What's wrong with my new OM4ti, should I return it to seller?

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valdas

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I bought it on the auction site in used but working condition. Tested with the batteries without lens, all was fine. So I felt quite happy since it was quite a good deal.

Then I put on my 50mm f1.2, made a few shots with the lens wide open - still works fine. But when I changed the aperture value and tried to shoot... aperture was stuck. With a few more shots I realized that something does not allow/enable to close the aperture fully and it sticks even before the mirror is lifted. If I try to shoot with DOF preview button depressed (which closes the aperture down to the selected value) then it works fine, but as soon as shoot with the released DOF preview button - aperture sticks - I need to press down DOF preview button to make it unstick.

The seller has been very polite so far and agrees to take the camera back and refund me if I don't like it for some reason, but before sending it back I want to make sure I am not doing something stupid with the camera that causes such behavior.

By the way, I was shooting with the same lens on my OM1 and it works fine so I exclude it's a fault of the lens - it does not suffer from sticky aperture or anything.

Thanks for any comments/suggestions.
 
I had the same problem with my Nikon F4. The camera's aperture control arm/lever was damaged by using a lens that had oily aperture blades. I had my camera repaired.
 
sevo said:
Did you try another lens?
Click to expand...

I agree with this suggestion.

The auto aperture mechanism on many Zuiko lenses can become sluggish with age.

It is important to note that the lens may appear to function normally when the DOF button is pressed and released, but the aperture still may not be closing fast enough for proper operation.

(Temperature can also be a factor; the lens may function properly indoors, but become extremely sluggish outside in the cold.)

BTW, this condition happened to four of my OM lenses, two of which were subsequently repaired.

By comparing the repaired lenses with other lenses in my collection, it is obvious that the auto aperture mechanism on many of them are not functioning nominally.

The aperture blades must open and close with alacrity when the DOF button is pressed and released (with minimal force).

As to why your lens works on the OM-1, this camera has a very strong aperture activation mechanism, perhaps more so than the OM-4T.

Anyways, good luck and keep us updated!
 
gustavoAvila said:
I agree with this suggestion.

The auto aperture mechanism on many Zuiko lenses can become sluggish with age.

It is important to note that the lens may appear to function normally when the DOF button is pressed and released, but the aperture still may not be closing fast enough for proper operation.

(Temperature can also be a factor; the lens may function properly indoors, but become extremely sluggish outside in the cold.)

BTW, this condition happened to four of my OM lenses, two of which were subsequently repaired.

By comparing the repaired lenses with other lenses in my collection, it is obvious that the auto aperture mechanism on many of them are not functioning nominally.

The aperture blades must open and close with alacrity when the DOF button is pressed and released (with minimal force).

As to why your lens works on the OM-1, this camera has a very strong aperture activation mechanism, perhaps more so than the OM-4T.

Anyways, good luck and keep us updated!
Click to expand...


I will definitely test this camera with my other OM lenses. In any case this means one of two bad new - camera needs repair or lens needs repair (second is cheaper).
 
Stop down the lens, using the dof preview button on the side, and pull and release the aperture coupling lever. See if this action is sluggish, and compare it with another working lens. If its not the lens, you can check you camera if you are not afraid.

It is very easy to take off the lens mounting flange, just a few screws, and make sure you dont lose the plastic pin and spring that may come out as well. Under you will find the shutter speed ring, and a plastic aperture coupling ring connected to a string that tells the camera what the aperture is set to. Check to see if this rotating ring and string combo is taught, and moves freely but with some spring resistance. Sometimes this string may pop off its track, its easy to reset, but you must keep in mind the shutter speed gear set at the bottom. I forget but there is a way to see an indicator but you can play with it to see. You can always look through the finder and in manual mode to check too while replacing the shutter speed ring.
 
newt_on_swings said:
Stop down the lens, using the dof preview button on the side, and pull and release the aperture coupling lever. See if this action is sluggish, and compare it with another working lens. If its not the lens, you can check you camera if you are not afraid.

It is very easy to take off the lens mounting flange, just a few screws, and make sure you dont lose the plastic pin and spring that may come out as well. Under you will find the shutter speed ring, and a plastic aperture coupling ring connected to a string that tells the camera what the aperture is set to. Check to see if this rotating ring and string combo is taught, and moves freely but with some spring resistance. Sometimes this string may pop off its track, its easy to reset, but you must keep in mind the shutter speed gear set at the bottom. I forget but there is a way to see an indicator but you can play with it to see. You can always look through the finder and in manual mode to check too while replacing the shutter speed ring.
Click to expand...

