Sticky shutter on Olympus XA?

[Jeremy Z]

To all you happy XA owners out there, did you acquire yours with a good shutter, or was it sticky?

I think mine may be sticky. To my ear, the shutter sounds about right at speeds of less than 1/15s, but very slow above that.

Is this just the way they sound, or should I send it back to have it cleaned? (I bought it at a local shop with a 30 day warranty)

I haven't had any film processed yet, though I'm towards the end of the second roll of XP2. I think I'm going to have them done pretty soon.

 

[mpt600]

Mine hardly makes any sound at all, although at very low speeds you hear it click open then click shut. I'd get the film developed before the 30 days are up, it's the only sure way to see what's happening.

 

[Trius]

I've never had a sticky shutter, just an XA that wouldn't fire at all. But I wouldn't be surprised if an XA had a sticky shutter at some speeds; after all, it's a camera that could be what, 20-22 years old? Overall they're quite reliable so there are lots out there that have never had a CLA.

That said, I had an XA receive a spa treatment lately and I was dead sure the metering was off, and the shutter speeds did sound not right ... albeit in the other direction, i.e. slow speeds.

But when I got the film processed, I discovered I was the one that was off. Lots of folks knew that already. 😀

Earl

 

[Graham Line]

Lots of XA questions lately. Every time I have mine down at the film shop, the guy says "ah, a spy camera." Guess he's never seen a Minox.
Anyway: Before monkeying around too much, try a fresh battery and see if that livens it up. My XA (bought new when they came out) gets cranky when the batt starts to fail.
Mine did get a nice cleanup after about 20 years; the tech said people keep XAs in their hands and pockets a lot and they tend to get sweaty.

 

[Jeremy Z]

One thing I noticed that might be of general interest: If the clamshell cover isn't open all the way, the shutter won't fire. It's interlocked.

My XA doesn't have a detent where the clamshell cover clicks open, like the XA2 and all subsequent clamshell designs do. I don't know if that is because my XA is worn, or because Olympus just didn't think of it until they made the XA2.

So if your battery compartment is clean, and you have good batteries & good contacts, and you're sure the cover is all the way open, it's screwed. But there are a lot of other things that can cause it not to fire.

I guess I'll have to wait until the film's developed. If all the daylight pictures are way overexposed, then I know it's a sticky shutter.

 

[Trius]

Jeremy, if your XA doesn't have the detent for the sliding cover, then it is a fault. An XA should be the same as XA2, etc., in that respect.

 

[pshinkaw]

Mine has sticky shutter. It's intermittent. Sometimes normal, sometimes slow, and in damp weather it hangs open until the film is advanced to the next frame. It's on my list for cameras to be repaired, but it's not near the top.

-Paul