OM-2 mirror stuck in "up" position

[Peter Klein]

I have an OM-2 that I rarely use now. It's the "MD" model that has contacts and a mechanical link for a motor drive. The camera had a complete CLA by John Hermanson 11 years ago.

Last night I took it out. Pressed the shutter. The mirror went up, but did not come down. I moved the shutter speed ring to "B," which is also the */Reset position. You have to press a little button to unlock the dial so it can move to the B/Reset posistion. Nothing happened.

I've changed to fresh batteries. The battery test LED lights bright red. I've moved the shutter dial to B/Reset several times with the main switch in the Manual, Auto and Off positions, and with the lens both mounted and not mounted. But the mirror is still up, and the camera won't wind. All of this is consistent with a low or dead battery, except that I've changed batteries.

Am I missing something in the reset procedure, or is this the Universe telling me that it's time to move on? I don't think I want to sink any money into this camera.

--Peter

 

[FrankS]

Sounds like you've done all the right things to get it free.
Could the mirror be sticking to the mirror bump foam?

 

[MRohlfing]

Both times my old OM-2n did like that I had to take it to Olympus for service. But needing service twice in 21 years is not so bad (I have used it from 1979 to 2000)

 

[Peter Klein]

I think I know what's happening now. The shutter is showng the black and white pixel metering pattern. Doesn't that mean that the shutter is not firing?

Is there a "catch" I can poke to see if the shutter will release? Or is this a repair job?

 

[italy74]

Peter
I had a similar issue with the FM3A which has an hybrid shutter and aperture priority. At a certain time the mirror remained up in A mode. The only way I solved it was passing from A mode (no idea if OM-2n has it) to any of the mechanical shutter times (es. 4000) the mirror resets to its position and the camera is ready to shoot again in M mode. You have also to change your battery at that time. If the camera has some emergency mechanical times (as 1/60s 1/125s for Leica M7 which always work) maybe you can set them and try if it works

 

[wpb]

Take the camera off the "B" setting, then push the On/Off switch forward past auto to check/reset.

I can't get my OM-2n to lock up the mirror while set to "B", it drops down as soon as the shutter speed ring is moved past one second with or without batteries.

If you can see the metering pattern then the shutter has not yet fired; the second curtain is completely black.

Is the shutter release firm or does it allow you to press it all the way down?

 

[Paolo Bonello]

Was reading something about this the other day. It was on this page. http://www.mir.com.my/rb/photography/hardwares/classics/olympusom1n2/om2/htmls/index.htm

Toward the bottom of the page.

 

[wojtek]

The same thing was happening to my OM2n some time ago. The repair quote, I am afraid, turned out to bring rather uneconomical costs - so I've sold the camera for parts. I hope that it will be different for you, but... Well. :/

 

[John Hermanson]

Pushing the 2N meter switch up to "reset" is the same mechanical action of turning the shutter speed dial to B (hold in "lock" button while doing this). This mechanically fires the shutter and resets the mirror. Usually it just indicates dead batteries, but in your case, sounds like the camera needs service. John