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E-M5 Weather Sealing Failed (HELP)

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sparklite

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I was out in Toronto today, in quite a storm although sheltered at the worst times, and my E-M5 got wet. The left side of the OLED/LCD screen has gone neon green when I turn it on now -- even when it appears entirely try on the exterior. The same is not true in the eye/digital viewfinder. No water entered anywhere visible (battery, card, cable compartments are all dry as expected) but I fear that water may have gotten into the small slot where the video ribbon cable enters either the body of the camera or the screen itself. (Owners: take a look -- flip out the screen and follow the ribbon cable to see what I am referring to.)

Has anyone else had the weather sealing fail?

I've had my E-3 out in much worse weather and never have I had a problem like this with that camera. The weather sealing was always reliable on that camera for me.

Comments, other stories and ideas welcome.

Should I send this in for service even if the screen returns to normal after 24 hours (if water in the camera dries up)?

Iain.
 
Well...you need to return it to get it properly sealed...even if the screen returns to normal.
 
What lens did you have mounted on it? I'm assuming you were using the 12-50? Also, did you have the covers on the flash, accessory port and the bottom one for the vertical grip contacts? If so, I'd be definitely getting it checked out by Olympus...
 
I was using the good ol' Four Thirds Zuko 14-54 f2.8-3.5 high grade with the weather sealed four thirds adapter. There wasn't a spot of water inside the lens or adaptor seals so that wasn't where the leak was. I still suspect it was getting in through the slot where the ribbon cable goes into the back of the camera.

I'm not looking forward to sending my new camera into Olympus already!
 
So the camera has been drying off for a number of hours now. I just inserted the battery and turned it on to see what was going on. Pointing the camera at the cloudy sky, and out of focus, to see if the screen was showing a smooth grey tone. It was not.

The left half (only) of the screen now has pink/red bars spaced one pixel apart running vertically from the top to the bottom of the screen. There is a hard and very visible change at the centre of the screen where switches to being perfectly normal on the right half. The neon green colour is no where to be seen now, just the red/pink bars.

The digital (eye) viewfinder is fine, no issues -- just the back panel.

I guess I'll be calling Olympus tomorrow and then sending it in for service.
 
I feel for the OP, but posts like this make me think that it is not a good idea to get any moisture at all on my shiny new OMD; that I should treat it just like I do my other cameras when it comes to water and rain. To wit, go to great pains not to get it the least bit wet.

From what I can gather, the advertising touts the weather-sealed aspects of the camera (and we have presumably paid extra for it), but nowhere is it officially documented exactly what the average user can do with respect to getting the camera and lens wet, and still be assured of warranty coverage. In other words, I haven't seen a link to an official Olympus document that tells the user that the camera should be able to withstand the occasional drizzle; it's OK to take it sailing and get a splash on it from time to time; etc. All I've seen are folks saying that if you do take the camera out in the rain and have water intrusion, then you are at risk of not having the warranty cover any resulting damage.

Are my impressions more or less correct, or is there some definitive Olympus document that I'm just not aware of?
--
Tom
 
Sorry to hear what's happened to your camera. I'm wondering if it is not a water issue, but something else, and that the rain was just an unfortunate coincidence. I would send it in for warranty repair and explain the situation. If they say that it was water damaged, then the camera was either faulty or not fit for purpose.

I have heard that Oly reps in Australia pour glasses of water over the OM-D, then turn it on and start shooting as a demo of the weatherproofing. The E3's weatherproofing borders on legendary. I bought the OM-D specifically for the weatherproofing, so if it is not up to scratch I will be very disappointed.
--
Archiver - Loving Every Image Captured Always
http://www.flickr.com/photos/archiver/
 
Joseph T Lewis III said:
I feel for the OP, but posts like this make me think that it is not a good idea to get any moisture at all on my shiny new OMD; that I should treat it just like I do my other cameras when it comes to water and rain. To wit, go to great pains not to get it the least bit wet.

