E-M5 lockup problems

I have now had several cases of lockup on my E-M5, sometimes resolved by power off/on, other times by removing the battery. Since I have never seen this in 5 years with my E-410, I am a bit worried.

There seems to be two ways to reproduce it:

1. Changing lens with power on. I've never worried about this before, but with my E-M5 it has sometimes caused a black screen required a power cycle to restore function.

2. Plugging in USB cable with power on. If the camera is not in sleep mode, the red SD card icon will appear, but it will not connect to the PC. A power cycle usually fixes this. If the camera is in sleep mode, pulling the battery is usually required.

Page 80 of the E-M5 manual does indicate that the camera is to be powered off when connecting the USB cable, but this is the first Olympus camera I have used that actually seems to require this. All others including the E-PM2 and E-410 will work fine with the camera on, and in all models with a push button power switch, connecting USB will turn the camera on if it is powered off.

Am I the only one to have this issue? Is everyone else doing it by the book, or do I have a flaky E-M5?

ryan2007 wrote:

zuikowesty wrote:

I have now had several cases of lockup on my E-M5, sometimes resolved by power off/on, other times by removing the battery. Since I have never seen this in 5 years with my E-410, I am a bit worried.

There seems to be two ways to reproduce it:

1. Changing lens with power on. I've never worried about this before, but with my E-M5 it has sometimes caused a black screen required a power cycle to restore function.

2. Plugging in USB cable with power on. If the camera is not in sleep mode, the red SD card icon will appear, but it will not connect to the PC. A power cycle usually fixes this. If the camera is in sleep mode, pulling the battery is usually required.

Page 80 of the E-M5 manual does indicate that the camera is to be powered off when connecting the USB cable, but this is the first Olympus camera I have used that actually seems to require this. All others including the E-PM2 and E-410 will work fine with the camera on, and in all models with a push button power switch, connecting USB will turn the camera on if it is powered off.

Am I the only one to have this issue? Is everyone else doing it by the book, or do I have a flaky E-M5?

I would say you are doing what you really not supposed to ever do. The power should always be off to the camera when attaching or removing a lens. Same for an external flash. Same for inserting or removing the SD card.

I acknowledged this in my post. The documentation does not list a requirement for the power to be off when adding/removing the flash for either the E-M5 or the E-PM2. It does have a caution to turn off the power when changing the SD card, but then also states that it should not be changed if the red write indicator is on, indicating that an accidental insertion/removal with power on should not be catastrophic unless the card is being written to. I note that E-M5 does not have the safety switch on the SD card door that is found on some other Olympus models (like the E-410) where opening the door unmounts the card automatically, so I have been careful to only change SD cards with power off. I also format the card every time I insert it after a download to LR, as a safeguard against filesystem corruption should the card have been removed with the power on in the past. The only card corruption I have had in many years is caused by the camera battery dying during a write operation.

This goes for a $5,000 Nikon D4 body the same as any camera not matter the manufacture.

Do you turn your home computer or laptop whatever it is OFF by pulling the plug out of the wall Every time? That is what you are doing here.

I am a I.T. professional with a background in electrical engineering, and am well aware of how these things work, which is why I am also aware that it is perfectly reasonable to expect USB devices to behave according to the USB standard, which specifies hot plug capability, known as "dynamic insertion and removal". In the case of removing the SD card or USB plug on a storage device, it is recommended that the device be instructed to unmount the filesystem first. In this case, power off is the only means of unmounting the filesystem.

In the case of device insertion, the USB hot plug requirement applies. To ignore this and specify a power off condition is lazy design, especially if the design is sufficiently lazy to allow the possibility of device failure or damage with insertion or removal in a powered on state. However, I have seen this before, mostly with cameras. Canon XL series video cameras are notorious for blowing firewire circuits if the cable is inserted with the power on. Firewire is another hot plug standard that is often poorly implemented in devices.

Next, you said you read the owners manual and it tells you not to do this but want to equate it to a different camera or experience. So if you want to put your hand in the fire and think you will not get burned this time, go for it.

I simply asked what experiences others have had.

No sarcasm is meant, but you run the risk of damaging your camera/lens/flash and it potentially voiding the manufactures warrantee since it explicitly states that in the "Owners Manual" in black and white..

I take responsibilities for my actions; I thought that was pretty clear in my post. I was simply pointing out inconsistencies in behaviour across several Olympus models, and then asking if others has similar experiences with the E-M5. As I have read about other lock-up issues on the E-M5, I wanted to find out if my camera might be affected by other lockout issues that I have not yet encountered.

User manual instruction:

Memory card insertion/removal:

• E-410: access lamp not lit, power off or on
• E-PM2: power off, access lamp not lit
• E-M5: power off, access lamp not lit

USB insertion/removal: power off recommended on all models.

I will avoid having the power on when inserting the USB cable (which I have been doing generally, but not always).

However, this simply makes me dislike the position and design of the power switch on the E-M5 even more! But having just come back in from a snowy morning with a sopping wet E-M5, I definitely like the weather sealing!

Had a similar problem with my new E-M1 as other owners have described.  Sent it in for repair.

E-M5s sometimes had problems w lockup, or not waking from sleep, w the early FW.  If you haven't done so, update to the latest FW.

If running current FW, it could well be a fault in the camera and require a trip to service.

