Olympus "Professional" build quality

[coldfire22x]

I'm trying really hard to continue loving the OM-D system and the "professional" lenses, but having a really hard time ..

1. The mode dial on my E-M1 fell off ... had to glue it back on
2. One of the eyelets for the strap fell off ... THANK GOD it happened when I wasn't carrying the camera around with something like the 12-40 PRO or 40-150 PRO attached. Sent it back in for a warranty repair to have this addressed
3. The hot shoe cover design is just terrible .. I've been lucky a hundred times to find it but on the 101st time, I lost it for good
4. The lens cap for my 12-40 PRO disintegrated. Had to replace it (apparently this is non warranty)
5. The lens hood for my 12-40 PRO is also coming apart ... going to have to glue that one back together (going to assume this is also non warranty)
6. The lens cap for my 17mm f/1.8 ALSO fell apart ... going to have to glue that one back together (again with the non warranty)
7. I've sent my HLD-7 battery grip in for warranty repair TWICE and both times it was returned to me in a non-working condition. Two months later, they're finally sending me a replacement. Dealing with their repair and technical support has been a nightmare ... I'm convinced they don't even understand how to use their own products

Sorry, I just needed to vent a bit and was wondering if I'm not alone. Anyone else running into any (or all) of the aforementioned problems?

Maybe on a ~$1,000 camera body they could charge an extra dollar fifty and put a couple extra dabs of glue on the mode dial and use some loctite on the strap eyelets. I don't even want to know what would have happened with my warranty claim if I smashed my 40-150 PRO because somebody didn't screw the eyelets on tight enough at the Olympus factory ...

 

[robonrome]

I'm trying really hard to continue loving the OM-D system and the "professional" lenses, but having a really hard time ..

1. The mode dial on my E-M1 fell off ... had to glue it back on
2. One of the eyelets for the strap fell off ... THANK GOD it happened when I wasn't carrying the camera around with something like the 12-40 PRO or 40-150 PRO attached. Sent it back in for a warranty repair to have this addressed
3. The hot shoe cover design is just terrible .. I've been lucky a hundred times to find it but on the 101st time, I lost it for good
4. The lens cap for my 12-40 PRO disintegrated. Had to replace it (apparently this is non warranty)
5. The lens hood for my 12-40 PRO is also coming apart ... going to have to glue that one back together (going to assume this is also non warranty)
6. The lens cap for my 17mm f/1.8 ALSO fell apart ... going to have to glue that one back together (again with the non warranty)
7. I've sent my HLD-7 battery grip in for warranty repair TWICE and both times it was returned to me in a non-working condition. Two months later, they're finally sending me a replacement. Dealing with their repair and technical support has been a nightmare ... I'm convinced they don't even understand how to use their own products

Sorry, I just needed to vent a bit and was wondering if I'm not alone. Anyone else running into any (or all) of the aforementioned problems?

Maybe on a ~$1,000 camera body they could charge an extra dollar fifty and put a couple extra dabs of glue on the mode dial and use some loctite on the strap eyelets. I don't even want to know what would have happened with my warranty claim if I smashed my 40-150 PRO because somebody didn't screw the eyelets on tight enough at the Olympus factory ...

sounds like a run of bad luck to me. or I've had a run of good luck as I've never had a single issue of any sort with multiple olympus bodies. the Olympus EM series build quality is fantastic...believe me I've forked out four times the price for the A7rii and while the camera is great it feels like a plastic toy in comparison to the EM1 (which I've just rebought because I missed it)

--
rob
http://hardlightimages.zenfolio.com

 

[Jim Salvas]

Olympus justifies its pro designations and marketing based on metal alloy construction and weatherproofing, but if you've owned a real pro-level DSLR, you know the difference. I've had issues with my E-M1, as well. However, it cost me about a quarter as much as a pro DSLR.

 

[johnvanr]

I'm trying really hard to continue loving the OM-D system and the "professional" lenses, but having a really hard time ..

1. The mode dial on my E-M1 fell off ... had to glue it back on
2. One of the eyelets for the strap fell off ... THANK GOD it happened when I wasn't carrying the camera around with something like the 12-40 PRO or 40-150 PRO attached. Sent it back in for a warranty repair to have this addressed
3. The hot shoe cover design is just terrible .. I've been lucky a hundred times to find it but on the 101st time, I lost it for good
4. The lens cap for my 12-40 PRO disintegrated. Had to replace it (apparently this is non warranty)
5. The lens hood for my 12-40 PRO is also coming apart ... going to have to glue that one back together (going to assume this is also non warranty)
6. The lens cap for my 17mm f/1.8 ALSO fell apart ... going to have to glue that one back together (again with the non warranty)
7. I've sent my HLD-7 battery grip in for warranty repair TWICE and both times it was returned to me in a non-working condition. Two months later, they're finally sending me a replacement. Dealing with their repair and technical support has been a nightmare ... I'm convinced they don't even understand how to use their own products

Sorry, I just needed to vent a bit and was wondering if I'm not alone. Anyone else running into any (or all) of the aforementioned problems?

