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E-M1 MARK II SD card door

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Donmonte

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Hello everyone,

I noticed that the SD card door on my E-M1 MARK II closes well and doesn't open easily, but there's a very slight take (hollowness) if I push on the bottom axis where the metal is when fully closed.

Doesn't inspire a lot of confidence down the line tbh... are they all built like that ?
 
Donmonte said:
Hello everyone,

I noticed that the SD card door on my E-M1 MARK II closes well and doesn't open easily, but there's a very slight take (hollowness) if I push on the bottom axis where the metal is when fully closed.

Doesn't inspire a lot of confidence down the line tbh... are they all built like that ?
Click to expand...
This is a bad design from Oly. Door should have been made a bit more solid and less "plasticky" feeling.
 
glassoholic said:
Donmonte said:
Hello everyone,

I noticed that the SD card door on my E-M1 MARK II closes well and doesn't open easily, but there's a very slight take (hollowness) if I push on the bottom axis where the metal is when fully closed.

Doesn't inspire a lot of confidence down the line tbh... are they all built like that ?
Click to expand...
This is a bad design from Oly. Door should have been made a bit more solid and less "plasticky" feeling.
Click to expand...
 
Donmonte said:
glassoholic said:
Donmonte said:
Hello everyone,

I noticed that the SD card door on my E-M1 MARK II closes well and doesn't open easily, but there's a very slight take (hollowness) if I push on the bottom axis where the metal is when fully closed.

Doesn't inspire a lot of confidence down the line tbh... are they all built like that ?
Click to expand...
This is a bad design from Oly. Door should have been made a bit more solid and less "plasticky" feeling.
Click to expand...
Click to expand...
 
Donmonte said:
Hello everyone,

I noticed that the SD card door on my E-M1 MARK II closes well and doesn't open easily, but there's a very slight take (hollowness) if I push on the bottom axis where the metal is when fully closed.

Doesn't inspire a lot of confidence down the line tbh... are they all built like that ?
Click to expand...
The seal is around the SD cards. Nothing else is sealed under the door, since it is all part of the external case. If there was no "springiness" then there would be no dust/splash seal. It is designed that way.

The "plastic" door will not be a problem. It is basically the same as the E-M1.1 and mine has well over 200,000 shutter activations, the door opened for every download of images and it still works like new.

While there have been complaints about the E-M1.1 lugs and rear dial, I really do not remember any complaining about SD card door failures.
 
Two common areas on the E-M1 II that seem to bother people and it's more noticeable on some are the SD card door and the LCD screen. Some note that the LCD screen isn't perfectly lined up and has a slight downward tilt to it. I noticed mine does to but it doesn't bother me. I read of someone going through 4 different bodies to find a screen that was less tilted than others.
 
drj3 said:
Donmonte said:
Hello everyone,

I noticed that the SD card door on my E-M1 MARK II closes well and doesn't open easily, but there's a very slight take (hollowness) if I push on the bottom axis where the metal is when fully closed.

Doesn't inspire a lot of confidence down the line tbh... are they all built like that ?
Click to expand...
The seal is around the SD cards. Nothing else is sealed under the door, since it is all part of the external case. If there was no "springiness" then there would be no dust/splash seal. It is designed that way.

The "plastic" door will not be a problem. It is basically the same as the E-M1.1 and mine has well over 200,000 shutter activations, the door opened for every download of images and it still works like new.

While there have been complaints about the E-M1.1 lugs and rear dial, I really do not remember any complaining about SD card door failures.
Click to expand...
 
Mine feels like a perfect fit. Tight, positive, no looseness.

Same with my E-M1 MkI after 21 months use.

Same with my E-30 after 8+ years of use.

All three are basically the same design.
 
Donmonte said:
drj3 said:
Donmonte said:
Hello everyone,

I noticed that the SD card door on my E-M1 MARK II closes well and doesn't open easily, but there's a very slight take (hollowness) if I push on the bottom axis where the metal is when fully closed.

Doesn't inspire a lot of confidence down the line tbh... are they all built like that ?
Click to expand...
The seal is around the SD cards. Nothing else is sealed under the door, since it is all part of the external case. If there was no "springiness" then there would be no dust/splash seal. It is designed that way.

The "plastic" door will not be a problem. It is basically the same as the E-M1.1 and mine has well over 200,000 shutter activations, the door opened for every download of images and it still works like new.

While there have been complaints about the E-M1.1 lugs and rear dial, I really do not remember any complaining about SD card door failures.
Click to expand...
Click to expand...
 
The door feels hollow and is a bit creaky on mine. That said, I'm not really worried about it. I assume the reason they use plastic is because it's flexible and will bounce back from any bending. Metal, on the other hand, is liable to permanently bend and thus cause the internal seal to no longer fit flush.

Even being the huge Olympus fanboy I am, though, I do wish it it felt more solid. It's probably the only part of this camera I don't love. ;-)
 
I don't mean pushing towards the camera, in that way once closed both my Mark 1 and 2 don't bulge.

What I mean is once closed on the Mark 2, if you press on the side of the door, where the the small lines and triangle are and toward both edges, there's a very slight "give" that wasn't present on the Mark 1, due to the door being much smaller.

I'm sure it's a non issue, everything else with the camera is working great...
 
radsaq said:
The door feels hollow and is a bit creaky on mine. That said, I'm not really worried about it. I assume the reason they use plastic is because it's flexible and will bounce back from any bending. Metal, on the other hand, is liable to permanently bend and thus cause the internal seal to no longer fit flush.

Even being the huge Olympus fanboy I am, though, I do wish it it felt more solid. It's probably the only part of this camera I don't love. ;-)
Click to expand...
 
