What's your OM4 viewfinder like?

[xtolsniffer]

Hi all,
I recently dusted off my old OM-4 that hasn't seen much use recently. I noticed an odd thing that my eye has to be exactly in the right place to see the viewfinder clearly. A few mm either side and it's blurry and distorted. I don't remember it being like this, and comparison with my OM-2n is that the viewfinder on that is much more forgiving in terms of eye position. I've adjusted the the diopter, but while the center is fine, anything off-axis with my eye is just not as sharp as I would expect. Is this normal? Has something possibly shifted in storage? It might be my ageing eyes or perhaps I remember it better than it actually is? Can anyone with an OM-4 comment?

 

[jtk]

See an opthamologist (not just optometrist). I do that every couple of years...expensive but rewarding. I learned how bad optometrists have been, got big improvements.

 

[Frank53]

Same here. Never noticed it before. So thank you very much Maybe aging eyes in my case, maybe something else.
It’s a lot better with my om 1.
Just keep your eye in the middle and everything is fine.
Regards,
Frank

 

[xtolsniffer]

Sorry, now you'll never be able to un-notice it!

 

[abruzzi]

my Pentax MX has the same issue. I always assumed it had a lot to do with the amount of magnification (the MX has one of the highest magnifications of any 35mm SLR)

 

[Les Sarile]

Hi all,
I recently dusted off my old OM-4 that hasn't seen much use recently. I noticed an odd thing that my eye has to be exactly in the right place to see the viewfinder clearly. A few mm either side and it's blurry and distorted. I don't remember it being like this, and comparison with my OM-2n is that the viewfinder on that is much more forgiving in terms of eye position. I've adjusted the the diopter, but while the center is fine, anything off-axis with my eye is just not as sharp as I would expect. Is this normal? Has something possibly shifted in storage? It might be my ageing eyes or perhaps I remember it better than it actually is? Can anyone with an OM-4 comment?

Looked through my OM4 with a 50mm f1.8 and everything is as it should be. When the object in the center is in focus, objects in the periphery may be blurry depending on distance but they come in sharp when adjusted and definitely not distorted. Maybe your lens?

 

[Bill Burk]

Take a look as you adjust the diopter. The glue holding the floating lens may have let loose of the glass and it might be rattling around loose.

If so it’s not impossible to fix but taking off the top involves dissolving a “loctite” type seal with acetone. You will go nuts trying to get the top off if you don’t.

Then just a bit of contact cement and you will be back in business.

 

[wiltw]

Pull off the lens and look thru the finder. You should be able to see the edges of the focusing screen metal mask clearly, as well as the edges of the focusing aid in the center.

I just did that on my own OM-4 and and see them all sharply