how sustainable is the OM3/OM3ti

[marcr1230]

I've been looking at old threads re the OM3/3Ti.

One says the OM3 has a battery drain issue - is this correct and is There a newer circuit board that can fix it ?

Second - are both the OM3 and OM3Ti repairable ? if one has an OM3Ti , do you live in fear that the main circuit board will fry and no parts are available ?

How common are the parts to the 3 and 4 series ? since 4 is more common can you use a 4 as a parts source for the 3/3Ti ?

How common are the 3/3Ti parts ?

Do the 3 and 4 series need the foam replacement ?

Asking all these questions because I am dreaming of an OM3Ti
and I want these cameras to outlast me 🙂

Calling out to John Hermanson and other gurus

Thanks

 

[rogerzilla]

IME Olympus SLRs were not reliable and this was part of the reason for their demise, along with Olympus' odd obsession with "bridge cameras". What I don't know is whether the breakdowns - typically very slow shutter speeds - were an electronic circuit fault or something more easily fixed.

 

[xayraa33]

IME Olympus SLRs were not reliable and this was part of the reason for their demise, along with Olympus' odd obsession with "bridge cameras". What I don't know is whether the breakdowns - typically very slow shutter speeds - were an electronic circuit fault or something more easily fixed.

I been using my OM 1 since 1976 and it has never let me down.

 

[Vilk]

ah, storytellers vs. statisticians again... anecdotes are so convincing, aren't they? :angel:

 

[jarski]

... Olympus' odd obsession with "bridge cameras"...

what are these ? 😕

 

[D.O'K.]

More anecdotal experience: an OM3 which has the battery drain problem, but has otherwise worked perfectly for the 20+ years I've had it (neither does it need replacement light seals).

In general, I've found new batteries last only a few weeks if kept within the camera, regardless of the level of usage. But as they merely operate the meter and the camera is fully usable otherwise it hasn't greatly worried me.

I've read that the circuit had a design fault which was remedied before the end of the (original) OM3 production run; and accordingly that the later OM3Ti models don't have it.

I don't know if the problem is fixable, but would be surprised if it weren't, in appropriately skilled hands.

Sorry I can't answer the other questions. I would however comment that these are essentially simple very well made mechanical cameras which should therefore be amenable to ordinary repairs for a long time yet.

Regards,
D.

 

[_larky]

I too have never had any issues with any of my OM gear. Ever.

 

[TaoPhoto]

Storytellers vs. statisticians? I haven't seen anything in this thread suggestive of a statistician.

 

[Dektol Dan]

Bs

Bs

I own a OM-1, OM-2n, and OM-3. They all work fine. All the info about battery substitution for the OM-1, and how to turn off the OM-3 is on line. Batteries for the OM-3 are readily available.
What's the issue?

 

[rogerzilla]

My experience was with the OM-10, which was notorious for the shutter sticking. They are nice little cameras when they work.

"Bridge cameras" were bigger-than-compact 35mm cameras with a non-interchangeable zoom lens, often one with a huge range. Styling was usually "odd".

 

[Ade-oh]

ah, storytellers vs. statisticians again... anecdotes are so convincing, aren't they? :angel:

Which statistics would these be?

The OM-3 and 3ti both have mechanical shutters and are thus eminently repairable. The OM-3 did have battery drain problems but they were an irritant rather than a showstopper; a recent post by John Hermanson says that Olympus didn't ever upgrade the printed circuit.

I used to own an OM-3 but never really got on with it. The multi-spot metering is much better suited to an automatic exposure camera IMHO. If you don't need to manually set the exposure for averaged multiple spotmeter readings (and believe me, you don't!), you're better off with an OM-1 or OM-1n for a fraction of the price.

Edited to add

The OM 'single digit' cameras are serious, robust, professional-quality cameras. I've owned an OM-1 since 1978 with no problems whatsoever apart from a few dings here and there, and have additionally acquired two OM-4ti's and an OM-1n, all of which are just as robust as my Leica and Nikon gear. I love the little darlings!

 

[xayraa33]

The OM system had a good run production wise.
From 1972 to 2002, not a real sign of a lousy camera I would say.
And they still are running in the hands of photographers.

