Olympus E-P5 dial malfunction and warranty questions

Hi --

Yes, the EP5 is small, beautiful, and capable, with buttons and dials that I found convenient even with my big hands.  I got terrific IQ.

But my camera was repaired twice by Olympus (in Canada) and the rear dial quickly failed after both repairs.  I have seen a total of four dial failures on my two EP5's.  I, too, had heard the rumors that the replacement top covers had a different "feel", so I had hope the first time I sent my camera in for repair.  Indeed, the replacement top cover appeared to be "different".  But it still failed quickly.

I have thought a lot about what might be causing this problem.  I am an electronic engineer and I have even designed circuits that involved continuous-rotation dials.  That said, the problem may not be circuit design at all.  It may be contact material wear or corrosion, or microdust getting into the switch mechanism.  I would like to be able to take the camera apart with a schematic diagram and source code in hand, but that ain't gonna happen...

Olympus has not admitted that there is a problem, despite my experience and that of Jim Pilcher.

Maybe there is something about our techniques that contributes to the rapid failures.  I protect my camera very well and keep it clean.  On the other hand, I have photographed a lot of flowers this year that were loaded with pollen.  I also occasionally use an air bulb to blow dust off the camera.  Maybe that contributes to the problem?

My second camera lasted almost three months before its first failure.  It was winter during the start of my ownership.  Later, we took a three week trip from Florida to Vancouver through the Panama Canal.  The camera was subjected to freezing temperatures, tropical heat and humidity, and salt air for weeks on end.  Lots of pollution and pollen.  Took around 10,000 pictures during that time. I used the dials constantly (I use a VF4).  No failure.

I am "fortunate" that the camera showed so many failures during the warranty period.  If my warranty had run out, I probably would have learned to use the camera without the dials.  (There's always the iAuto mode and the touch screen.)  But I would probably just leave the VF4 at home.  And be unhappy with the camera.