Thanks for this valuable technical advise - I will first try another lens and then will see... It's little trouble to return the camera to the seller, but I paid 106 GBP, I doubt I will find another OM4ti in this price range... so I might be tempted to repair...
 
UPDATE:

those saying it could be the lens were 100% right. Although this 50mm f1.2 works fine on OM1, apparently the aperture coupling lever is too stiff for OM4 to close the aperture down. I tried other lenses on my "new old" camera and they work fine. So cased in closed, 50mm needs a CLA.
 
At That Price....

At That Price....

valdas said:
Thanks for this valuable technical advise - I will first try another lens and then will see... It's little trouble to return the camera to the seller, but I paid 106 GBP, I doubt I will find another OM4ti in this price range... so I might be tempted to repair...
Click to expand...

That's a fantastic price... And there is one thing I would do before deciding on a course of action.

OM4 and OM4Ti bodies were known for an issue with draining batteries over a short period of time. It's an issue that's been posted numerous times on forums on the internet... or a "known" issue. And, no, they don't all do it (for those who are chomping at the bit to correct me.)

The down side of the battery drain problem is that there are no longer any new circuit boards to repair the problem. In addition, most of the bodies that have failed for other reasons, have had the circuit boards removed as they became available.

I would definitely put a fresh set of batteries in the camera and track the usage and life of the batteries. If the camera does drain batteries, options are to remove the batteries when not in use.

If this has already been addressed/discussed... good.

If it appears the camera has another problem, I would still talk with potential service people about the battery drain. If they do not know about this issue, they would not qualify to fix my Olympus.

I tend to concur with those who have raised the potential for the lens aperture to be sluggish. This tends to occur with those "wondrous" claims of lenses that have not been used as a positive attribute. I have had such problems with Oly lenses in the past. I do not want to hear somebody tell me they bought the camera and lens in 1975, and it's been in the closet ever since. Those are the ones that give problems, due to old lubricant that has not been used for so many years.
 
kuzano said:
That's a fantastic price... And there is one thing I would do before deciding on a course of action.

OM4 and OM4Ti bodies were known for an issue with draining batteries over a short period of time. It's an issue that's been posted numerous times on forums on the internet... or a "known" issue. And, no, they don't all do it (for those who are chomping at the bit to correct me.)

The down side of the battery drain problem is that there are no longer any new circuit boards to repair the problem. In addition, most of the bodies that have failed for other reasons, have had the circuit boards removed as they became available.

I would definitely put a fresh set of batteries in the camera and track the usage and life of the batteries. If the camera does drain batteries, options are to remove the batteries when not in use.

If this has already been addressed/discussed... good.

If it appears the camera has another problem, I would still talk with potential service people about the battery drain. If they do not know about this issue, they would not qualify to fix my Olympus.

I tend to concur with those who have raised the potential for the lens aperture to be sluggish. This tends to occur with those "wondrous" claims of lenses that have not been used as a positive attribute. I have had such problems with Oly lenses in the past. I do not want to hear somebody tell me they bought the camera and lens in 1975, and it's been in the closet ever since. Those are the ones that give problems, due to old lubricant that has not been used for so many years.
Click to expand...


I have just sold (for spares/repairs) my OM2SP which was draining batteries like hell 🙁 so believe me I am familiar with this issue. I have read though that this was common in OM2SP and OM4, but OM4ti version has upgraded circuit. Anyway - working on it, testing battery longevity right now. But thanks for the tip anyway!
 
Glad to hear you have found out the cause of your problem.

Also as the previous two posters have stated, the battery drain does not affect the om4t as it has the upgraded circuit board. It also does not affect some OM4 models that had the circuit replaced. You can check by turning the auto/manual switch to battery check mode and beep/light should turn off after ~20 sec if it has new board installed.

I use a pair of om4ts which both have been made whole by cannibalizing a 3rd body for parts.
 
If the lens is causing the jam, it is because the lens diaphragm blades are (likely) fouled with oil. This causes the whole mechanism to move in slow motion. It may cause a jam as you Have posted. Many 50/1.2 I see have oily blades and the proper repair demands removing all the old focus grease (where the oil is separating from in the first place), replacing it with high temp grease, and the complete degreasing cleaning and rebuilding of the entire blade mechanism. Doing a halfway job and getting less money out of you practically guarantees the problem will return in a few months. John
 
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