Olympus Pen F shutter getting stuck

sygyzy · Mar 12, 2016

Good afternoon everyone. I was out this morning with a group taking a tour of a historic property. I brought a long my Olympus Pen F and took about a dozen pictures before hearing a dreaded sound. I was shooting a "normal" shutter speed and aperture (I believe f/5.6 and 1/250). When I depressed the shutter, I could hear the mirror (?) pop open but not close. At first I thought I had set it to bulb or greater than 1 second shutter speed but that was not the case. I tried pressing the release again as well as winding it but both were stuck.

So, I took off the lens and nudged the mirror and that got it to close. I was able to continue taking more pictures with no issues.

So, what happened here? And is there any maintenance I can do (on my own) to help prevent it from happening again? Any pointers to online tutorials, videos, or photos would be appreciated. I have plenty of tools and am reasonably skilled with my hands.

Thank you very much.

JohnMeadows · Mar 12, 2016

I don't have a solution but something similar: I found my Pen F having the same problem on a cold damp day. Once the camera warmed up, the problem went away. Was it a cold/damp day when you were shooting?

sygyzy said:
Good afternoon everyone. I was out this morning with a group taking a tour of a historic property. I brought a long my Olympus Pen F and took about a dozen pictures before hearing a dreaded sound. I was shooting a "normal" shutter speed and aperture (I believe f/5.6 and 1/250). When I depressed the shutter, I could hear the mirror (?) pop open but not close. At first I thought I had set it to bulb or greater than 1 second shutter speed but that was not the case. I tried pressing the release again as well as winding it but both were stuck.

So, I took off the lens and nudged the mirror and that got it to close. I was able to continue taking more pictures with no issues.

So, what happened here? And is there any maintenance I can do (on my own) to help prevent it from happening again? Any pointers to online tutorials, videos, or photos would be appreciated. I have plenty of tools and am reasonably skilled with my hands.

Thank you very much.

ciniframe · Mar 12, 2016

Warning! the following experience is told without warranty or advice. This is just my personal experience.

Several years ago my Pen F (not FT) did the same thing, fail to complete the release cycle. This was not every time but often enough to be a concern. I went home, took out the film and removed the bottom plate. I observed that the mechanicals that moved while cocking and releasing the shutter involved lots of metal sliding against other metal and it all looked gummed up. So.....I took some 92% isopropal and carefully flushed out the various bits and pieces, not disassembling anything and cocking and firing the shutter several times. A lot of dirt and old grime came out. I re-lubed, with a very light oil, a little bit and carefully. That was probably 5 or 6 years ago and so far, that body still works fine and has never jammed since then.

As they say YMMV>

thuggins · Mar 13, 2016

The shutter sticking is a common problem on the F. I've got one in that state now.

As Ciniframe points out, there is a complicated shutter mechanism under the bottom plate. Attempting to carefully clean and relube it is worth a try. If you really intend to make the camera a "user", it would be worth having it CLA'd, seeing that it is over 50 years old.

Olympus Pen F shutter getting stuck

sygyzy

JohnMeadows

ciniframe

thuggins

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