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Hi, Okay, just my thoughts You have the bodies nailed! Wide - zuiko 24mm f2.8 - perfect balance and cost point, 21mm f2 awesome but costly Macro - Zuiko 50mm f3.5 + Ext Tube gives 1:1 and is awesome, hands down though the 50mm Macro f2.0 is even better but costly, Zuiko 90mm Macro is king, costly though, but the wildcard is the Tamron 90mm macro 51B, simply fantastic and can be had for a reasonable sum, if you get this get the 2x flatfield Teleconverter which will also give 1:1, you'll be hard pressed to beat this for quality and cost Zoom - hmm, love the 65-200 but nearly always suffers from a foggy rear element, if you get one that's clear it's highly likely it will go foggy at some point. Now, the 85-250mm is again excellent,more of a tripod job but more than useable handheld and personally think this isu Never used one but the 50-250mm is supposed to very good. Good luck!

Hi all, I've been putting this one off for a while, in the main the iris blades are not snappy, very slow due to oil residue, it's very noticeable too, the exploded parts diagram suggests a reasonably straight forward breakdown, but as always the little nuances are always in the detail. If anyone has any tips, recommendations or approach guidance it would be very much appreciated. kind regards

Hi all, I have an OM2 with what seems to be a more uncommon issue with a sticky shutter, I'll explain as best as possible below: Fresh silver oxide batteries installed Battery check switch has s nice solid red light Inserted test film without a lens attached Shot 36 frames with switch set to auto and no sticky shutter Shot 36 frames with switch set to manual and no sticky shutter - cycled through all shutter speeds and not one shutter stick So feeling confident at this stage Attached a Zuiko 50mm f1.4 Set switch to Auto Inserted test film Shot 36 frames in landscape with lens attached and 31 of the frames resulted in the shutter not completing it's sequence, the mirror would remain up, if I turned the camera to portrait or even upside down the shutter sequence would complete and the mirror will return! I repeated the above steps in manual mode and almost exact results bar a couple of frames! I next installed a test film and switched alternatively between auto and manual, held the camera in portrait position and every frame shot perfectly Bottom line - shutter/mirror never sticks in either manual or auto without a lens attached With a lens attached nearly every frame whether on auto or manual and in landscape position the shutter/mirror sticks or does not complete, by turning the camera to portrait the shutter/mirror sequence will complete Like I say an interesting one, I know I could send to professional repairer and I'm tempted to as this OM2 is beautiful with not a mark on it, the black paint also still has nice new lustre to it. I am a hobbyist though and really enjoy the challenge of fixing anything Olympus but in this case would appreciate any kind suggestion d on potential places to start with repairing or even if someone has encountered this before. Kind regards

P.S - Please don't squirt any oil anywhere as it will undoubtedly get onto the blades! :)

Hi, Can you confirm the details of the lens, so just the white lettering on the front beauty ring will do, it sounds like someone may have dismantled in the past and not put it back properly, I'm in the UK and if it works for you I don't mind fixing it so feel free to PM me for posting address, if not I can give you some step by steps that may help but depends on the version which I can tell from the white lettering. Let me know Kind regards

Hi Bebu and thanks for the reply, with a test film I have found that the auto exposure is working fine, I still think at this point that for some reason the meter assembly is dead, not sure or how this caused but when I get some free time I will look to swap the meter with a spare to see if get a needle response back. Kind regards

Hi Orsetto, Many thanks and certainly words of wisdom that I'll surely take into consideration. Kind regards Steve

Hi Orsetto, Thanks for the reply, yes this is correct, auto exposure does seem to be working as the aperture changes, and also responds with the same aperture but changing the light source I'm pointing out, just no needle movement! My instinct tells me that this is probably working okay but alas no meter movement, although as you say I should maybe put a film through it and review the results. I will take a further look into the CDs cells, as you say there may be an issue here, my only apprehension is that I've never seen these fail, yes a little unreliable in their ability and there is that quirk of holding exposure in memory, but you could be right, there is a first time for everything! Kind regards

