Olympus 35 SP shutter speed in auto mode.

[VCMaes]

I'm not sure if this qualifies as a repair topic, because I'm not entirely sure if it's broken. I bought an Olympus 35 SP and noticed that the shutter seems to only fire at one (audible) speed no matter the lighting conditions.
I'm not familiar with this camera, as this is my first SP, so it's possible this is the normal function of the camera.

Thanks,
Vince

 

[02Pilot]

It's not normal. Assuming you have the shutter speed and aperture both set to A, the first thing to check is that the meter is responding to light. If it is, something is mechanically wrong internally, specifically in the linkage between the meter and the shutter. If the meter is not responding to light, and the battery is known to be good and that you've got a complete circuit, then there's likely an electrical problem with the meter.

 

[VCMaes]

I apologize, I left out the details.
Yes, the meter appears to work. I compared it's reading to my handheld light meter and the values are very close. In manual mode, I can hear the difference in shutter speed (i. e. the shutter buzzes and is open for a second on the 1 second setting, it quickly snaps at 1/500th, so on and so forth).
I'm moderately comfortable working on my cameras, but this seems to be a problem bigger than I think I can tackle if it involves the shutter plus electronics.

 

[Solinar]

Welcome to the RF forum. Just to clarify your question - are you stating that the shutter speed doesn't vary at all while in the camera is in the "A" mode - even if you first try it outside on a sunny day and then step indoors to moderately lit indoor room?

Page 15 of the Olympus 35SP instruction manual show that the shutter speeds should vary between 1/15th and 1/250th of a second in the "A" mode.

Instruction Manual/olympus_pdf/olympus_35sp.pdf

 

[VCMaes]

That is correct, I believe there's no change. But I did not perform an indoors vs outdoor test, I was lazy and panned around my room. I bought a roll of film and will shoot a test roll in various lighting conditions (indoors and out).
Now after reviewing the chart on page 15 of the manual, I think I get it. In a sense, Auto is really like shutter priority (set at 1/250), and the logic will adjust the aperture between f1.7-22, but if the EV is <5, it should switch the shutter to 1/15. So the shutter will fire at either 1/250 OR 1/15 depending on lighting. Right?

Thanks again for the info.

 

[Solinar]

..........

Now after reviewing the chart on page 15 of the manual, I think I get it. In a sense, Auto is really like shutter priority (set at 1/250), and the logic will adjust the aperture between f1.7-22, but if the EV is <5, it should switch the shutter to 1/15. So the shutter will fire at either 1/250 OR 1/15 depending on lighting. Right?

Thanks again for the info.

Go back and look at the graph again. It's not either OR. At around EV 14 line progresses to a shutter speed of 1/125th. By EV 11 - the graph shows the camera choosing 1/60th of second. At EV 9 - the graph shows a shutter speed of .................

One other fly in the soup is that the shutter speeds may be step-less in the "A" mode. The aperture opening in the "A" mode is definitely step-less.

Best Regards,

 

[VCMaes]

OK so if I'm making sense of it now, the dark line on the graph represents where a hand-off of sorts between the various shutter speeds should occur at a corresponding EV.

I've put a 24 exp roll of film in the camera, and will shoot 12 exp on full auto in various indoor/outdoor (hi/low light) settings. Then 12 in manual mode using the camera's own light meter just to double check it's reading correctly.

If this camera is not functioning properly, it seems like a rather involved repair 🙁