From what I can gather, the advertising touts the weather-sealed aspects of the camera (and we have presumably paid extra for it), but nowhere is it officially documented exactly what the average user can do with respect to getting the camera and lens wet, and still be assured of warranty coverage. In other words, I haven't seen a link to an official Olympus document that tells the user that the camera should be able to withstand the occasional drizzle; it's OK to take it sailing and get a splash on it from time to time; etc. All I've seen are folks saying that if you do take the camera out in the rain and have water intrusion, then you are at risk of not having the warranty cover any resulting damage.

Are my impressions more or less correct, or is there some definitive Olympus document that I'm just not aware of?
Click to expand...
The E-M5 is specified to the same environmental resistance as the legendary E-3 and E-5 cameras, it says so in the manual and on the website. It is also specified exactly what that means and in this case it is clearly a faulty camera (faulty part really) and getting it to Olympus should result in a repair/replace.

So far I have heard of a handful of cases of faulty weathersealing on E-M5s, seeing as this camera have been sold out from it was released and is still hard to get at some locations, it is not really a lot and is to be expected, although really sad for the poor individuals that get these faulty cameras.
 
Aha

When I dug down into the specs, the manual did indeed show an entry for Splash Resistance ("Equivalent to IEC Standard publication 529 IPX1 (under OLYMPUS test conditions"). A post regarding that standard on the Olympus SLR Forum from back in 2004 states:
MadsR said:
I was looking on the internet to discover what this specification for the E-1 actually is. Bearing in mind previous posts giving enthusiastic support to this cameras wet weather resistance, it is actually the lowest of the waterproof specifications. To quote: it gives "Protection against drops of condensed water falling vertically".
Click to expand...
MadsR said:
Either (hopefully) the camera has been over-engineered, or some owners appear to have been very lucky. Tales of "running it under a tap" come to mind. For comparison the little Olympus mju is to IEC 529IPX4, which is "water splashed from any direction".
There is some information about it here under "2nd Digit"
Click to expand...
http://www.ganter-griff.com/kate/04701.htm

Based on the above, I think I'll still be careful and try to not intentionally get the camera wet (e.g., while I won't shrink from a light mist, I don't think I'll go out into a rainstorm to take photos).

--
Tom
 
I think Oly USA fixes issue like this for 4/3 DSLRs under warranty. Hopefully they do the same for the OMD (and hopefully in your country as well).
sparklite said:
So the camera has been drying off for a number of hours now. I just inserted the battery and turned it on to see what was going on. Pointing the camera at the cloudy sky, and out of focus, to see if the screen was showing a smooth grey tone. It was not.

The left half (only) of the screen now has pink/red bars spaced one pixel apart running vertically from the top to the bottom of the screen. There is a hard and very visible change at the centre of the screen where switches to being perfectly normal on the right half. The neon green colour is no where to be seen now, just the red/pink bars.

The digital (eye) viewfinder is fine, no issues -- just the back panel.

I guess I'll be calling Olympus tomorrow and then sending it in for service.
Click to expand...
--
Completely infatuated with the "OMG"
 
I'm afraid that anyone who trusts that consumer electronic devices like these cameras are water-resistant to any useful extent may be in for a nasty surprise. Just take a look at the SD card door on the OMD. Does that look like it would exclude much water?

I have been using a D700 for a few years, a camera that is reputedly designed for all-weather use. Many people claim to have had one drenched repeatedly. I keep mine dry or use a cheap-as Optech baggie. I am insured however the insurer tells me that a claim would reflect negatively on the future premium: not claiming for years, by contrast, has no impact on premium reduction. Insurance - another fraudsters' cartel, like banksters.

Personally I would hate to make a claim on Olympus' guarantee based on water damage.

As a wise man once noted, "a pessimist can be defined as a well-informed optimist ".
Roy
 
Joseph T Lewis III said:
Aha

When I dug down into the specs, the manual did indeed show an entry for Splash Resistance ("Equivalent to IEC Standard publication 529 IPX1 (under OLYMPUS test conditions"). A post regarding that standard on the Olympus SLR Forum from back in 2004 states:
Click to expand...
Thank you for the research, Joe.

