Olympus 35sp auto not working?

[timefly]

Hey All,

I've not used my 35SP for a while. The battery is a fresh 1.5v alkaline and the meter responds kind of reasonably. I've not checked it yet against my DSLR

Manual mode works fine and i can dial in an EV to match what the light meter suggest and the shutter speeds seem to agree with the settings, both by ear and by eye.

If I set shutter and aperture to A however if it is too dark it will not fire but even in a dim-ish room it sounds like the shutter is never firing very slowly.

Is this a fault or am I doing something wrong? It seems like the trap needle gadget is not working for the shutter. If I hold it up to the light with the film door open it is definitely adjusting the aperture.

What shutter speeds are used in auto mode?

 

[Duofold RF]

The auto range is limited, if out of the range, it will not fire.

 

[timefly]

The auto range is limited, if out of the range, it will not fire.View attachment 4886464

Thanks, much appreciated. I'll run a short film through it on Auto and see what happens. I've ordered the voltage regulating battery widget to see if it brings the light meter closer to calibration.

 

[Beemermark]

Try using it outside. In manual the meter response is much more responsive. Check out the specifications in the manual. Serious doubt the alkaline battery will change it that much. I used an Alkaline battery in my 35SP, B&W film, and I'm happy with the results.

 

[Zuiko-logist]

Could you let me know where you ordered the voltage adaptor?

 

[Bakelite]

I just bought a SP 35 and I noticed the same thing, when both shutter and aperture are on auto and I put my finger over the light meter window the shutter time doesn’t seem to vary even though the EV needle moves. Also my spot meter “spot” doesn’t appear when the button is pushed - but that might be a whole other issue.

 

[Zuiko-logist]

I just bought a SP 35 and I noticed the same thing, when both shutter and aperture are on auto and I put my finger over the light meter window the shutter time doesn’t seem to vary even though the EV needle moves. Also my spot meter “spot” doesn’t appear when the button is pushed - but that might be a whole other issue.

What do you mean by spot meter spot?

 

[Duofold RF]

https://esif.world-traveller.org/om-sif/camhistory/manuals/olympus35sp.pdf

If you have ruled out operator’s error, then something wrong with your SP may need to be CLAed.

 

[Bakelite]

What do you mean by spot meter spot?

Sorry, I was under the impression that a red overlay would appear in the centre of the viewfinder when the spot button was pushed. Not sure where I got that idea.

 

[Zuiko-logist]

The spot is roughly the rangefinder area in the viewfinder. The link to the instructions manual above should be helpful. Also worth checking - does the meter readout work in manual mode, is the battery fresh, is the ISO set correctly, is the battery chamber clean.

 

[Bakelite]

The spot is roughly the rangefinder area in the viewfinder. The link to the instructions manual above should be helpful. Also worth checking - does the meter readout work in manual mode, is the battery fresh, is the ISO set correctly, is the battery chamber clean.

The EV meter seems to work great. I’ve checked it with a light meter phone app and it’s very close if not spot on. If I put my finger over the exposure window the needle moves all the way down. It’s currently got a 1.5v battery that came with the camera when I bought it 2 days ago. Just going through my first roll of film and I wrote down the settings after every shot. And took some duplicate shots, one on full auto and one full manual.
I was just a bit worried as I was buying the camera I covered the exposure window with my finger and didn’t notice much difference in the time the shutter opened from when my finger was off the window, much like what the OP was saying. Maybe my perception or I neglected to put it in auto mode (I thought I had). Hope to get the negatives back soon!

 

[Zuiko-logist]

I hope it runs out well.