Olympus OM-10 problem?

GRHazelton · Aug 30, 2012

I just bought an Olympus OM-10 with f1.8 and everready case, all in beautiful condition, for $28.00. It seems to work well, shutter sounds good, no dust in the VF, seems to have barely been used. Still has the inspection stickers.

But the ASA setting dial is really hard to change, difficult enough so that some users might find it impossible. Is this normal? Is there a fix that I can do?

Thanks for any and all help.

Dear · Aug 30, 2012

Do you remember to lift the ring before turning the dial?

GRHazelton · Aug 30, 2012

Yes I did.

John Hermanson · Aug 30, 2012

ASA area probably has had some liquid spilled on it. Dried coke or other soda will make knob act like it's been glued. John

tkamiya · Aug 30, 2012

Of course it is NOT normal....

I took one apart once. I recall it's a small fine metal brush rotating along a carbon coated potentiometer. I recall the piece was plastic and rotated around a stainless steel spindle. My GUESS is same as John's... some kind of gunk must have formed around that area. This area is accessible if you take the top part off the body but putting it together correctly is very challenging as I recall. I would only attempt it on a junk body or as a last resort. Unfortunate thing is, to get it fixed by a professional will cost many times over the cost of the body itself...

GRHazelton · Aug 31, 2012

Well, since I can move it I'll make do. Pity. Thanks for the info.

Chris Nielsen · Aug 31, 2012

Before I saw the light and began buying single digit bodies, I owned a few OM10s. The best of them had silky smooth wind on and a very easy to adjust ISO setting. Almost regret selling it now

John Hermanson · Sep 1, 2012

The "gunk" or dried soda is in the plastic knob assembly on the top cover, not inside in the circuit board. John

GRHazelton · Sep 2, 2012

John Hermanson said:
The "gunk" or dried soda is in the plastic knob assembly on the top cover, not inside in the circuit board. John

I wonder if if some TV contact cleaner sprayed into the knob assembly with with the camera held upside down would do the job. I've used Radio Shack's product successfully on some rather expensive electronic gear in the past.

John Koehrer · Sep 2, 2012

A drop(small) of Hydrogen Peroxide will free it up too.

John Hermanson · Sep 10, 2012

Some spray on electronic cleaners can damage plastic or melt it. Since the OM-10 ASA knob is all plastic I would not use it. Proper repair requires disassembly of the knob from the inside, washing the parts with warm water and rebuilding. (Coke damage is sugar based and water will clean it faster than any solvent cleaner). I normally don't recommend investing money in the OM-10. It is an extremely unreliable model and has chronic overexposure problems. Overexposure okay with print film but with slide film forget about it. John

PentaxBronica · Sep 11, 2012

Personally I just use a spray bottle of monitor cleaner, I think it's a very mild alcohol solution. Just soak a cotton bud with it and use it to wipe the gunge out of the contacts.

They may be cheap and a bit nasty but this makes them ideal for a first repair project. If you can't make it better then at least you didn't spend much on it, and the skills you pick up will mean that you can repair more interesting cameras later on.

GRHazelton · Sep 14, 2012

My "new" OM-2n

Well, I just couldn't resist an OM-2n with Winder 2 at a very good price. I can use the f1.8 from the OM-10 on it. It seems in really nice condition, no dents, shutter sounds okay, I'll of course run some film through it in the next few days.

It does look as though the foam seals could really use replacing. Is this a terribly difficult job for a careful amateur? Is there a source of kits? And any idea what it would cost to have someone else do the work?

Think I'll look into a few lenses to go with it and the T32 flash I have. Why not have both Pentax and Olympus kits?

GRHazelton · Sep 14, 2012

I think I answered my own question! In the Repairs section I found several threads for replacing seals, several recommending Jon Goodman. I'll have a look.

Re the OM-10 I think I'll play around with hydrogen peroxide. BTW, the RatShack contact cleaner states that its safe for plastics, and I've used it on plastics with no problem. Now if I can find my spray can of it....

Many thanks to all

wblynch · Sep 14, 2012

You are going to love that OM-2N.

Be sure to put some new Silver Oxide batteries in it.

Oh, and watch out for that T-32 flash. They are a bit heavy and can crack your adapter shoe. A T-20 is the heaviest I will use anymore.

GRHazelton · Sep 15, 2012

Thanks for the warning about the T32. Sounds like you speak from experience. I'm not a major flasher in any case. I have several old auto flashes which I could use, anyway. I imagine that the shutter on the OM-2 has some voltage constraints, where could I find its max safe voltage.

wblynch · Sep 15, 2012

On my first OM-1 I used a Vivitar 283. It broke the hot shoe and I got in the habit of holding it off-camera with a the remote sensor and connecting cord. That worked really well. Now uncracked shoes are hard to find and pricey when you do.

The OM-2 will work the T-32 or T-20 automatically so there is good reason to use them. Just beware. That's all.

GRHazelton · Sep 15, 2012

wblynch said:
On my first OM-1 I used a Vivitar 283. It broke the hot shoe and I got in the habit of holding it off-camera with a the remote sensor and connecting cord. That worked really well. Now uncracked shoes are hard to find and pricey when you do.

The OM-2 will work the T-32 or T-20 automatically so there is good reason to use them. Just beware. That's all.

If I really get into the OM family there is a handle flash adapter which also takes 4 C-cells for power. I've seen this used really cheap, but it does, of course, need a special cord. I also have a Promaster flash for my LX which has a module which gives full OTF with that beauty. I also have the handle adaptor for that unit. Now, if I can find the similar module for the OM-2n.... At a reasonable price, of course.

