Olym 35 LC rangefinder problem

[Trius]

A few months ago I bought an Olympus 35LC on oBoy, and eventually sent it off to Camtech for CLA. Unfortunately the rangefinder mechanism had seen some tampering, and was irreparable. So now I have an LC all cleaned up, with battery modificationa and functioning meter, but with an RF that does not line up at infinity.

I think my only option is to salvage an RF assembly from another LC (or another Oly model sharing the same parts) and install it in the CLAed LC. Anyone have another idea? Or have a donor LC to sell for cheap?

 

[Rich Silfver]

Looking at my LC's and LE's it's probable that the two of them share a significant amount of parts (there's an LE for sale on eBay at $20 right now with 19hrs to go: Link ) but I don't know for sure. The LE has, I believe, the most quiet shutter of all Oly 35's. Having said that I think the most economical way for you to get a working LC is to try to get another one (and sorry..I took a 'second' liking to my fixed lens cameras and have still not made up my mind for what I want to sell.. so you can't have one of mine 🙂 ).

Good luck, they are really fun cameras.

MY 35LE:

 

[clintock]

I think I may have one with a good RF, shutter, not so much, but rf..
Thing is I don't remember what model exactly I have, but I'll check tomorrow.. Looks alot like the one pictured in the post above, but not exactly.. it'a a big 'un.

Just looked, it is an LC, the RF is ok but the lens stack is apart and missing bits..
I'll email from here on.

 

[Trius]

Rich: While I can understand your reluctance to part with any of the Oly fixed RFs... grrr. 😛 Thanks for the tip on the sound of the LE shutter. It's funny, I recently noticed that the shutter sound of my two SPs is different; I don't think one is louder than the other, but they are different. Maybe I'll record some wav files and post links.

Clintrock: Received your email, many thanks!

 

[Trius]

Rich: BTW, what is the round thing to the right of the meter switch on the LE? I'm going to pass on the auction you mentioned (though I did have it in my favourites) since it's both overseas and with little information on the actual condition.

 

[Rich Silfver]

Rich: BTW, what is the round thing to the right of the meter switch on the LE? I'm going to pass on the auction you mentioned (though I did have it in my favourites) since it's both overseas and with little information on the actual condition.

It's the cover for the battery compartment.

 

[Trius]

Thanks, Rich. Given that, the rangefinder assemblies between the two models might actually be a bit different. Since I have a donor LC on the way, I can save my exploration of an LE for an addition to the family. :angel:

 

[Trius]

Donor LC arrived today, many thanks to clintock! So I shipped it out with the LC with the bunged rangefinder, plus an XA that needed re-working. I'm hoping the swap-out of the rangefinder makes things right ... the donor camera rangefinder worked properly, though it needs cleaning.

 

[Trius]

Very late update... the LC arrived a few weeks ago, all fixed up; it now has a happy home. Many thanks to Clint for the donor LC!

Rich: You are right about the shutter sound. The LC is the quietest of all the Oly RFs I have used, and is probably the quietest shutter I have heard in a 35mm camera. But then, my hearing ain't what it used to be! 😉