Hi all, I've been repairing an OM2 (not n), and have an issue I've not come across before, in summary the meter needle does not move or respond to light, this is the same for n=both manual or auto mode. Batteries: New batteries tested with both auto and manual and the camera shutter fires at all speeds and settings Exposure: Although the meter needle does not move both auto and manual modes appear to correctly set the right exposure settings, however the needle doe not move or provide any feedback, the aperture and speed rings also have the right tension and recoils and have no obvious issues, this is also somewhat confirmed due to the camera appearing to expose correctly. Meter Needle: I've had a look at the needle, its not misshapen in any way and if I carefully move it backwards and forward there is also no resistance or anything preventing it from moving. The needle will also move very slightly if I set the speed and ASA to the extremes so there is a little life in it, if I adjust any settings again it drops to the floor Wires: All wires and solder joints are great, current is as expected. My last resort was to fit a new meter assembly I have spare, but before I do this (as it involves a bit of faf)I wanted to understand if I have missed anything, as I say I've seen a number of these but this is a new issue and can only assume the meter assembly is faulty in some way? Any thoughts kindly appreciated.

Hi, Good shout with the zero point and suspect your right, nearly all early OM1's I've looked at mechanically zero at 'B' ASA1600 and f\8 (For context I use a 50mm f1.8), this is a very easy check for most people to see whats occurring and the needle should be nice and central in the viewfinder, if its a little out its also fairly easy to make a fine adjustment but you do need to remove the top plate again for that. @ Crumbo - I would also agree and would emphasis that these strings do not really stretch, I've never seen it, yes they can come unstuck from the speed sensing ring or the meter pully but this is usually a symptom and not a root cause. Glad you up and running and enjoying the OM1......

Hi Lucy, Glad the repair went well!

Hi Lucy, Just ready your last post! I do have spare eyepiece if you'd like me to send one? I guess there is a private IM\PM option here somewhere? Another option If your in the UK you could send me your camera and I'll swap the viewfinder for you, if your not in the UK I guess shipping charges may be a little prohibitive. Kind regards..

Hi Lucy, Your quite correct in that the eyepiece from an OM10 will work, the replacement is quite easy, you will need to remove the top cover first though and the prism so you have good access to the eyepiece, with the top cover off and the prism out of the way I have found the easiest way to replace this is; Keep the eyepiece housing screws in place Hold each side of the camera with your hands with the camera positioned on a firm base such as a table While applying downward pressure with your hands to keep the camera firm use your thumb or thumbs and gently start to apply pressure on the viewfinder glass from the back of the camera (so imagine pushing the viewfinder piece out into the prism area A little hard to explain, but if you can also position your fingers on the eyepiece housing while performing the above it will help to provide an anchor basically the viewfinder should push out but it may feel like its stuck, but just keep working at it and apply pressure gently, the viewfinder also tends to have small amount of cement that would have been used originally to help secure it but generally over time this has either perished and lost its strength or is just not there. When putting the new viewfinder in push in from the prism side, so reverse of what you have done above, I have applied a little cement to the side of the new viewfinder but in the main have found this ash not been required as it will snap into place and fit very snuggly. Bets of luck!

Fantastic! I've used his resources quite a bit in the past, especially Macro, never seen the download section.... Many thanks