MattKing · Sep 15, 2012

GRHazelton said:
If I really get into the OM family there is a handle flash adapter which also takes 4 C-cells for power. I've seen this used really cheap, but it does, of course, need a special cord. I also have a Promaster flash for my LX which has a module which gives full OTF with that beauty. I also have the handle adaptor for that unit. Now, if I can find the similar module for the OM-2n.... At a reasonable price, of course.

Be careful about which "handle flash adapter" you are looking at. The "Bounce Grip" is compatible with the old Quick Auto Flash 310 and the TTl flash metering on the OM-2, whereas the "Power Bounce Grip 2" adds compatibility with the T20 and T32 flashes and the TTl metering on the OM-2n, OM-2s, OM-4 (and OM-3?).

If you don't need the TTl flash capability, it doesn't matter as much.

I have used a T32 for years on both an OM-2s and an OM-1/OM-1n, without problems. In the last couple of years, I have also used a T32 on an OM-2n and an OM-G as well, without problems. The vulnerability, if any comes from the shape of the T32 - if you bump the corner of the flash hard, the twisting force on the shoe could be substantial.

FWIW, IIRC John Hermanson (zuiko.com) has posted that with respect to this issue he prefers the OM bodies with removable flash shoes because if an accident like this happens, it is more likely to just damage the replaceable shoe than the camera itself.

GRHazelton · Sep 15, 2012

MattKing said:
Be careful about which "handle flash adapter" you are looking at. The "Bounce Grip" is compatible with the old Quick Auto Flash 310 and the TTl flash metering on the OM-2, whereas the "Power Bounce Grip 2" adds compatibility with the T20 and T32 flashes and the TTl metering on the OM-2n, OM-2s, OM-4 (and OM-3?).

If you don't need the TTl flash capability, it doesn't matter as much.

I have used a T32 for years on both an OM-2s and an OM-1/OM-1n, without problems. In the last couple of years, I have also used a T32 on an OM-2n and an OM-G as well, without problems. The vulnerability, if any comes from the shape of the T32 - if you bump the corner of the flash hard, the twisting force on the shoe could be substantial.

FWIW, IIRC John Hermanson (zuiko.com) has posted that with respect to this issue he prefers the OM bodies with removable flash shoes because if an accident like this happens, it is more likely to just damage the replaceable shoe than the camera itself.

Thanks for the "warning." The one I've seen cites the T20 and T32 in its listing. But, as it doesn't seem to include the proper connecting cord how wise a purchase it would be seems uncertain. Good point about the removeable shoe, as a Pentaxian I've often worried about the torque put on a shoe by a flashgun. On my LX with the interchangeable prisms a really hard blow might do more than "merely" twist off the hotshoe.

Wouldn't it be nice if the Pentax and Olympus and other TTL flashes were compatible? Only in my dreams.... Perhaps the closest we ever came to interbrand compatiblity was the "open source" K-mount. Even then Ricoh K-mounts often have a pin which will "lock" the lens to Pentax autofocus scewdrive K mounts. However, the Pentax and Olympus ref converters are interchangeable, at least with the later series Pentax eyepieces. At least all film cassettes are now compatible, which wasn't always the case, re: early Karomats.

MattKing · Sep 16, 2012

The SCA series flash modules that Metz in particular championed offer a fair amount of interbrand compatibility - at appreciable cost!

I also have a Vivitar 4600 flash with a number of different "feet" that allows me to use it with my OM cameras and a few others (which I don't make use of).

GRHazelton · Sep 23, 2012

Olympus OM-2n sad ending.

Alas, when I attempted to rewind the test roll from my OM-2n, the little rewind button would not turn and I couldn't rewind. Not wanting to have to carry a changing bag with me when shooting, I contacted the seller and asked about exchanging it for an identical camera listed at the same price, also stated as in "E" condition. They told me that the winder included on that camera, as was included on mine, didn't work. It seems to me that an "E" item ought to work, as should any included items. Is this an unreasonable expectation? Shouldn't vendors inspect cameras, etc, to make sure they do indeed work?

This didn't give me much confidence with that vendor, whom I'd used once before for a 75mm 2.8 for my Pentax 645n. I asked for a refund since I was within their time frame for return of defective items, and a prepaid mailing label for the return. This was on Friday at noon, as yet the label hasn't arrived. I'll call on Monday.

Think I may stay with KEH from now on.

PentaxBronica · Sep 24, 2012

Do the single-digit OM bodies feel better in the hand than the OM-10?

I ask as I fished my OM-10 out of the wardrobe last night and was immediately struck by how harsh and angular it feels. My Pentax K2 isn't exactly curvy but it just fits the hand better, my P30t with its small moulded finger and thumb grip is light years ahead.

GRHazelton · Sep 27, 2012

I think the Olympus winder, which fits either, is not really comfortable, certainly compared to the winders for the Pentax MX and ME-Super. Those winders have the shutter release at the top front of the grip, slightly angled, which makes vertical shooting much easier. Also the Pentax winders have a threaded recess for the winder socket on the camera, which the Olympus Winder 2 lacks. A little thing, but the OM-2n I bought came with a winder, but minus the cap for the body. How could most owners keep up with a little disk, about the size of a battery chamber cover?

BTW, the RMA and prepaid shipping label for the OM-2n finally arrived. Off it goes!

wblynch · Sep 27, 2012

GRHazelton said:
... A little thing, but the OM-2n I bought came with a winder, but minus the cap for the body. How could most owners keep up with a little disk, about the size of a battery chamber cover?

The cover goes into a little slot inside the winder. Open the battery chamber and you should see it.

Olympus OM-10 problem?

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