Olympus E-P5 dial malfunction and warranty questions

My E-P5 dials are now beginning to malfunction. Most of the time they work, but they also skip a click or two from time to time.

Can anyone recommend a quick fix so i can bring the camera on my vacation next week?

Does anyone know at what point the global guarantee expires. I found this on their website: "Please kindly be informed that Worldwide warranty will not be provided with most of our Micro Four Thirds System and compact digital camera products shipped after September of 2014." Does anyone know whether that means shipped after September 1 or shipped after September 30?

I purchased mine on September 9, 2015 from Korea shipped to the USA, where I picked it up when over there. I am hoping to have it repaired here in Europe.

Anyone have any experience with this? Thanks in advance for any info/advice.

traveler_101 wrote:

My E-P5 dials are now beginning to malfunction. Most of the time they work, but they also skip a click or two from time to time.

Can anyone recommend a quick fix so i can bring the camera on my vacation next week?

I've found that the dial will skip less often if you apply some pressure in the direction of the camera as you use it (i.e. toward you for the front dial, away from you for the rear dial).

traveler_101 wrote:

My E-P5 dials are now beginning to malfunction. Most of the time they work, but they also skip a click or two from time to time.

Can anyone recommend a quick fix so i can bring the camera on my vacation next week?

Does anyone know at what point the global guarantee expires. I found this on their website: "Please kindly be informed that Worldwide warranty will not be provided with most of our Micro Four Thirds System and compact digital camera products shipped after September of 2014." Does anyone know whether that means shipped after September 1 or shipped after September 30?

I purchased mine on September 9, 2015 from Korea shipped to the USA, where I picked it up when over there. I am hoping to have it repaired here in Europe.

Just look at your warranty slip. It should tell you whether your particular body has a worldwide or a geographically restricted warranty. Which kind of warranty you got should depend on what slip was in the box rather than on the date of purchase.

Anyone have any experience with this? Thanks in advance for any info/advice.

James Pilcher wrote:

I had two repairs for this problem: One to fix the original faulty dial, the second to repair the faulty repair after only two weeks use.

My experience is that the problem will only get worse; it will not stabilize or go away. The only solution is a proper fix or, in my case, a demand for a different body from Olympus. With your travels so close, the best advice right now might be:

• Live with the frustration until you get back and pray that you don't progress to total failure
• Immediately purchase another body while you arrange for repairs on the current one

I know, neither choice seems optimal, but I make these suggestions due to the short time frame you have to arrange for a repair/replacement.

Jim Pilcher
Summit County, Colorado, USA

Thanks Jim, Guy, Anders and everyone for your advice. Well, the first thing I have done is to adjust my use of the camera as per Guy's suggestion. I was vaguely aware of the back button access to exposure compensation and f-stop, but never used it. I located the button and find that the arrangement - where both f-stop and exposure compensation are accessed at the same time and controlled by pressing the dial, up/down or left/right - to be quite workable, actually. I have started to use the camera that way now. As for the dials, I simply set the dial function selector in the 2 position. Now the dials control ISO and white balance. As these settings are changed less frequently, the dials should last longer. And if the dials start to really fail then I can access these functions through the SCP as I generally have done anyway. So I think the camera will be useable even if the dials become completely unreliable.

After the vacation, I will investigate the repair issue. Anders, I do have a global warranty and my proof of purchase. We shall see if this is accepted by Olympus Norway or if Guy is correct and the warranty is "just a piece of worthless paper" outside the country of issue. If they won't pay for the repair, I will have to decide whether to pay for it myself or just limp along with this E-P5 for a while and then buy another camera in the near future.

The worst thing about repairing a camera is the time you are without it (not to speak of the ultimate nightmare of having a repair that does not solve the problem). Stupidly, I listened to a certain voice telling me "you have too many cameras in the house" and sold off a perfectly good E-PM2 recently. Now I wish I had it as backup. However, I also have film cameras and can simply shift 100% to film as needed.

traveler_101 wrote:

James Pilcher wrote:

I had two repairs for this problem: One to fix the original faulty dial, the second to repair the faulty repair after only two weeks use.

My experience is that the problem will only get worse; it will not stabilize or go away. The only solution is a proper fix or, in my case, a demand for a different body from Olympus. With your travels so close, the best advice right now might be:

• Live with the frustration until you get back and pray that you don't progress to total failure
• Immediately purchase another body while you arrange for repairs on the current one

I know, neither choice seems optimal, but I make these suggestions due to the short time frame you have to arrange for a repair/replacement.

Jim Pilcher
Summit County, Colorado, USA

Thanks Jim, Guy, Anders and everyone for your advice. Well, the first thing I have done is to adjust my use of the camera as per Guy's suggestion. I was vaguely aware of the back button access to exposure compensation and f-stop, but never used it. I located the button and find that the arrangement - where both f-stop and exposure compensation are accessed at the same time and controlled by pressing the dial, up/down or left/right - to be quite workable, actually. I have started to use the camera that way now. As for the dials, I simply set the dial function selector in the 2 position. Now the dials control ISO and white balance. As these settings are changed less frequently, the dials should last longer. And if the dials start to really fail then I can access these functions through the SCP as I generally have done anyway. So I think the camera will be useable even if the dials become completely unreliable.

