Anyone here use an Olympus OM-1 or OM-4?

**Sam_I_am** · 06-27-2020, 01:27 PM

The only Olympus I have any experience with is the OM10, and my daughter in law loves it.

Astro-Baby · 06-27-2020, 01:38 PM

Well thats a good thing. The cheapie Kodak you use will always get better results than the expensive Nikon you dont

johnha · 06-30-2020, 06:19 PM

I have an OM-1 MD bought on the spur of the moment some years ago. It was advertised as fully working but the metering doesn't work (I paid a pittance for it and the 50/1.8 so I'm not bothered). I've only been able to try it with an LR44 adapter with no joy. Apparently it's a common fault relating to a broken wire or solder joint. Mine has a 12xxxxx serial number suggesting it doesn't have the prism foam (which apparently stopped at 11xxxxx for the OM-1MD).

The body is in almost mint condition and looks very smart. I wear glasses and like the MX struggle to see the corners of the finder. The light seals may need attention, I must run some film through it soon.

Astro-Baby · 06-30-2020, 11:13 PM

Metering is usually an easy fix for a tech. I paid Miles Whitehead in the UK to get an OM1 running again and it was £50 to get the meter sorted. Bought an adapter so I could use 645 hearing aid batteries (which last about 3 months) and its all good to go. You can carry out a mod to use 1.5v SR44s but I prefer to keep cameras original.

I got two OM1s for free so £50 per camera to get them fully serviced and running wasnt much pain and they work beautifully now. If you go that route get the tech to change the light seals because the mirror bumpers are super fiddley to sort out.

johnha · 07-02-2020, 06:37 AM

Originally posted by Astro-Baby

Metering is usually an easy fix for a tech. I paid Miles Whitehead in the UK to get an OM1 running again and it was £50 to get the meter sorted. Bought an adapter so I could use 645 hearing aid batteries (which last about 3 months) and its all good to go. You can carry out a mod to use 1.5v SR44s but I prefer to keep cameras original.

I got two OM1s for free so £50 per camera to get them fully serviced and running wasnt much pain and they work beautifully now. If you go that route get the tech to change the light seals because the mirror bumpers are super fiddley to sort out.

Thanks for the info & recommendation, I need to see how much of the camera still works. I'd agree that using an adapter might be preferable to having it converted. I only have the 50/1.8 but I do have a Tamron ADii OM mount somewhere with several lenses.

LesDMess · 07-02-2020, 07:06 AM

I used to see this topic of mercury battery replacement more often. If I remember correctly the solution was to use a germanium diode to drop the voltage of today's silver oxide type batteries. The forward voltage of one of these diodes is 0.3V so that would bring the voltage down to what the mercury battery used to provide. It was simple enough to install but if you didn't want to do it, you could buy an MR-9 adapter which i believe incorporated this device.

I had Olympus Pent FT my serviced by John Hermanson and had him install the diode in it so I never had to worry about loosing the adapter. I believe he is Eric's counterpart in the Olympus world as he did a great job restoring it to like new condition.

Astro-Baby · 07-02-2020, 11:28 PM

If a technis doing the work you can just have the lightmeter recalibrated for 1.5v.

I recently had my Nikon F serviced and reclaibrated for 1.5v. Plenty of people told me the Nikon F thanks to its meter design was not fussy and would run on either 1.35 or 1.5 but I found that not to be the case.

The Canon FTb on the other hand doesnt care either way, metering is accurate with either 1.35 or 1.5v batteries which is nice. Still needs an adapator just to shim the battery a bit.

Oddest of the lot is a Yashica Auto Electro I have which used a humping great mercury cell bigger than an AA and closer in size to an 18650. A battery that big in that camera would have lasted geologic time scales.
Mine had an ancient mercury battery in it when I got it that judging by its markings was probably the one the camera came with.

johnha · 07-03-2020, 02:32 AM

Originally posted by Astro-Baby

Oddest of the lot is a Yashica Auto Electro I have which used a humping great mercury cell bigger than an AA and closer in size to an 18650. A battery that big in that camera would have lasted geologic time scales.
Mine had an ancient mercury battery in it when I got it that judging by its markings was probably the one the camera came with.