Hi, In the main much of the above, this is how I fix these issues: Remove top cover - Quite easy, but will share my observations\little nuances to be mindful of 1: Don't use a spanner wrench on the top of the film winder, the little decoration can easily be marked\scratched, the best way is to apply downward pressure using either a nice bit of rubber (a section of an old trainer sole for example) rub it on the carpet to get a bit of friction and turn anti-clockwise, with a few efforts it may come loose, if this does not work, don't despair, apply a little acetone into the two holes, and rub around, what your trying to do is loosen the bonding of the decoration from the chrome top cover, you could also try gingerly prising with a fine toothpick, eventually it will come loose so you remove the decoration easily then continue to unscrew the film winder piece without worrying about damaging the decoration cap. 2: Once the winder cover is off you should be able to remove off, the winder lever may have a small washer hidden underneath it so try not to loose it, once off it will expose the final washer to that can be removed 3: The hotshoe screw is easy to unscrew, just be mindful to not let the spanner slip as you may end up running a nice scratch across the top plate 4: the film rewind section is easy to undo, i find it easy to insert a screwdriver into underside (The forked section that you see in the film chamber) to provider the leverage, with the screwdriver in place you should be able to with pressure turn the film rewind crank handle to loosen it, once removed there is a small washer in side, if it fall out just remember that when putting it back it need to have the lifted\bent section (it will be obvious when you look at it) pointed down towards the top cover, from there 2 screws can be undone and the top plate should lift off, always wiggle it gingerly as it may well have been on for a number of years, it will come off but there are plenty of little wires underneath that can be damaged quite easily due to their age 5: You will notice that once the top plate is off a spring would have fallen out, this sits on the film rewind side and should be noticeable where it came from as a small raised notch on the top front is where this will need to re-positioned when you but the top cover back on 6:With the top cover off you can now see the inner working a bit more of the film winder mechanism, at this point I'd suggest putting back on the very last washer you took off from the top plate removal on the film winder side, also the film winder lever and screw to tighten it down slightly, this will help to see what the mechanism is doing and you can also test it. At this point be very careful\mindful not to disturb any wires, the brown wire\maybe black running across the prism area sis the battery wire, the solder joint could be fragile and breaking this means, either a re-solder or at worst a new batteyr wire running through and then a re-solder! not for the faint hearted! Also note the blue wire for the exposure meter, I've found these to be quite robust and need to wary when doing a prism replacement but again just be aware of it. In terms of the issue you have with the winder not springing back I've found that 9 times out of 10 its due to the oil\grease being stiff or clogged, this is hard to describe but as you loo at the mechanism you should see two relatively large chrome plates which look like they are stuck together, a professional may well take this whole mechanism apart an thoroughly clean and re-lube where needed, but I would at this point suggest the following: As an initial test you could carefully drop a few drops of lighter fuel between these parts, with a couple of winds to work the fluid around in the area you should see a very quick fix, if you have applied it in the right area, if not try again. If this works I'd then use a fine watch oil with a couple of drops, this will give some longevity to the winder lever springing back there are some decent oils you can get online. This is an approach you can take, I'm not saying its what I'd do, although I have a few times but I would personally dissemble and clean up the mechanism but only because I feel confident enough to do so. Word of warning on reassembly of the top plate: Don't forget the spring on the film rewind side, needs to be in place before top plate is pushed on Be very mindful of the brown\black battery wire running around the prism area, the top plate can catch this if not careful and severe it! Always place the top plate on gingerly, I find it easiest to place it over the shutter release pin first then wiggle it on, it is sometimes helpful to very slight bend the top plate upwards\outwards to get it over the viewfinder frame, but do this very light handed Obviously you can also get the camera to a pro who may also give some warranty, but in my opinion there is an element of fun and intrigue in doing thsi yourself! Best of luck!!

HI All, Many thanks for the responses, appreciated, I have now managed to obtain an official charger, the Motordrive 1 works perfectly and the battery still holds charge well, I have noticed that with a 3 hour charge and if not used it depleted to the point of needing a charge again after 8 days...not too bad, I think though a full charge is ~4-5 hours so will perform a small test using these metrics. Kind regards

Hi all, I picked one of these up in a garage sale, has anyone had any practical use of these, I understand they are for use with a Microscope but I'm intrigued as to what other kit I would need to use it, also if there are any interesting alternative ways of using these or good websites\blogs that will be informative that anyone knows of it would be appreciated, my searches have found very little :( Kind regards

Hi all, This may be a simple question, I've recently acquired the above and a motor drive 1, sadly I don't have the charger, my understanding is that the unit still works but the battery is flat. Other than purchasing the right Olympus charger are there any other options, these days? The other thought was is there a reasonably simple conversion that's well known that will mean I can use this kit longer term and beyond the life of the original battery pack currently fitted? Safe non-explosive options/recommendations only would be preferred Kind regards

Thanks guys, I thought i'd share my findings as it may be useful to someone else, after reading through two Camera Craftsman publications onothe OM1 my investigations found that the high speed pallet control cam was very slightly out, and I mean slightly, basically the 1/15 setting still engages the high speed cam but due to to the cam being out the lever that follows this cam had dropped slightly triggering the slightly longer speed, since adjusting the cam so the lever sits just on the lip of the can the 1/15 is now perfect, all o can assume is that over time these parts do slip ever so slightly, one weak spot could be the the shutter selector ring under the lens mount is plastic and the teeth may very slightly wear over the years, either way pleased and my OCD is now in check! Thanks for your replys Kind regards Steve

Thanks gu

Hi, My OM1 has developed an issue with the 1/15 speed, all other shutter speeds are correct (as far as I can tell) including the B setting, oddly though the 1/15 is now exactly the same speed as the 1/4 setting, does anyone have an idea on where to start looking, cleaning, or adjusting? I was thinking first to take the bottom plate off that covers the speed mechanism, check the 1/1000 setting is correct then maybe insert some lube into the slow speed mechanisim? If anyone has some learned experience on where to start troubleshooting it would be appreciated. Kind regards,