Olympus XA - Shutter speed issue?

Kirks518 · Oct 11, 2014

Just picked up an XA, and I'm not sure if it's working correctly or not. I have not loaded film in it yet.

With the back open, as if you were loading film, it fires fine, and the shutter is quick, somewhere I'd guess between 1/60 - 1/250. But when I close the door (no film), and take a shot, the shutter stays open for approximately 9 seconds. I can't seem to get the shutter to change to a 'normal' speed no matter what setting I use (ASA or f/stop). The meter is working, and the batteries are fresh.

Is this because there is no film in the camera, or is there something wrong with it? Is it fixable without major work, or is this now a parts camera? Any help/ideas are appreciated.

summicron1 · Oct 11, 2014

the camera is made to click when the back is open to help in loading.

When it is closed, it should be working properly, however, which is to say with small lens openings it should have long exposures, and with wide lens openings it should have short exposures.

one thing to keep in mind is that there are actually two meter circuits in the camera, one for the shutter and one for the needle in the viewfinder. They don't always agree, but I've found the shutter one normally very accurate. If yours is not operating properly, I fear there may be issues. Much sorrow.

Kirks518 · Oct 11, 2014

Any idea what it would take to repair the shutter circuit? The metering is spot on, but at any aperture/ASA setting, the shutter stays open for approx. 9 seconds.

David Lyga · Oct 11, 2014

Summicron1, are you certain? I thought that the shutter speed is NOT changed with the opening of the back.

Kirks518: Something is wrong here: are you sure that when the back is closed you are pointing it at a bright light? As nice as this Olympus series is, there really are problems with the shutter button ... but this is the first I heard of this. - David Lyga

Kirks518 · Oct 11, 2014

David - Just took it outside, pointed directly at the Florida sun, and pressed the shutter. 9 second exposure time at f/2.8 with film speed set to ASA 400. I then opened the back, pressed the shutter, and estimated shutter speed somewhere around 1/60-1/200. But no matter what I do, with the back closed, I get a (roughly) 9 second shutter open time.

MattKing · Oct 11, 2014

Put a piece of film in it and see if you get the same response.

Kirks518 · Oct 11, 2014

Just did. Same response.

I found the repair manual online, and the closest shutter problem listed in the repair manual is if the shutter gives inaccurate speeds when set to flash. So I set it to flash, and the shutter speed sounds about right (1/60 or so), but at any other f/stop setting it still does the 9 sec deal. From what I can gather from the repair manual, there may be an issue with magnet #2, or a contact the is either malformed, or not resilient enough. Now to figure which is the problem.

Looks like a rainy day project.

summicron1 · Oct 11, 2014

Kirks518 said:
Just did. Same response.

I found the repair manual online, and the closest shutter problem listed in the repair manual is if the shutter gives inaccurate speeds when set to flash. So I set it to flash, and the shutter speed sounds about right (1/60 or so), but at any other f/stop setting it still does the 9 sec deal. From what I can gather from the repair manual, there may be an issue with magnet #2, or a contact the is either malformed, or not resilient enough. Now to figure which is the problem.

Looks like a rainy day project.

this is the point where i throw it out an use the spare i found at the thrift store. If you can fix it, I salute you!

Kirks518 · Oct 12, 2014

I'll let you know how it turns out if/when I try and work on it.

John Koehrer · Oct 12, 2014

Isn't Mg2 the magnet buried just below the shutter?
You can see the armature from the bottom of the camera, near the front of camera.
You can clean it with a 1/8' strip of paper cut from a dollar bill dipped in alcohol. The paper from a bill is textured.

Watch out! The feds will nab you for defacing currency.

Kirks518 · Oct 12, 2014

John Koehrer said:
Isn't Mg2 the magnet buried just below the shutter?
You can see the armature from the bottom of the camera, near the front of camera.
You can clean it with a 1/8' strip of paper cut from a dollar bill dipped in alcohol. The paper from a bill is textured.

Watch out! The feds will nab you for defacing currency.

I'll give that try! Thanks! Now... where to get $1...

Gunfleet · Oct 13, 2014

And the alcohol!

John Koehrer · Oct 14, 2014

Kirks518 said:
I'll give that try! Thanks! Now... where to get $1...

You don't the entire bill, just a snippet. Can you borrow one from your girlfriend/wife/buddy? Just for a minute. Take scissors with and turn your back for a moment saying "Look over there"

Kirks518 · Oct 14, 2014

John Koehrer said:
You don't the entire bill, just a snippet. Can you borrow one from your girlfriend/wife/buddy? Just for a minute. Take scissors with and turn your back for a moment saying "Look over there"

iandvaag · Jul 26, 2016

Were you successful with this project? I have a similar problem where the shutter stays open for about 10 seconds, but not every time. As with you, the shutter is fine when the back is open, and it is fine for ~90% of my exposures when the back is closed and it is loaded, but ~10% of the time, it randomly stays open for 10 seconds. The meter always displays the correct value. I'm very confused, as I don't know what caused this. I dropped it about 2-3 feet onto a tile floor about 4 months ago and the back popped open, but I didn't notice a problem until now. I did notice that the film was harder to wind after the drop, but I thought that might just be psychological. I'd love to hear if you had success in repairing this problem.

Kirks518 · Jul 26, 2016

No, I gave up on it. Found a perfectly working one at the local Goodwill for a couple of bucks, and the other one will be a parts camera. Maybe one day I'll open it up, but I have too many projects going now to even consider it.

baachitraka · Jul 26, 2016

Good choice.

Olympus XA - Shutter speed issue?

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