I've got one of those too, and it had the monster battery installed. I managed to find an adapter for it (which is mostly just to fill the space).

I also have a Spotmatic which is missing a battery cover (not quite, the battery had leaked, fusing it to the baseplate - a spare baseplate I acquired came without the cover). Prices for just the cover are silly, so I ordered an adapter that replaces the whole cover and which screws directly into the baseplate.

Astro-Baby · 07-03-2020, 11:43 AM

Does your Yashica work or does it have the dreaded ‘pad of death’ I have one to fix, its cosmetically great but it had the PoD problem and frankly am dreading fixing it as its a full on strip. Cant access it from the top sufficiently to do a good job so its take the thing to bits time.

johnha · 07-03-2020, 11:19 PM

Originally posted by Astro-Baby

Does your Yashica work or does it have the dreaded ‘pad of death’ I have one to fix, its cosmetically great but it had the PoD problem and frankly am dreading fixing it as its a full on strip. Cant access it from the top sufficiently to do a good job so its take the thing to bits time.

Have to admit I haven't tried the camera and this is the first I've heard of the problem. Google got me to: Mike Elek: Yashica Electro 35 'Pad of Death'

It's been sat untouched for a long time so I guess it's likely to be a problem. I will try to find it...

06-30-2020, 06:19 PM	#18
johnha Veteran Member Join Date: Apr 2012 Location: Lancashire, UK Photos: Albums Posts: 1,155	I have an OM-1 MD bought on the spur of the moment some years ago. It was advertised as fully working but the metering doesn't work (I paid a pittance for it and the 50/1.8 so I'm not bothered). I've only been able to try it with an LR44 adapter with no joy. Apparently it's a common fault relating to a broken wire or solder joint. Mine has a 12xxxxx serial number suggesting it doesn't have the prism foam (which apparently stopped at 11xxxxx for the OM-1MD). The body is in almost mint condition and looks very smart. I wear glasses and like the MX struggle to see the corners of the finder. The light seals may need attention, I must run some film through it soon. Last edited by johnha; 07-01-2020 at 04:36 AM. Reason: Tpyo

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06-27-2020, 01:27 PM	#16
Sam_I_am Site Supporter Join Date: Mar 2020 Location: Toledo, OR Posts: 851	The only Olympus I have any experience with is the OM10, and my daughter in law loves it.

06-27-2020, 01:38 PM	#17
Astro-Baby Veteran Member Join Date: Nov 2018 Location: Reigate, Surrey Posts: 764	Well thats a good thing. The cheapie Kodak you use will always get better results than the expensive Nikon you dont

06-30-2020, 11:13 PM	#19
Astro-Baby Veteran Member Join Date: Nov 2018 Location: Reigate, Surrey Posts: 764	Metering is usually an easy fix for a tech. I paid Miles Whitehead in the UK to get an OM1 running again and it was £50 to get the meter sorted. Bought an adapter so I could use 645 hearing aid batteries (which last about 3 months) and its all good to go. You can carry out a mod to use 1.5v SR44s but I prefer to keep cameras original. I got two OM1s for free so £50 per camera to get them fully serviced and running wasnt much pain and they work beautifully now. If you go that route get the tech to change the light seals because the mirror bumpers are super fiddley to sort out.

07-02-2020, 06:37 AM	#20
johnha Veteran Member Join Date: Apr 2012 Location: Lancashire, UK Photos: Albums Posts: 1,155	Originally posted by Astro-Baby Metering is usually an easy fix for a tech. I paid Miles Whitehead in the UK to get an OM1 running again and it was £50 to get the meter sorted. Bought an adapter so I could use 645 hearing aid batteries (which last about 3 months) and its all good to go. You can carry out a mod to use 1.5v SR44s but I prefer to keep cameras original. I got two OM1s for free so £50 per camera to get them fully serviced and running wasnt much pain and they work beautifully now. If you go that route get the tech to change the light seals because the mirror bumpers are super fiddley to sort out. Thanks for the info & recommendation, I need to see how much of the camera still works. I'd agree that using an adapter might be preferable to having it converted. I only have the 50/1.8 but I do have a Tamron ADii OM mount somewhere with several lenses.

