Recessed Olympus Xa shutter buttons - and other general unlickeness

[Tijmendal]

Hi,

I own three XA's - one XA and two XA2's.
The first own I owned was an XA2, which worked 'okish' - the shutter button was recessed quite a bit and fired maybe 1/2 the time. I tried fixing it, but to no avail. Quite annoying, but I liked the small form-factor, so I bought an XA, which worked like a charm, but unfortunately got killed when a big rock rolled over it, crushed the rangefinder window and spoiled the innars of the camera with little shards of the rangefinder glass. Bummer.
Then I bought my third one, another XA2. Same problem with the first one I owned: recessed shutter button that didn't fire consistenly either and started working less-and-less. Now that I haven't used it for half a year I just picked it up and it doesn't fire at all: I've swapped out the batteries, the green light is burning, although the battery-check button isn't beeping. Now, that doesn't even matter that much, because I like the XA way better than the XA2 and was planning on picking one up anyway (hopefully that one will last a little longer...).

I always hear stories about how XA's (and its little brothers) fire so incredbily easily: with my own XA this was the case for sure, but both XA2's I have fired sporadically and had shutter buttons that were recessed alot and could barely be pressed. Is this normal or am I just unlucky?
I really want to buy anohter XA but don't feel like ending up with a dud again (with messed up shutter button). I can't find anything locally (except for one XA the seller asks 100€ for - way too much!), so I'll have to resort to the interwebs.
Has anyone else every encountered the problems I've encountered?
All input is appreciated.

Thanks!

 

[Rodchenko]

I'm having a shutter problem with my XA at the moment, and I wonder if it mightbe related. It fires fine first off, but then there's a long wait before it will fire again. Seems to me like it's something like a capacitor recharging, but I'm not sure. That sort of thing could lead a lot of people to conclude that the shutter is a bit intermittent.

 

[citizen99]

I had at various times the XA, XA2 and XA4, and the shutter buttons on all had a 'dead' feel making it difficult to tell when they were about to fire, and the contacts tended to need cleaning as they aged. A pity, because I liked them otherwise, you don't find mechanical cameras (which I prefer) with 28mm or 35mm lenses that small 🙁.
EDIT: Just seen when I finished first typing:-

... Seems to me like it's something like a capacitor recharging, but I'm not sure. That sort of thing could lead a lot of people to conclude that the shutter is a bit intermittent.

Interesting thought ...

 

[Tijmendal]

I had at various times the XA, XA2 and XA4, and the shutter buttons on all had a 'dead' feel making it difficult to tell when they were about to fire.

This is EXACTLY the problem I have/had. My XA had a very nice shutter button though.

 

[Noll]

searches on the Iinterwebs suggest that the shutter buttons get deformed over time. The fix is supposedly to take the shutter button off and sand the bottom flat again. I keep meaning to try this on my own xa2 but havent yet. Couldnt hurt though and I seem to recall the top cover wasnt hard to remove.

 

[f16sunshine]

Maybe this will help.

http://www.rangefinderforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=137072

Cheers and good luck!

 

[wojtek]

Oh, the best camera ever - bar none. I still love it so much. The shutter button fix is an easy one to do, so don't worry, just do it. Remove it, sandpaper-it and the contact, glue it back on a piece of double sided tape. Worked on my three or four XA's.

Good luck.

 

[oftheherd]

Maybe this will help.

http://www.rangefinderforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=137072

Cheers and good luck!

+1 on the small rod part that acts as a detent. I fixed one for a friend of mine by having a machine shop cut me a small rod of the right size, and sand it at the cut. Worked like a charm. They can be a little difficult to get off, but thankfully not impossible.

Also be careful in taking the clamshell door off. It really comes of easily, but requires some small force. Same going back on.

I would follow f/16sunshine's advice on using vinegar. If you sand, you run a slight risk of having a small piece of solder shorting out a connection. Not likely, but it would be almost impossible to locate.

 

[Ranchu]

That sanding thing is incorrect. f16's article is right, also there is the switch that senses when the clamshell is closed or open. It's on the top on the opposite side from the advance, I think this one is often the problem. I use 90% alcohol to clean...

 

[Tijmendal]

Tried fixing it as per the link, but to no avail. The shutter feels better, but it still doesn't fire. Can't figure out why it ain't working. Like I said, the battery check isn't beeping, but the green light is burning. I swapped out the batteries for new ones.

 

[btgc]

Just did the same trick and now it is much better than before (I mean I still need to direct fingertip top down on button as my fingers aren't so tiny as camera may require). Thanks for the tip!

 

[Muggins]

I've also just done the same job (whilst waiting for my supper to cook), and it's hugely improved the shutter button on my XA2 (I was stuffed if I broke anything, as it's a red one). Thanks for posting the tutorial!

Now I just need someone to post a fix for having fat fingers...

Adrian