Olympus OM-10 Quick On/Off Question

[bwesso]

Hi all- please forgive me if this question has been posed before

I was planning on gifting a cousin an OM-10 I had picked up for cheap at an estate sale-- everything seems to work fine, etc etc, but I am curious about the metering. It seems even if the camera's switch is set to off, it is still constantly metering and the shutter speed will vary if doing some test shots. Just curious if this is normal, or if some wiring may need some attention. Seems weird that all setting the camera to "on" would do is show you the shutter speed info. Wouldnt want to gift something that will drain its own battery if its not supposed to.

Thanks! Cool little camera

 

[MattKing]

That is sort of correct. The camera does go into resting mode after a short period of non-use, but it is designed to give a correct auto exposure if you simply pick it up and release the shutter.
The actual exposure reading is taken through the lens and off the film. The reading in the viewfinder is supplementary, designed to merely inform the user.

 

[bwesso]

Interesting. Pretty handy I suppose. Well thanks @MattKing glad I don't have to worry about needing to fix it