07-02-2020, 07:06 AM	#21
LesDMess Pentaxian Join Date: May 2011 Location: Santa Cruz, CA Photos: Albums Posts: 3,235	I used to see this topic of mercury battery replacement more often. If I remember correctly the solution was to use a germanium diode to drop the voltage of today's silver oxide type batteries. The forward voltage of one of these diodes is 0.3V so that would bring the voltage down to what the mercury battery used to provide. It was simple enough to install but if you didn't want to do it, you could buy an MR-9 adapter which i believe incorporated this device. I had Olympus Pent FT my serviced by John Hermanson and had him install the diode in it so I never had to worry about loosing the adapter. I believe he is Eric's counterpart in the Olympus world as he did a great job restoring it to like new condition.

07-02-2020, 11:28 PM	#22
Astro-Baby Veteran Member Join Date: Nov 2018 Location: Reigate, Surrey Posts: 764	If a technis doing the work you can just have the lightmeter recalibrated for 1.5v. I recently had my Nikon F serviced and reclaibrated for 1.5v. Plenty of people told me the Nikon F thanks to its meter design was not fussy and would run on either 1.35 or 1.5 but I found that not to be the case. The Canon FTb on the other hand doesnt care either way, metering is accurate with either 1.35 or 1.5v batteries which is nice. Still needs an adapator just to shim the battery a bit. Oddest of the lot is a Yashica Auto Electro I have which used a humping great mercury cell bigger than an AA and closer in size to an 18650. A battery that big in that camera would have lasted geologic time scales. Mine had an ancient mercury battery in it when I got it that judging by its markings was probably the one the camera came with.

07-03-2020, 02:32 AM	#23
johnha Veteran Member Join Date: Apr 2012 Location: Lancashire, UK Photos: Albums Posts: 1,155	Originally posted by Astro-Baby Oddest of the lot is a Yashica Auto Electro I have which used a humping great mercury cell bigger than an AA and closer in size to an 18650. A battery that big in that camera would have lasted geologic time scales. Mine had an ancient mercury battery in it when I got it that judging by its markings was probably the one the camera came with. I've got one of those too, and it had the monster battery installed. I managed to find an adapter for it (which is mostly just to fill the space). I also have a Spotmatic which is missing a battery cover (not quite, the battery had leaked, fusing it to the baseplate - a spare baseplate I acquired came without the cover). Prices for just the cover are silly, so I ordered an adapter that replaces the whole cover and which screws directly into the baseplate.

07-03-2020, 11:43 AM	#24
Astro-Baby Veteran Member Join Date: Nov 2018 Location: Reigate, Surrey Posts: 764	Does your Yashica work or does it have the dreaded ‘pad of death’ I have one to fix, its cosmetically great but it had the PoD problem and frankly am dreading fixing it as its a full on strip. Cant access it from the top sufficiently to do a good job so its take the thing to bits time.

07-03-2020, 11:19 PM	#25
johnha Veteran Member Join Date: Apr 2012 Location: Lancashire, UK Photos: Albums Posts: 1,155	Originally posted by Astro-Baby Does your Yashica work or does it have the dreaded ‘pad of death’ I have one to fix, its cosmetically great but it had the PoD problem and frankly am dreading fixing it as its a full on strip. Cant access it from the top sufficiently to do a good job so its take the thing to bits time. Have to admit I haven't tried the camera and this is the first I've heard of the problem. Google got me to: Mike Elek: Yashica Electro 35 'Pad of Death' It's been sat untouched for a long time so I guess it's likely to be a problem. I will try to find it...