Maybe on a ~$1,000 camera body they could charge an extra dollar fifty and put a couple extra dabs of glue on the mode dial and use some loctite on the strap eyelets. I don't even want to know what would have happened with my warranty claim if I smashed my 40-150 PRO because somebody didn't screw the eyelets on tight enough at the Olympus factory ...

Haven't had your bad luck, but I do agree that the hot shoe covers are a joke. I also lost a few of the X sync covers (I have two E-M1s). Nowadays, my cameras have gaffer tape over them to keep the hot shoe and the X sync covers in place. Shouldn't be necessary on a top model (or any model, for that matter).

 

[OzRay]

Why does anyone want to keep their hotshoe covers on? I have a plastic box full of them, as it's the first thing I remove and never use again; they serve no purpose whatsoever, other than decorative.

 

[robonrome]

Why does anyone want to keep their hotshoe covers on? I have a plastic box full of them, as it's the first thing I remove and never use again; they serve no purpose whatsoever, other than decorative.

 

[OzRay]

Why does anyone want to keep their hotshoe covers on? I have a plastic box full of them, as it's the first thing I remove and never use again; they serve no purpose whatsoever, other than decorative.

 

[coldfire22x]

well, i hear they help the resale value by as much as 100%

 

[Colin Smith1]

I'm trying really hard to continue loving the OM-D system and the "professional" lenses, but having a really hard time ..

1. The mode dial on my E-M1 fell off ... had to glue it back on
2. One of the eyelets for the strap fell off ... THANK GOD it happened when I wasn't carrying the camera around with something like the 12-40 PRO or 40-150 PRO attached. Sent it back in for a warranty repair to have this addressed
3. The hot shoe cover design is just terrible .. I've been lucky a hundred times to find it but on the 101st time, I lost it for good
4. The lens cap for my 12-40 PRO disintegrated. Had to replace it (apparently this is non warranty)
5. The lens hood for my 12-40 PRO is also coming apart ... going to have to glue that one back together (going to assume this is also non warranty)
6. The lens cap for my 17mm f/1.8 ALSO fell apart ... going to have to glue that one back together (again with the non warranty)
7. I've sent my HLD-7 battery grip in for warranty repair TWICE and both times it was returned to me in a non-working condition. Two months later, they're finally sending me a replacement. Dealing with their repair and technical support has been a nightmare ... I'm convinced they don't even understand how to use their own products

Sorry, I just needed to vent a bit and was wondering if I'm not alone. Anyone else running into any (or all) of the aforementioned problems?

Maybe on a ~$1,000 camera body they could charge an extra dollar fifty and put a couple extra dabs of glue on the mode dial and use some loctite on the strap eyelets. I don't even want to know what would have happened with my warranty claim if I smashed my 40-150 PRO because somebody didn't screw the eyelets on tight enough at the Olympus factory ...

Hmmm??? New member with six posts?? Assuming you are not a troll, I have never experienced any of those problems with my two E-M1's or Pro lenses, except number 3, yes the hotshot cover is easy to lose. I use my gear in all sorts of weather and all over the world with no problems at all!

 

[LightCatcherLT]

Sorry mate, we do not shoot in Sulfuric acid rains

On a serious note - seems like your usage habits are exceptional. Maybe you overestimate what this equipment can withstand. It's solidly built, but still like all glass and precision equipment - somehow delicate, if you don't care, you have the results.

I can only agree on [3] in your list, as I lost it too, but it's hard for me to imagine what someone has to do to have "mode dial E-M1 fell off" or "cap disintegrated".

I've been in many busy and very dirty places, traveled across India on motorcycle twice and my E-M1 never "disintegrated", even when I landed on top of it during accident.

 

[coldfire22x]

Last I checked I wasn't a troll .. just a frustrated Oly MFT convert who is trying to remain an Oly MFT convert

 

[coldfire22x]

Sorry mate, we do not shoot in Sulfuric acid rains

On a serious note - seems like your usage habits are exceptional. Maybe you overestimate what this equipment can withstand. It's solidly built, but still like all glass and precision equipment - somehow delicate, if you don't care, you have the results.

I can only agree on [3] in your list, as I lost it too, but it's hard for me to imagine what someone has to do to have "mode dial E-M1 fell off" or "cap disintegrated".

I've been in many busy and very dirty places, traveled across India on motorcycle twice and my E-M1 never "disintegrated", even when I landed on top of it during accident.

The weather sealing held up quite well in New Zealand's sulfuric acid rains

I probably treat my gear better than I would my first born .. that said, I probably shouldn't ever have children.

Re: #3. As OzRay mentioned, I probably shouldn't ***** about this one because in the end it's not particularly important .. was more of an aesthetic thing for me. I've since scoured the forums and others seem to have had issues with the glue on mode dials, lens caps, and hoods as well. Just irritated that my camera bag has to have a bottle of super glue in it now :/

 

[luisflorit]

I share your experience with respect to Olympus 43rds. Not really with my two bodies (E3 + E5), but with the lenses. So much that I wrote long time ago my 'review' in my home page:

http://luis.impa.br/myexperiencewitholy.html

And that is incomplete. My two Zuiko lenses (12-60 SWD and 50-200 SWD) are now broken. Specially my experience with the 12-60 was AWFUL. I have two Oly flashes, and none work properly.

