OM-1 rough film advance

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feenej

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I had a cla done on my OM-1 at Camtech. The shutter got noticibly quieter, and the meter works now, but the film advance is still a little rough. Must be worn out gears, huh?
 
It's not bad at all, just not smooth like I was expecting, so I thought maybe it was just heavily worn. I figure the next thing to break on it will be the film transport, but it could be in 5 or 10 years, or sooner I guess.
 
By following Paul's advice and contacting John directly, you will be talking to the person who did the cla (although I think he calls it an overhaul) on your camera, and he can give you definitive answers, rather than speculating here about the problem.
 
none of my om's were particularly smooth winding, my Nikons are much smoother and Leica M's are just the standard by which all others are judged!
 
Even after a CLA my OM-1 is not as smooth as my FM3A ... I don't think the film transport mechanism is a strong point of the OM design.
 
Agreed. The transport of my OM-1 is the most annoying part. Nikon, Canon, Pentax, even the old battleship Chinon CE-II, they all feel much better when advancing.
 
Oh, makes sense. Maybe they were a little rough brand new. I just got a 1962 Pextax SV - the thing is beat, but the film advance is pretty smooth. Sending it off for repair/cla today.

The film advance levers on my Minoltas feel like they're gonna fall off all the time. All have been worked on too. Makes them feel cheap.
 
Obviously the advance mechanism of an OM is effective even if it is a little rough and noisy ... I always get perfect frame spacing on both my OM-1 and OM-2.
 
The OM-1n seems a little smoother than the OM-1 MD.
If I recall correctly, they went to brass gears in the newer model.

The 1n just back from John H is nearly as smooth as my Canon P...
which I think was better than my M3.
 
Great going guys, now I'm winding the levers on all of my cameras to see which is the smoothest. I tried the OM1n, OM4Ti, Canon F1, Canon FTb, Nikon FM2, Leica M2 and M4, Yashica CC, and Konica C35.

Which has the smoothest wind? The cheapest one of the lot, the $5 C35, it's like winding a Swiss watch. Next best is the CC, followed by the Ms, then the Nikon, Canons, and last but not least, the OMs.

The OM winding is definitely not very refined, but, as Keith said, frame spacing is always perfect. (better than any of the 3 Leicas I have had).
 
Frontman said:
Great going guys, now I'm winding the levers on all of my cameras to see which is the smoothest. I tried the OM1n, OM4Ti, Canon F1, Canon FTb, Nikon FM2, Leica M2 and M4, Yashica CC, and Konica C35.

Which has the smoothest wind? The cheapest one of the lot, the $5 C35, it's like winding a Swiss watch. Next best is the CC, followed by the Ms, then the Nikon, Canons, and last but not least, the OMs.

The OM winding is definitely not very refined, but, as Keith said, frame spacing is always perfect. (better than any of the 3 Leicas I have had).
Click to expand...

Haha that's made me laugh! I wonder how many others are holding their cams up to their ears and listening very carefully while advancing the wind lever? hahaha
 
newspaperguy said:
The OM-1n seems a little smoother than the OM-1 MD.
If I recall correctly, they went to brass gears in the newer model.

The 1n just back from John H is nearly as smooth as my Canon P...
which I think was better than my M3.
Click to expand...

that makes sense to me as my OM1n was much nicer than my OM1md. That one felt like I was mixing sand and water in a bucket!
 
Both of my OM1's purchased a little over 6 months ago have been overhauled by John and have pretty smooth film advances, similar to my F3HP (which I no longer have)

But I also think they feel so good because they are more satisfying than handling a digital slr.

Best,
Paul
 
And let's not forget that to really compare the film transport mechanisms of all your cameras you should do it with film loaded, otherwise it's a little like sitting there revving your car in neautral with the park brake on and telling yourself ... 'it drives nicely!'

:p
 
"Rough" wind mechanisms in OM-1, 1n, 2, 2n cannot be adjusted or made smooth. The only way to a buttery smooth film advance is to shoot thousands of exposures. John
 
I hear the sound of a metal plate sliding on another metal plate at 15->30, 30->60, AND 60->125 as well as the reverse that I do not hear at other transitions on my OM-1n.
 
Between 30 and 60, the slow speed governor is disengaged. Some make the sound, some don't. Some make the gear noise as you track through ALL the slow speeds. It's another thing that isn't considered a defect. To make the sound go away, remove the slow speed governor. Then you have NO slow speeds. John
 
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