I peeled off one of the OMD's rubber seals for first time to do the firmware update last week. No, I do not trust that, nor do I trust the rubber hatch for the grip's electrical connectors on the bottom to protect this camera in a bad rain.
 
baxters said:
I peeled off one of the OMD's rubber seals for first time to do the firmware update last week. No, I do not trust that, nor do I trust the rubber hatch for the grip's electrical connectors on the bottom to protect this camera in a bad rain.
Click to expand...
Yes, that rubber hatch disturbed me a bit as well. I wonder just how weatherproof the camera can be if the rubber hatch can be peeled back so easily.
--
Archiver - Loving Every Image Captured Always
http://www.flickr.com/photos/archiver/
 
if youre talking about that crasy downpour on sunday.. then, yea, i don think many cameras would be designed for that.
sparklite said:
I was out in Toronto today, in quite a storm although sheltered at the worst times, and my E-M5 got wet. The left side of the OLED/LCD screen has gone neon green when I turn it on now -- even when it appears entirely try on the exterior. The same is not true in the eye/digital viewfinder. No water entered anywhere visible (battery, card, cable compartments are all dry as expected) but I fear that water may have gotten into the small slot where the video ribbon cable enters either the body of the camera or the screen itself. (Owners: take a look -- flip out the screen and follow the ribbon cable to see what I am referring to.)

Has anyone else had the weather sealing fail?

I've had my E-3 out in much worse weather and never have I had a problem like this with that camera. The weather sealing was always reliable on that camera for me.

Comments, other stories and ideas welcome.

Should I send this in for service even if the screen returns to normal after 24 hours (if water in the camera dries up)?

Iain.
Click to expand...
 
Actually the SD slot seal worked brilliantly. Not a drop...got in.
 
Just to close this thread off, Oly fixed it free of charge in two business days. I was very impressed with the service. Camera is fully functional again, but I will keep it out of the rain.

Iain.
 
Very glad Olympus resolved the issue!

But my observations regarding EM-5 weather sealing vs E1 or E3 weather sealing is that the EM-5 is no where near as good. I wouldn't deliberately take the EM-5 anywhere I wouldn't take an unsealed camera. The hotshoe cover is hard plastic and offers no real seal. The accessory port cover offers no seal either. There is no seal on the SD card slot cover. the av port cover is hard plastic but does offer a minimal seal The few places rubber is used or gaskets are evident, they are ever so thin and minimally compressed. I just have no confidence in the level of sealing the EM-5 offers.

My E1 had rubber covers and gaskets evident everywhere. It got used in some pretty bad weather with no ill effects. My E3 sealing seemed less heavy duty but still evident throughout. I never had it out in bad weather so never really tested it. The EM-5 seems even less well sealed than the E3 and while I don't really trust it, it's great to hear Olympus will back at least some warranty claims.

--
Regards
Jim
 
Jim Boutilier said:
Very glad Olympus resolved the issue!

But my observations regarding EM-5 weather sealing vs E1 or E3 weather sealing is that the EM-5 is no where near as good. I wouldn't deliberately take the EM-5 anywhere I wouldn't take an unsealed camera. The hotshoe cover is hard plastic and offers no real seal.
Click to expand...
The hot shoe cover on the E-1 was hard plastic as well.

--
Completely infatuated with the "OMG"
 
Neither one of mine was. Both were rubberized on the bottom. But I got one E1 second hand and one refurb so maybe the covers they included were not OEM.
dgrogers said:
Jim Boutilier said:
Very glad Olympus resolved the issue!

But my observations regarding EM-5 weather sealing vs E1 or E3 weather sealing is that the EM-5 is no where near as good. I wouldn't deliberately take the EM-5 anywhere I wouldn't take an unsealed camera. The hotshoe cover is hard plastic and offers no real seal.
Click to expand...
The hot shoe cover on the E-1 was hard plastic as well.

--
Completely infatuated with the "OMG"
Click to expand...
--
Regards
Jim
 
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