OM-G and OM-4 meters over expose - Help

[LeicaFoReVer]

Hi guys,
I am recently into the OM era and I was surprised by this. I was out using the OM-G but realized that f2 wasnt enough for a sunny day under a shaded space (like an partly closed bazaar outside). So I got suspected and measured in the sunny light and it showed 1/60 at f16 for iso125. It gave one stop over exposed. I went back home and measured on OM-G directed somewhere out in my balcony and put the same lens on OM-4 and measured and they both gave 1/125 measurement for the same f-stop. I then took my Contax RX and measured it (with 50 f1.4 lens but at the same f-stop as olympus lens) and it gave 1/180. Leica M6 gave something close to 1/250 (wasnt clear red dot but red dot with arrow. So probably the real measurement is 1/180 as Contax RX says). So what is wrong with the OMs? I used LR44 on OM-G and SR44 on OM-4 but when I put SR44 on OM-G or put LR44 on OM-4, it didnt change the readings. So why both of OMs are over exposing? I now compensate it by giving iso240 to iso125 film.

 

[xayraa33]

Check the voltage reading on the batteries with a proper volt meter.

I had that problem back in the 1980s on my OM 1 meter and the mercury 1.35 v battery was reading 1.1 volts and giving me false light meter readings.

Funny thing was that these were newly bought batteries, but they were old stock or defective or discharged while in storage.

 

[retinax]

Do check the batteries. It might be due to different metering patterns, did you meter a uniformly lit scene? You can try to learn the metering behavior by metering a dark subject in front of bright background and the other way around, observing when and where the meter reading changes.

But a half stop difference is nothing to worry about if you shoot negative film. That's less than the differences that result from different methods that different people consider correct metering. Just try to give more exposure when in doubt (with negative film).

 

[Shac]

If they over-expose consistently by the same amount - just adjust the ISO setting as you did. This sort of inconsistency in film cameras isn't unusual in my experience

 

[p.giannakis]

The OM-G uses two different metering cells, one for providing the meter reading in the viewfinder and one that controls exposure in real time. I am pretty sure that the shots will come out fine, the real-time cells are very reliable, the readings seen in the viewfinder is just an indication, it doesn't effect exposure in Auto.

 

[jajong]

I presume you used the same lens on both OMs when comparing. Maybe it is the lens; try another one and see what happens.
Cheers,
Jan

 

[LeicaFoReVer]

Yes I used the same lens on OMs. I now measured the voltage. LR44 measures 1.47v and SR44 measures 1.6v. How can I be sure that the difference is consistent? It felt like as it gets darker the difference is bigger. So adjusting iso might not be a long term solution. I need to make a more thorough test it seems. I am also positive that the negatives might come just ok but I am just bugged by it. It doesnt seem like it is batteries then?

Maybe as Pan says it is just wrong info on the viewfinder but the real shutter was correctly chosen during exposure?
P.s. My test scene wasnt uniformly lit but both OMs gave the same overexposing shutter reading.

 

[xayraa33]

Yes I used the same lens on OMs. I now measured the voltage. LR44 measures 1.47v and SR44 measures 1.6v. How can I be sure that the difference is consistent? It felt like as it gets darker the difference is bigger. So adjusting iso might not be a long term solution. I need to make a more thorough test it seems. I am also positive that the negatives might come just ok but I am just bugged by it. It doesnt seem like it is batteries then?

Maybe as Pan says it is just wrong info on the viewfinder but the real shutter was correctly chosen during exposure?
P.s. My test scene wasnt uniformly lit but both OMs gave the same overexposing shutter reading.

The LR44 battery looks to be at low voltage, I would replace it with a fresh battery of good quality just to see if it will ameliorate the problem.

Remember, that many batteries advertised as silver oxide are nothing more that alkaline batteries and don't have the long term current capacity when a load is applied, although they might read at the right voltage when tested with a VOM.

 

[ptpdprinter]

A variance of one stop among four cameras doesn't sound out of the ordinary or something to be concerned about. The thing is, you don't know which, if any of them, is correct.

 

[Fraser]

I think you would be hard pushed to find two cameras that meter the same, 1/125 v 1/180 not really anything to be worried about. I have two om4 and a ti and I can guarantee there is probably some difference in them. Also something to note (not sure if the same for omg) but the om4 meters differently when on manual and aperture priority etc as when using any of the program modes the camera can change the exposure even when the shutter is open.

 

[David Hughes]

And the age of the cameras suggests the meters might need adjustment. Or certainly the OM-4's as that's one of the best cameras made and worth spending a little cash on; I'd do the same for the OM-G (or OM20) but you may think otherwise...


Regards, David

 

[Chriscrawfordphoto]

Battery voltage doesn't affect meter accuracy on Olympus cameras, except the OM-1. The rest have voltage regulated circuits. The small difference you're seeing between your Olympuses and your Contax and Leica are probably just differences in the calibration level chosen by each manufacturer.