OM2n shutter locks up occasionally.

Folks, here's a weird problem I'm facing with my OM2n. If I use it on aperture priority or manual mode, the mirror locks up every 6-7 shots and the shutter doesn't fire. When I move the lever to the battery check position, the shutter is released and the mirror flips down. However, when the mode lever is in the "off" position, i.e., fixed shutter speed, I can always fire the shutter, every time.

 

Thought it may be dead batteries, so I installed fresh silver oxide SR44's. No luck, it's the same. I then checked the battery voltages with a multimeter and both sets are fresh. Has anyone seen this happen? Any suggestions? Are the electronics fried?

BTW I also looked at the answers on this thread:

http://www.photo.net/bboard/q-and-a-fetch-msg?msg_id=007Cxd

 

The don't seem to solve my problem.

Here's some things to consider. OM-2n owners often don't realize that when the camera switch is in the "off" position, the camera is actually still in aperture preferred mode, with the caveat that the longest available shutter speed is 1/30th second. Reportedly, Maitani believed that cameras should always be ready for any decisive moment, without having to fumble with switches first. Limiting the shutter speed to 1/30th second under these circumstances was a battery saving measure, in case the shutter was accidentally released. The fact that your shutter always functions normally in the "off" position suggests that nothing is wrong with your shutter release circuitry.

 

Is the shutter not firing, or is it only failing to close? One guess about what may actually be wrong with your camera does involve the auto/off/manual switch. It seems to be a common condition, because it happened to my OM-2n and I've heard of at least one other case of this too. Intermittently, when you switch to manual mode, the contacts are not making a proper connection, and the camera is actually going into auto exposure mode. In a low light situation in auto mode you will experience long delays in the shutter speed, especially if there's no film in the camera and the meter's reading off the black film pressure plate. Were you actually shooting pictures, or just testing the shutter under a variety of conditions? Next time the problem occurs, don't do the shutter reset, and instead open the aperture wide and point the camera at a bright light source. See if the shutter responds by closing. If that switch turns out to be the problem it can be fixed, but it's probably time for an overhaul.

 

Another possibility is that your meter has become intermittent for some reason. I've never heard of this happening, but it would seem to explain your symptoms. The fact that it works some of the time suggest that it's not a lost cause, and can probably be repaired. It would seem to suggest that a contact somewhere needs cleaning.

 

My guess is that whatever's wrong is repairable. If you've never had this camera overhauled before, it's just telling you that it's time. The nice thing about the old OM-1's and OM-2's is that the electronic components are mostly discreet, and not IC's like in the newer cameras, so that most anything can be repaired.

Sounds like dirty switch contacts. Get it serviced, chances are that will sort it out.

 

BTW when the lever is in the 'off' position the OM2n does not set a fixed shutter speed, it will expose the film using aperture priority down to 1/30 sec. Clever chap, that Maitani.

You should work that auto/off/manual switch back and forth about 2 dozen times and see if that "cleans" the contacts just enough for the problem to go away. Even if this works, the problem will probably return eventually, and you should seriously consider a CLA.

Sounds like oily shutter magnets. Probably time for a CLA by someone familiar with this particular problem.

 

Don't overlook the obvious, like gummy, gooey reflex mirror bumper pads.

Folks, thanks for your responses. I'll drop it off with the local Olympus guru.