Olympus OM-2, Locks up in Auto

ColSebastianMoran

( IRL Richard Karash )
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A friend's camera. Olympus OM-2 works perfectly in "Manual" but when I switch to "Auto" it locks up on every shutter release.

Unlock by switching to "Manual."

This doesn't seem to be the well-known OM-2 lock-up if fired without a battery. There are good batteries, SR44, as recommended, in the camera.

Googling, I can see others reporting this problem with no clear solution.

Any suggestions?
 
Mine is behaving exactly the same. Have not used it for some time due to this.

Did a general clean up with lighter fluid and was the same.

As far as I'm concerned, seems to be failing electronics so it is on its way to become a shelf queen :)

If anyone comes out with a solution it would be really appreciated. Its the first "pro" camera I got from my late father so it has a big sentimental value.


Regards

Marcelo
 
I had one that did the same ... consigned to the scrap bin after salvaging a few screws etc off it. They are very cheap to replace and my current example that cost $50 has never had an issue.
 
I had two of them too but I don't think it is something straightforward to solve- it will need servicing. People buy them on *bay so they must be repairable.
 
Actually they don't lock up - they expose for long exposure (2,3 minutes or something). You can measure for how long they stay open - you will see it is always the same time.
 
Thanks for comments. That it's a long exposure is a new insight.

Sounds like no easy solution. It's not worth an overhaul since working examples can be had cheaply.

The consensus of comments elsewhere is that it's a failed capacitor. Thanks again.
 
The OM-2 has two metering systems, one for manual mode and for the viewfinder display needle and one that reads off the shutter curtains. Maybe that second one is malfunctioning. Just a thought.



-Thomas
 
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