Olympus Pen EE shutter problem!

Theearlington · Jan 18, 2015

Hi guys,

I just bought a Pen EE off an auction and there is something wrong with it.

The selenium cell and apertures work on this camera but I was confused when i pressed the shutter button and only heard one click. I opened the back of the camera and clicked the shutter again and saw that it opened up with the correct f stop but the curtain never closed behind it.

It was only when I advanced the film that I heard the 2nd click as the curtain went down.

Has as anyone ever had this problem? Is it a sticky shutter?

choiliefan · Jan 18, 2015

IIRC the Pen EE doesn't have a shutter curtain. The shutter is a leaf-type built into the lens.

pdeeh · Jan 18, 2015

Quite a common problem with the EE, and can only be fixed by almost completely dismantling the camera to get at the shutter in the heart of the camera.

The EE only has two speeds (1/30s or 1/200s) - this problem manifests itself only at one speed, and I can't remember which one.
You can still shoot with it if you stick to well lit situations.

Or you can try dismantling it (instructions can be found by googling, but don't be misled by the ones that make it look easy - they're for the sticky aperture problem, not the sticky shutter problem) if you don't mind if you f*ck it up, or you can send it to a repair service and spend £100 on getting a £10 camera repaired

Theearlington · Jan 18, 2015

Thank you for the replies! I think i'm going to go ahead and attempt to repair it.

Here's something I found that looks like what i'm dealing with.

http://www.instructables.com/id/Olympus-Pen-EE-Shutter-Repair-and-Overhaul/

John Koehrer · Jan 18, 2015

Theearlington said:
Thank you for the replies! I think i'm going to go ahead and attempt to repair it.

Here's something I found that looks like what i'm dealing with.

http://www.instructables.com/id/Olympus-Pen-EE-Shutter-Repair-and-Overhaul/

That's one of the clearest articles I've seen in a long time. It is most likely the cure for your problem.
I've used the instructables site for a number of things and they're usually pretty good.

pdeeh · Jan 19, 2015

Theearlington said:
Thank you for the replies! I think i'm going to go ahead and attempt to repair it.
Here's something I found that looks like what i'm dealing with.
http://www.instructables.com/id/Olympus-Pen-EE-Shutter-Repair-and-Overhaul/

Yes, that seems the right one.

I can't bring myself to open mine up (it has exactly the same problem) for fear of making a mess of it ... and I can't afford to have it repaired. So I have to content myself with looking at it (it's very pretty).

It would be helpful if you were to report back with how it went and offer any comments about the Instructables procedure - any oversights or errors in the instructions, or any extra things you discovered that were helfpul.

Good luck!

flavio81 · Jan 19, 2015

Those cameras are among the easiest to repair cameras.

If i recall correctly there IS a proper shutter behind the aperture blades. The aperture blades are a two-leaf type and the aperture is set by "trapping" the meter needle.
Be careful not to touch the screws around the meter needle, or you will lose calibration. Those screws stay fixed with loctite or a similar compound.

Theearlington · Jan 19, 2015

pdeeh said:
Yes, that seems the right one.

I can't bring myself to open mine up (it has exactly the same problem) for fear of making a mess of it ... and I can't afford to have it repaired. So I have to content myself with looking at it (it's very pretty).

It would be helpful if you were to report back with how it went and offer any comments about the Instructables procedure - any oversights or errors in the instructions, or any extra things you discovered that were helfpul.

Good luck!

I'm about to take the camera apart. Just need to figure out how to take the lens off the body!! I think I might need a spanner tool.
I'll post back with my findings after i get everything working again.

Thanks

pdeeh · Jan 20, 2015

the construction varies a bit from model to model, and it may be that you have loosen some grub screws from the perimeter of the "inner" chrome lens barrel before you can start the dismantling - rather than just unscrew it as he suggests;

Olympus Pen EE shutter problem!

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