 

[Michiel Fokkema]

Ive never used OM cameras'but are interested in them. But half of the times I pick one up from a table on a camera fair it doesn't work as it should.
According to my repairman OM camera's are broke or on the way to getting broke.
BUt I do like they are so small.

Cheers,
Michiel Fokkema

 

[Gid]

Ive never used OM cameras'but are interested in them. But half of the times I pick one up from a table on a camera fair it doesn't work as it should.
According to my repairman OM camera's are broke or on the way to getting broke.
BUt I do like they are so small.

Cheers,
Michiel Fokkema

My experience is contrary.

 

[xayraa33]

Ive never used OM cameras'but are interested in them. But half of the times I pick one up from a table on a camera fair it doesn't work as it should.
According to my repairman OM camera's are broke or on the way to getting broke.
BUt I do like they are so small.

Cheers,
Michiel Fokkema

My experience is contrary also.

Picked up an OM 1 with 50/1.8 plus eveready case for 49 dollars the last camera show I went to several years ago and it was working and still working.

Was given another OM 1n with 28mm/f2.8 OM lens by my brother in law two years ago and it was working and still is, it was missing the motor drive cover though. Was also given an Oly Pen EE2 by him which was not working but got it working later.

 

[Ade-oh]

Me too. I've been using Olympus OM's for 33 years and never had one break down on me.

 

[Keith]

Considering how much OM traffic we get in the SLR forum it's amazing to finally read a rare post from someone who thinks they're unreliable.

I can't really comment having been an OM user for only a few years but surely if the cameras were genuinely unreliable they wouldn't have achieved the status they have?

 

[FTography]

My experience was with the OM-10, which was notorious for the shutter sticking. They are nice little cameras when they work.

Basing your judgement on one model only - and an amateur/semi-pro one at that - to judge an entire (professional) camera system...
Do you I really need to point out your bias?

But I'd really like to hear what people have to say about repairability (the main topic of this thread, originally) rather than reliability.

 

[ChrisN]

My experience was with the OM-10, which was notorious for the shutter sticking. They are nice little cameras when they work.

"Bridge cameras" were bigger-than-compact 35mm cameras with a non-interchangeable zoom lens, often one with a huge range. Styling was usually "odd".

I still have, and occasionally still use, the OM-10 I bought new in the early 80's. No signs of the shutter sticking yet. I bought another one for my wife to use, about seven years ago, and that's still ok too. This is actually the first time I've heard of a shutter sticking on an OM-10 - I think you must have been unlucky.

That said, the single-digit models were certainly the best. Buy the model that appeals most and have it serviced by John Hermanson when necessary, and you should not be disappointed.

 

[Chriscrawfordphoto]

Talk to John Hermanson, www.zuiko.com, for info on repairing specific models. The OM-10 was the bottom the line crap camera, like the Nikon EM. Plastic body, auto exposure only, not reliable. No one says Nikons are junk because of the EM, do they?

The Professional OMs are very reliable mechanically, but a few (the OM-3, OM-4, and OM-2s) had battery drain issue from a bad circuit design. All three models came out the same time and were closely related in their design. Olympus fixed the problem by dropping the OM-2s and OM-3 and redesigning the OM-4 circuit. The OM-4T has the new circuit, and many OM-4 bodies have had it installed when Olympus was servicing them. The OM-3Ti came out years after the original OM-3 was discontinued and used a new circuit design.

The OM-1/1n and OM-2/2n had no reliability issues at all, and the OM-4T is also very reliable. There are no replacement circuits available for the OM-3 and 4, but the 2, 2n, 1, 1n, and 4Ti are still repairable if they have electronic issues.

I've used Olympus gear for 25 years, since I was a little kid, and my first OM, the OM-G (an upgraded OM-10 that fixed the shutter problems and added manual exposure) was the only one that ever broke. It was in my car's back seat when I wrecked my car at age 16. The car ROLLED ONTO ITS TOP. The camera worked long enough for me to photograph my upside down car (I wasn't hurt!), then quit. Considering the magnitude of the accident that the camera went through, bouncing around a car that flipped over (it was NOT in a bag or case!), I cannot see that OM-G breaking as a sign that the cameras are delicate or unreliable.

My OM-4T, which I got when I was 18 is still going strong today.