Olympus Mju II/Stylus Epic question

[Ong]

I'm just wondering if anyone has experienced this and knows how to solve this. But I just found one of these gems at a thrift store, focused, flash went off, shutter worked all in the store when I bought it.
But alas, when I tried to load film into to it when I returned home, that's when things got weird.
Loaded a roll of neopan into it, it wasn't being taken up and the back still was reading "E" on it, ok so I reduce the leader going into the spool and it takes up, but it's still reading "E" on the back.
I turn it off again and I hear the motor winding, taking the film in, but it's still reading "E", now it gets weird. Pushing the film rewind button now advances the film, and now the shutter button doesn't work. But the rear LCD now reads "0" and doesn't allow me to cycle through the flash options.
I've turned off the camera, cut out whatever film was stuck inside but now when you turn it on, the LCD still reads "0", shutter doesn't fire, lens doesn't focus and I can't cycle through flash options. Tried removing and replacing the batteries but it doesn't appear to fix it.

Would anyone have any ideas or experienced something similar to this to help?

 

[David Hughes]

Hi,

I'm sorry to hear about the problem as they are very pleasant cameras to own and use. Luckily, if they can be sorted out easily, then this is the right place for an answer. So I'll wish you luck. OTOH, keep an eye open for another one and next time it will probably be OK. It's difficult to fault them when they work well and the usual price of them makes them a bargain.

Regards, David

 

[Ronald_H]

Having used Mju-II's intensively for 10+ years I have to say... I'm stumped.

What happens if you remove the battery and put it back in after a few seconds?

 

[OlliL]

Try a new battery.
I remember something like this from one of mine, couple years ago.
Quite good cameras, so try to get it to work. 🙂

 

[valdas]

loading problem is familiar. mine is also a bit reluctant to take film. all I do - I gently push on the back door right after I close it and keep it for a couple of seconds. it helps a lot, 90% it takes film from the first time.

 

[David Hughes]

Hi,

I'll second the battery answer. In the shop the battery would be working after a long rest and so would appear OK. Then being used to load etc probably killed it, plus the flash test.

Regards, David

 

[MartinP]

You mention "batteries" plural. Shouldn't that just be one lithium CR123 ?? Possibly zoom models are different than the basic one like I have though.

Top guess would be try a fresh battery, also clean the terminals when you fit it of course. I just looked inside and there doesn't seem to be a lever that tells the camera the back door is closed, so that is probably built into the latch, but that could be another cause perhaps (and difficult/impossible to fix).

 

[mervynyan]

i have both mju ii (fixed) and mju iii (zoom) for sales on getdpi, that is different topic. anyhow, i have them for well over 5 years, they never fail me in taking any films. my advice is that try another roll of film - if the problem can be fixed, the camera is good. if not, find another camera, it is cheap anyway, no worry losing sleep, not worth repairing.

 

[Greyscale]

One thing to try, the latch/switch that Martin mentioned may be tarnished. Try rapidly manipulating the film door latch, up and down, while the film door is closed. This worked for me once in a similar situation.

 

[tomorrowstars]

Here's another Epic question. Does anyone know how much battery drain there is leaving the cover open for long periods between shots? Is it doing any work when the door is open if it's not half pressed?

 

[Ong]

Well, after removing the battery for a few days in the hopes that the gremlins would disappear to no avail, here's what I can discern from the problem now.

The camera itself would sometimes run through the whole process of winding the film as if a new roll was inserted at times, but it seems to be done randomly, in which sometimes taking the battery in and out and opening and closing the film door will cause it, sometimes it doesn't, and sometimes it would do that by just opening the lens cover, there's no real pattern to it.

However it won't work when film is inserted. Instead it would go through the cycle of a film advancing slightly, with the lens extending and retracting. (Not the best description) Pushing on the back cover seems to also do this making me thing it might be a problem with the pressure plate sensor (?)

Well, I don't think my description really helps, so here's a video which may show the problem better now. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BcbxXonm6J0

Sadly by the looks of it, unless someone here knows a solution this may be a writeoff (well, it wasn't a huge loss since I paid about $10 for it)

 

[Lobo]

I have 3 Mju-2's. The last one had some Problems when i tried to feed it with film. Thought it was broke. I put the film back in the spool and put it out again, only a few mm more than it sticks out normally. i closed the door and it worked.

 

[wblynch]

Well ONG never said if he bought a brand new battery and tried that. 90% it was a bad battery.

 

[Joao]

Mine spent several years forgotten in the bottom of a drawer. Now it shows some curved lightleaks at the corners of the frame and it needs to be closed and opened again for the film to advance to the next frame. I asked for a quote for repair in a UK Olympus repair company and the answer was " no repair is possible due to the lack of parts for that model". Moreover, it would have been quite expensive....

 

[David Hughes]

Hi,

Have you tried http://www.lutoncameras.co.uk/ ?

Regards, David