black pressure plate instead of on the film. You only know if it works (or doesn't) when you have film in it. |
Adrian
Tinkerer
Username: Adrian
Post Number: 216
Registered: 08-2006
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Tuesday, January 06, 2009 - 03:52 am: |
|
Interesting, Lucas - could be that you use yours more, or use more functions, than I do? Anyway, when these go dead I shall use SR44s.
Surely, though, if you have no film in it will attempt to make exposures, rather than jamming, won't it? |
Oli
Tinkerer
Username: Oli
Post Number: 2
Registered: 01-2009
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Tuesday, January 06, 2009 - 09:16 am: |
|
Hehe, yer Micheal that was the second thing I checked!
Anyway, I think I managed to fix it finally, one of the washers that held an arm in place had moved (forgive my lack of technical knowledge, I am essentially an ignorant camera owner with a over-enthusiastic screwdriver :D). I remember reading somewhere that the mirror is designed to lock if the battery goes flat, and I guess this happened at the same time the mechanism failed..or something.
Anyway, it all seems to work now, I'd be happy to put some pictures up showing what I did if it helps anyone else.
Thanks for all your advice guys!
Oli |
Cooltouch
Tinkerer
Username: Cooltouch
Post Number: 4
Registered: 01-2009
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Tuesday, January 06, 2009 - 10:28 am: |
|
Hey Oli,
Since my OM-10 is doing the exact same thing, I wouldn't mind seeing a pic or two of what you did. Guess I oughta dig mine out and give it a closer look.
Best,
Michael |
Lucas
Tinkerer
Username: Lucas
Post Number: 88
Registered: 07-2006
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Tuesday, January 06, 2009 - 01:10 pm: |
|
Adrian, I run through about a roll per week in 35mm. Low light exposures eat the batteries as the magnet has to hold on to the second curtain longer. The OM 10 uses the same light metering as the OM2, it measures the light falling on (reflecting off ) the film. If there is no film, the black pressure plate will cause it give incorrect exposure times. If it weren't for the rough film wind i would have kept it, it is a camera that can give very nice results. |
Adrian
Tinkerer
Username: Adrian
Post Number: 218
Registered: 08-2006
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Tuesday, January 06, 2009 - 02:46 pm: |
|
Ah, that explains it - you were using yours MUCH more than mine, and giving it a harder task as well. I'll have to remember that! One of mine also has a meter LED that only functions if the wind is right and the right incantations have been said, which probably helps. Hurrah for the second meter!
Cheers,
Adrian |
Oli
Tinkerer
Username: Oli
Post Number: 3
Registered: 01-2009
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Thursday, January 08, 2009 - 01:07 pm: |
|
Michael, Ill get the pictures up within the next week hopefully.
Thanks for all the advice guys!
Oli. |