Is it easily repeated or sporadic?  It ill be easier to get it fixed if it happens regularly, but if it happens less frequently, service might not find the problem.

recommended or not, I regularly hot swap lenses on my E-M5 w/o issue... this should not cause the camera to lock up.

Russ2626 wrote:

Had a similar problem with my new E-M1 as other owners have described. Sent it in for repair.

Interesting - I will search through the threads for more on this, as I think my lockups have occurred at other times as well. I will pay more attention when it happens next.

Thanks.

Art_P wrote:

E-M5s sometimes had problems w lockup, or not waking from sleep, w the early FW. If you haven't done so, update to the latest FW.

If running current FW, it could well be a fault in the camera and require a trip to service.

Is it easily repeated or sporadic? It ill be easier to get it fixed if it happens regularly, but if it happens less frequently, service might not find the problem.

recommended or not, I regularly hot swap lenses on my E-M5 w/o issue... this should not cause the camera to lock up.

It's the latest firmware from January. I have also had it not return from sleep, even though I have power off set to 1 hour. The lockups do seem to be sporadic, but I will be more vigilant next time it occurs.

Thanks.

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Art P
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zuikowesty wrote:

I have now had several cases of lockup on my E-M5, sometimes resolved by power off/on, other times by removing the battery. Since I have never seen this in 5 years with my E-410, I am a bit worried.

There seems to be two ways to reproduce it:

1. Changing lens with power on. I've never worried about this before, but with my E-M5 it has sometimes caused a black screen required a power cycle to restore function.

2. Plugging in USB cable with power on. If the camera is not in sleep mode, the red SD card icon will appear, but it will not connect to the PC. A power cycle usually fixes this. If the camera is in sleep mode, pulling the battery is usually required.

Page 80 of the E-M5 manual does indicate that the camera is to be powered off when connecting the USB cable, but this is the first Olympus camera I have used that actually seems to require this. All others including the E-PM2 and E-410 will work fine with the camera on, and in all models with a push button power switch, connecting USB will turn the camera on if it is powered off.

Am I the only one to have this issue? Is everyone else doing it by the book, or do I have a flaky E-M5?

Page 6 of your manual also cautions you to make sure the camera is off when attaching a lens. Sounds like as long as you don't do what you are told not to, your camera won't lock up...

gollywop wrote:

zuikowesty wrote:

ryan2007 wrote:
This goes for a $5,000 Nikon D4 body the same as any camera not matter the manufacture.

Do you turn your home computer or laptop whatever it is OFF by pulling the plug out of the wall Every time? That is what you are doing here.

I am a I.T. professional with a background in electrical engineering, and am well aware of how these things work, which is why I am also aware that it is perfectly reasonable to expect USB devices to behave according to the USB standard, which specifies hot plug capability, known as "dynamic insertion and removal".

Hum – one wonders. Hot swapping certainly means the computer knows about usb changes (additions and removals) and makes appropriate adjustments even while powered-on, but it certainly doesn't mean the usb device knows. If the device is deriving its power from the usb connection, and its unplugging means the device abruptly and awkwardly loses power, then problems can indeed occur.

I suspect you are an I.T. professional like many I've encountered (and often wish I hadn't). As to a background in electrical engineering, well, . . . indeed it appears to be in the background.

The E-M5 does not appear to draw power from the USB port, although I have not confirmed this with a USB inspector. I wish it did, to avoid the risk of losing battery power during a transfer, or even charge the battery, like so many other devices, including Olympus compacts.

I do not make comments about someone's profession, ethnicity, religious beliefs, or other preferences.

My electrical engineering courses may date back to the 80s, but the freely available USB specification will support my statements.

Nice kitties in your signature, btw.

grendak wrote:

zuikowesty wrote:

I have now had several cases of lockup on my E-M5, sometimes resolved by power off/on, other times by removing the battery. Since I have never seen this in 5 years with my E-410, I am a bit worried.

There seems to be two ways to reproduce it:

1. Changing lens with power on. I've never worried about this before, but with my E-M5 it has sometimes caused a black screen required a power cycle to restore function.

2. Plugging in USB cable with power on. If the camera is not in sleep mode, the red SD card icon will appear, but it will not connect to the PC. A power cycle usually fixes this. If the camera is in sleep mode, pulling the battery is usually required.

Page 80 of the E-M5 manual does indicate that the camera is to be powered off when connecting the USB cable, but this is the first Olympus camera I have used that actually seems to require this. All others including the E-PM2 and E-410 will work fine with the camera on, and in all models with a push button power switch, connecting USB will turn the camera on if it is powered off.

Am I the only one to have this issue? Is everyone else doing it by the book, or do I have a flaky E-M5?

Page 6 of your manual also cautions you to make sure the camera is off when attaching a lens. Sounds like as long as you don't do what you are told not to, your camera won't lock up...

You are correct, thanks. This is not stated in the E-410 manual, however, which makes me wonder if this is a difference in the FT vs MFT specification.

I will be more careful, and watch for further lockups not caused by having the camera on when adding/removing devices.

ryan2007 wrote:

Do whatever you want to do. It is your camera.

My reply was a bit (actually, a lot) over the top. It hit a nerve I guess, and I let recent stress affect my judgement.

Sorry.

For some reason, I didn't notice that recall on the website until last week, but my E-M5 is not within the serial # range. I will inspect for cracks just in case. It is good to know that the deep sleep issue I am seeing is possibly a known issue. Still waiting to hear back about my 12-50 problems. Maybe they will swap the kit...

Thanks for the info.