billmillychillyilly Posted June 24, 2019 Share Posted June 24, 2019 I recently upgraded to an om2n from an om 10. One immediate difference i noticed was in the viewfinder, the om 10 has a much brighter viewfinder where as the om2n has an yellowish tint to it. Is this normal or do i have a deteriorated viewfinder in my om2n? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SCL Posted June 24, 2019 Share Posted June 24, 2019 Deteriorated. The OM2N viewfinder, in good shape, is one of the brightest. You might check the focusing screen itself and see if that is the issue rather than the prism. Focusing screens can easily be interchanged, and perhaps cleaned (extremely gently). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
billmillychillyilly Posted June 24, 2019 Author Share Posted June 24, 2019 Deteriorated. The OM2N viewfinder, in good shape, is one of the brightest. You might check the focusing screen itself and see if that is the issue rather than the prism. Focusing screens can easily be interchanged, and perhaps cleaned (extremely gently). i attempted to clean the focus screen but the problem presists, and i also looked throught the view finder, without the focus screen but there is still a very faintl yellow tint compated to my om10. Do you think its the prisms fault ? could it be caused by the foam degradation issue? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SCL Posted June 24, 2019 Share Posted June 24, 2019 Maybe Gus L will weigh in...his technical expertise as a repairperson of note could give you a better assessment of the issue and fix than I. The answer, though, might be as simple as getting a different body and selling the one you have, if you want to stick with the OM2N. Personally I love mine, Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
m42dave Posted June 24, 2019 Share Posted June 24, 2019 Maybe Gus L will weigh in If you are referring to Gus Lazzari, I don't think he is a registered member anymore. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SCL Posted June 24, 2019 Share Posted June 24, 2019 That's too bad as I think his experience and advice was often invaluable to a number of people who were relying on anecdotal information. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
denny_rane Posted June 24, 2019 Share Posted June 24, 2019 Maybe somebody tried to "Clean" the mirror.? At any rate, that is not the normal look of an OM2 You could by a donor, which is never a bad idea for any Film SLR at this point. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tomspielman Posted June 27, 2019 Share Posted June 27, 2019 I've had a few different OM1s and 2s as well as a 10. A couple have had prisms where the silvering was eaten into by deteriorating foam. It didn't have a uniform impact in the viewfinder and I wouldn't describe it as yellowing. The more likely culprit is the focusing screen which others have mentioned. When taken out, does it have a yellowish tint, - even though otherwise clean? These can be easily damaged and it's possible a previous owner's attempt to clean it resulted in the yellowing or maybe it was just exposed to a harsh environment. It could also be the glass of the viewfinder itself. Have you tried to clean that inside and out? You have to take the top of the camera off and if the OM-2n does still have the foam on top of the prism, that should be removed anyway. It would be a good opportunity to do that. Another simple thing might just be the lens. Are you comparing both viewfinders with the same lens attached? Is the aperture sticking partway closed on the OM2 lens? I have a 50mm 1.8 Olympus lens that did that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
billmillychillyilly Posted June 28, 2019 Author Share Posted June 28, 2019 Thank you for your replies.I bought a new focusing screen but the problem prisists. I just ordered tools to disassemble the om2n, and i'll attempt to clean the view finder once it arrives. I'll update you guys once i attempt it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crumbo Posted September 23, 2019 Share Posted September 23, 2019 (edited) There's not much to "clean" in the OM's finder. There's eyepiece, prism, focusing screen, mirror, and...that's it. Unlike most SLR's, the condenser on OM's is built into the prism. It's solid glass -- I've never seen one "discolor". (On some early OM-1's and 2's, there was foam against the prism, leading to dissolution of the reflective coating known as "prism rot", but I don't recall it resulting in any sort of over-all color shift.) You might harvest a prism from any handy OM-10 donor and replace the one on your 2n if you want to try it. The mirror is front-silvered, and once again, I've never seen it discolor. The focus screen, being plastic, would be the most likely culprit. If that's not it.... That leaves the eyepiece. That might be your problem. The eyepiece lens of all but the earliest OM-1's were the same, from the OM-1, 1n, 2, to the 2n. Some of them have been known to separate, and that may result in discoloration. Once again, harvest one from a donor OM-10 -- same element on both. Gently dig out the epoxy on either side of the eyepiece frame, and push out. Insert into the old frame, re-apply epoxy. Easy. Edited September 23, 2019 by crumbo Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
john_hermanson2 Posted November 27, 2019 Share Posted November 27, 2019 Cleaning the focus screen is extremely hard to do without scratching it. Viewing it with an eye loupe, blowing it off with compressed air and putting it back in is the best way to avoid damage. Rubbing with any liquids and tissue will scratch it. Dunking in distilled water and blowing it off may help too. As far as yellow tint goes, though, I have never noticed that. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
john_tran14 Posted January 3, 2020 Share Posted January 3, 2020 Cleaning the focus screen is extremely hard to do without scratching it I am no repair guy, but my guess is that the yellowish of the focusing screen is similar to your car headlight and cleaning needs some strong compound and often requires sanding and scratching. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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