OM1 home CLA tips

I bought my wife an OM1 with 50 f1.8 for Christmas and she loves it. It's in pretty nice condition, but obviously hasn't be used for a long time. The shutter speed dial is very stiff and also there are a few marks on the focussing screen. Any suggestions for home 'cla' tips?

Have found instructions to get the focus screen out - I assume something like distilled water and a cotton bud? Perhaps a drop of shellite (white spirits) into the shutter dial to loosen it up?

Many thanks.

Remove the screen entirely. Carefully clean the glass prism as best you can.

I usually wash the screen under running water with a bit of dishwashing soap. I use a bit of compressed air to dry it, but you can simply shake off the excess water and allow it to air dry. Be careful that you don't throw the screen while shaking off the water!

It's really best if you fully disassemble the top deck and add a new foam cushion between the prism and top deck.

You also should replace all of the foam seals and the mirror bumper. I use a product called "Foamies," which I bought at a craft and fabric store. There are kits available. The toughest part of this job will be removing the old foam. It can be a messy job.

Good luck. Your wife will love the OM-1.

Thanks Mike. Appreciate it. Any advice for the shutter ring?

Better to remove the prism foam altogether. Can cause a nasty mess and eat the coating of the prism.

Search the web for OM1 foam replacement there are some great tutorials.

Use new jeweler's screwdrivers to avoid ruining the tiny screws.

Be careful taking the cap screw off the film advance lever, use a rubber stopper or eraser instead of a spanner that will slip and gouge the cap.

Seriously, if you haven't CLA'd a camera before, don't start on an OM1, especially if the shutter ring is stiff. It needs a full CLA. Don't know who to recommend in NSW, as only know where I send mine in UK. However, I've spent £50 CLAing both my OM1 and OM2 and now know they are good for several more years (hopefully). Its possible the marks on the focus screen are actually silver degradation on the prism caused by corroding foam. The prisms are interchangeable with OM10 so fairly easy to source if yours is bad - my repairer charged me an extra £10 to replace mine. The OM1 is a great camera. Get it serviced and enjoy.

My OM-4 had stiff shutter ring. Cleaned and reduced tension on the spring that pushes the ball against the ring, now its ok. If you decide to remove the shutter ring be carefull there is a small spring that is ready to jump out. There is an instruction somewhere on the net

mr rusty said:

Seriously, if you haven't CLA'd a camera before, don't start on an OM1, especially if the shutter ring is stiff. It needs a full CLA. Don't know who to recommend in NSW, as only know where I send mine in UK. ...

Click to expand...

In Australia, I can recommend Ben Vang (in Dubbo), who has -so far- thoroughly CLA'd 3 cameras for me ( I use Australia Post).

He is totally professional and reliable and surprisingly fast.

He will first examine your camera and let you know if it's worth doing and give you a quote up front. If you decide not to go ahead, there will be either a small charge or you can let him keep the body for parts.

I intend to use him for some more jobs, soon.

Check out his website here:

http://www.cameracheckpoint.com.au/index.html