However, my experience with Oly m43rds has been better (EM1+12-40+60), EXCEPT for the EM1 sunburn on its EVF that Olympus tried to ignore.

In my view, Olympus gear 'look' solid, but it is not. Panasonic sometimes looks more plasticky, but it is not (my 8 year old FZ50 still works smoothly).

L.

--
My gallery: http://luis.impa.br/photo

 

[dv312]

I currently own 5 bodies

Before this I've owned another half a dozen since the FT days

Never experienced these issues

Had bought a second hand E1 and the faux leather peeled off, and needed to be re-sealed

I blamed it on the previous owner

Cheers,

 

[eyespy]

I'd look to yourself and the way you handle the equipment if I were you.

 

[dulynoted]

To be fair Ive seen every one of these complained about before. Its possible he just has very bad luck and suffers from all of them.

 

[RedDog Steve]

Olympus justifies its pro designations and marketing based on metal alloy construction and weatherproofing, but if you've owned a real pro-level DSLR, you know the difference. I've had issues with my E-M1, as well. However, it cost me about a quarter as much as a pro DSLR.

--

Cost shouldn't be an issue if you are referring to your product as "PRO", especially in all CAPS.

PRO (as in professional) level equipment implies an ability to withstand daily use in a commercial environment without breaking down in normal use.

Granted, cameras are by nature delicate instruments and should be handled with care.
But some of the consistent failures such as the strap lugs falling off is intolerable for a "PRO" piece of equipment.
It's probably a 15cent part that's costing a bundle in warranty claims and who knows how much in bad word-of-mouth.

I have 2 non-PRO Olympus cameras, one that I'm hesitant to use much because of dials falling off or not working, another that I went around in circles with OlympusAmerica over the lens mount issue.
I ended up modifying the forth copy myself in order for it to be usable.
But these aren't professional models so I have no right to expect them to be durable or reliable. ;-)

 

[TheEye]

Why does anyone want to keep their hotshoe covers on? I have a plastic box full of them, as it's the first thing I remove and never use again; they serve no purpose whatsoever, other than decorative.

 

[SpinOne]

I'm trying really hard to continue loving the OM-D system and the "professional" lenses, but having a really hard time ..

1. The lens cap for my 12-40 PRO disintegrated. Had to replace it (apparently this is non warranty)
2. The lens hood for my 12-40 PRO is also coming apart ... going to have to glue that one back together (going to assume this is also non warranty)
3. The lens cap for my 17mm f/1.8 ALSO fell apart ... going to have to glue that one back together (again with the non warranty)
4. I've sent my HLD-7 battery grip in for warranty repair TWICE and both times it was returned to me in a non-working condition. Two months later, they're finally sending me a replacement. Dealing with their repair and technical support has been a nightmare ... I'm convinced they don't even understand how to use their own products
5. The mode dial on my E-M1 fell off ... had to glue it back on

Haven't heard of any of these happening to anyone. Maybe one person complained about lens caps here.

Gotta say, sounds to me like you beat the crap out of your cameras. Which is fine, that's what it's for. But when that's how you treat your gear, caps and hoods and covers become consumables.

1. One of the eyelets for the strap fell off ...

Some people have had this issue. I haven't.

1. The hot shoe cover design is just terrible .. I've been lucky a hundred times to find it but on the 101st time, I lost it for good

It is fussy, but I have trouble thinking of any good hotshoe cover design.

I agree it'd be great if they could ramp up the quality a bit. But realistically, $1000 is not expensive at all for a pro body.

$2000 or $3000 is far more typical for real pro body. You can't even get a 35mm sensor body new for less than $1400, and that's a midrange enthusiast model (Canon 6D). Fuji X-T1 is $1700 new. Most of the APS-C DSLR bodies in the $1000 price range are midrange enthusiast cameras.

 

[zuikowesty]

Olympus justifies its pro designations and marketing based on metal alloy construction and weatherproofing, but if you've owned a real pro-level DSLR, you know the difference. I've had issues with my E-M1, as well. However, it cost me about a quarter as much as a pro DSLR.

--

Cost shouldn't be an issue if you are referring to your product as "PRO", especially in all CAPS.

PRO (as in professional) level equipment implies an ability to withstand daily use in a commercial environment without breaking down in normal use.

Granted, cameras are by nature delicate instruments and should be handled with care.
But some of the consistent failures such as the strap lugs falling off is intolerable for a "PRO" piece of equipment.
It's probably a 15cent part that's costing a bundle in warranty claims and who knows how much in bad word-of-mouth.

I have 2 non-PRO Olympus cameras, one that I'm hesitant to use much because of dials falling off or not working, another that I went around in circles with OlympusAmerica over the lens mount issue.
I ended up modifying the forth copy myself in order for it to be usable.
But these aren't professional models so I have no right to expect them to be durable or reliable. ;-)