See my sub-thread here https://www.dpreview.com/forums/post/58919692

This is what I posted there:
Messier Object said:
my observations . . .

1. My card door has loosened considerably with camera use. I can feel a slight movement in the door every time I grab the camera grip, or shift my grip slightly to operate the control wheels or buttons.

2. IMO the card door is poorly designed. Given that it contains only SD cards it's a large door. The GH5 is better designed with the SD slots overlapping rather than in tandem.

The downside of this is that the door extends up into the raised section of the grip - the portion under your thumb where a lot of your hand grip pressure is applied. Because the card door forms a part of this raised section of the grip the door is subject to constant pressure by your hand when gripping the camera, which is greater the heavier the attached lens. The tiny plastic latches that keep the door shut are therefore more likely to be stressed and subject to abbrasion and deform/wear slightly over time.

I have had the ZD300mm f/2.8 on the camera for a few weeks. it's a heavy lens requiring a good firm grip on the camera, so the problem for me is pronounced.

3. The weather seal for the SD ports is not around the edges of the door. A slight movement in the door should therefore not affect the weather sealing. The seal is actually close-in around the SD ports, and the width of the rubber seal insert is larger than the play in the card door, so while there will be movement in the closed door the plastic ridge on the door should remain in contact with the recessed rubber around the SD ports.

4. At this time I find the slight door movement annoying as it gives the impression of a flimsy cheap plastic component not comensurate with a quality product. My concern is that it will get worse and eventually the door latch will fail.

Peter
Click to expand...
 
Messier Object said:
See my sub-thread here https://www.dpreview.com/forums/post/58919692

This is what I posted there:
Messier Object said:
my observations . . .

1. My card door has loosened considerably with camera use. I can feel a slight movement in the door every time I grab the camera grip, or shift my grip slightly to operate the control wheels or buttons.

2. IMO the card door is poorly designed. Given that it contains only SD cards it's a large door. The GH5 is better designed with the SD slots overlapping rather than in tandem.

The downside of this is that the door extends up into the raised section of the grip - the portion under your thumb where a lot of your hand grip pressure is applied. Because the card door forms a part of this raised section of the grip the door is subject to constant pressure by your hand when gripping the camera, which is greater the heavier the attached lens. The tiny plastic latches that keep the door shut are therefore more likely to be stressed and subject to abbrasion and deform/wear slightly over time.

I have had the ZD300mm f/2.8 on the camera for a few weeks. it's a heavy lens requiring a good firm grip on the camera, so the problem for me is pronounced.

3. The weather seal for the SD ports is not around the edges of the door. A slight movement in the door should therefore not affect the weather sealing. The seal is actually close-in around the SD ports, and the width of the rubber seal insert is larger than the play in the card door, so while there will be movement in the closed door the plastic ridge on the door should remain in contact with the recessed rubber around the SD ports.

4. At this time I find the slight door movement annoying as it gives the impression of a flimsy cheap plastic component not comensurate with a quality product. My concern is that it will get worse and eventually the door latch will fail.

Peter
Click to expand...
Click to expand...
All valid points to be honest, I'm just surprised not one "official" review mentioned this before....
 
I'm on my second EM1-2 camera body. The first one the SDcard door was really loose and the inner part of it wasn't touching the seal. The second one is a lot better, still has some movement. But I'm sure it's fine. At least I can see the is a mark on the seal where the door is touching.

Now Thanks to JYPfoto, I'm now starring at my tilted LCD. :-)
 
G Webb said:
I'm on my second EM1-2 camera body. The first one the SDcard door was really loose and the inner part of it wasn't touching the seal. The second one is a lot better, still has some movement. But I'm sure it's fine. At least I can see the is a mark on the seal where the door is touching.

Now Thanks to JYPfoto, I'm now starring at my tilted LCD. :-)
Click to expand...
Haha, I also checked my LCD screen after reading his comments, thank goodness there's no issue on that front with my copy.

So it seems what I experienced with the SD card door is common with how they've been built. Can't say that I'm unhappy to see a few users report the same... for better or worse :)
 
Hi everyone,

I've had this "loose SD door" issue from the beginning (Dec 2016), trying to "live with it", though finding it very annoying for a "rock-solid" camera.
As I was considering to finally send my camera for repair to the Olympus center, I just tried a very simple idea to fix it: a tiny piece of gaffer tape at the bottom of the body/door.

And, against all expectations, the door went from loose to very firm in my hand. Problem solved (!!!). Can't imagine I didn't try that before. Below a few (ugly) pictures to show how small it is. The gaffer color I used is very discrete and almost not visible (even though quite visible on the cell phone photo taken with flash...).

Hope it will help a few people to feel better with their (amazing on all other aspects) camera.

Marc





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Marc,

If you read my ‘report’ at the top of this sub-thread you will see my original thoughts on this matter

Since then my card door has loosened a little further, but still IMO it’s an annoyance rather than a problem.

One thing to note is the there are 2 latching tabs on the door which fit into rectangular sockets on the body when the door is latched.

One concern I have with your solution it that it might place some upward pressure on the door as it latches forcing the tabs to contact the upper edge of their sockets

I just examined my camera under a magnifying light and I can see that the top socket on my camera is showing some wear on the outer rim where the tab is making contact as I close the latch. And that action will be putting stress on the tab - flexing it as the latch locks. I’ve had 2 early model Olympus DSLRs where the tabs eventually broke off and I had to replace the doors.

Having noted this wear pattern I’ll now be putting a bit more closing pressure on the door before I press it forward into the latched position.

Peter
 
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