OM 4 film advance lock up.

[pete63uk]

I was using my beloved OM 4 today and the film advance locked up about 3/4 of the way through the action. It absolutely won't budge any further. I'm not pressuring it too much as I don't want to make matters worse. I pressed the rewind button in and rewound the film with no problem but the rewind button has now also jammed in. I suspect the problem is related. Does anybody know if this is a simple to clear problem or would it be a repair job for a shop?
Thanks.

 

[rovnguy]

I do not like the OM-4... a lot! That said, check out the position of the mirror. Sometimes when the film advance locks up, you can check the motor drive gear on the bottom of the camera. There are times when the cover puts just enough pressure on the gear to jam up the works. Be gentle with it. You can also try moving your shutter speed selector to the speed just before "B", then depress the release on the lower left part of the camera body while selecting "B". I would be happy to trade my OM-4 for an OM-2.

 

[kg4nih]

Several quick things to check/try.

1. check/reset the self-timer
2. the mirror may be in the "up" position (check by looking thru the viewfinder). If so, check/replace the batteries and/or set the shutter speed dial to B. This should allow the mirror to drop back to the down position.

Good luck

 

[pete63uk]

I tried all of these suggestions, still no good. The camera has a good set of batteries in it. I tried the self timer, but it's more of an on/off thing rather than a timer on this camera. The mirror is normal so I'm thinking it might be a repair shop job. It could probably do with a C&A.

 

[ColinW]

Pete,

My OM-4 is my beloved too and I believe I can help you out. The same thing happened to me with an OM40 (OMPC) about a 18 months ago. I found a site online that said, basically, to put new batteries in, set in to B (bulb), take off the bottom cover and carefully push/prod the various gears and levers in there. There's a large lever near the middle that I pushed; it moved; the shutter fired and it's worked fine since. But only use a little pressure when prodding in there. I can't find the link just now but I'll keep looking.

If you don't want to try that, I recommend Keith Leedham:

http://www.klcamerarepairs.co.uk/

He repaired and serviced my OM-4 (faulty ISO mechanism) and returned it within a week for about £60. Highly recommended. Good luck.

 

[John Hermanson]

Your OM-4 is probably "overwound" and jammed, usually caused by greasy wind latches. Assembly has to be drilled out, degreased and rebuilt. Similar problem found in OM-2S, 3, 3Ti, 4T and Ti. John