After the vacation, I will investigate the repair issue. Anders, I do have a global warranty and my proof of purchase. We shall see if this is accepted by Olympus Norway or if Guy is correct and the warranty is "just a piece of worthless paper" outside the country of issue. If they won't pay for the repair, I will have to decide whether to pay for it myself or just limp along with this E-P5 for a while and then buy another camera in the near future.

If you have a slip for global warranty, I am sure you'll have no issues. A considerable part of my own gear (Oly as well as Pany) was bought in the US rather than here in Sweden. In two cases (40-150/4-5.6 and 12-40/2.8), I have had them repaired under the Oly global warranty. No problems and no questions asked. And I am sure Oly's sad decision to let go of the global warranty doesn't apply to anything that had already left the factory with a global warranty slip. The warranty you get is the one that the warranty slip in the package says that you get. Anything else would be unreasonable and probably illegal as well.

The worst thing about repairing a camera is the time you are without it (not to speak of the ultimate nightmare of having a repair that does not solve the problem). Stupidly, I listened to a certain voice telling me "you have too many cameras in the house" and sold off a perfectly good E-PM2 recently. Now I wish I had it as backup. However, I also have film cameras and can simply shift 100% to film as needed.

Guy Parsons wrote:

The global warranty had exceptions. Some countries did not honour it.

In Australia they used to honour it but after Japan failed to recompense the local group for repairs done (though a true subsidiary) they had to stick to only honouring local warranties where the likely repair cost was built into the sales structure of goods imported by the subsidiary.

Just like film days in USA where Nikon had a USA warranty and B&H also sold cheaper grey market Nikon with a global warranty. Guess which one Nikon USA would honour? But if I bought B&H grey market and brought it back to Australia I was covered by that global warranty, but would not have been covered in Australia if I had bought the USA version with the USA warranty only.

Summary: The only way to know what will happen is to ask the local repair facility.

OK. I am sure you have the story right about Australia. Here in Europe though, I know through personal experience that there is no problem with the global warranty.

Anders W wrote:

Guy Parsons wrote:

The global warranty had exceptions. Some countries did not honour it.

In Australia they used to honour it but after Japan failed to recompense the local group for repairs done (though a true subsidiary) they had to stick to only honouring local warranties where the likely repair cost was built into the sales structure of goods imported by the subsidiary.

Just like film days in USA where Nikon had a USA warranty and B&H also sold cheaper grey market Nikon with a global warranty. Guess which one Nikon USA would honour? But if I bought B&H grey market and brought it back to Australia I was covered by that global warranty, but would not have been covered in Australia if I had bought the USA version with the USA warranty only.

Summary: The only way to know what will happen is to ask the local repair facility.

OK. I am sure you have the story right about Australia. Here in Europe though, I know through personal experience that there is no problem with the global warranty.

I am encouraged enough by Anders' experience to give it a try. I used the camera extensively yesterday without relying on the dials and it was o.k., though it would be nice to have it fixed, obviously.

Although I'm not recommending to anyone that they simply ignore a problem, sometime it works!  The rear dial on my EP-5 started to skip about two months ago, about two weeks before we were to leave on a 5 week trip to Europe.  No time to send it in for repair, so I familiarized myself with the "push the buttons" method and left for the trip.  After a couple of weeks in cold and rainy Ireland I happened to start using the rear dial and remarkably, no problems.  Three more weeks in hot and sunny Provence, and the camera was still going strong.  Perhaps some dust or grit in the mechanism worked its way out?  Wish I knew what the "fix" was - taking a long trip to Europe seems like a fairly expensive camera repair!

Rich K wrote:

Although I'm not recommending to anyone that they simply ignore a problem, sometime it works! The rear dial on my EP-5 started to skip about two months ago, about two weeks before we were to leave on a 5 week trip to Europe. No time to send it in for repair, so I familiarized myself with the "push the buttons" method and left for the trip. After a couple of weeks in cold and rainy Ireland I happened to start using the rear dial and remarkably, no problems. Three more weeks in hot and sunny Provence, and the camera was still going strong. Perhaps some dust or grit in the mechanism worked its way out? Wish I knew what the "fix" was - taking a long trip to Europe seems like a fairly expensive camera repair!

I love the story! Yeah wouldn't it be nice if the thing could correct itself.

Anders W wrote:

traveler_101 wrote:

James Pilcher wrote:

I had two repairs for this problem: One to fix the original faulty dial, the second to repair the faulty repair after only two weeks use.

My experience is that the problem will only get worse; it will not stabilize or go away. The only solution is a proper fix or, in my case, a demand for a different body from Olympus. With your travels so close, the best advice right now might be:

• Live with the frustration until you get back and pray that you don't progress to total failure
• Immediately purchase another body while you arrange for repairs on the current one

I know, neither choice seems optimal, but I make these suggestions due to the short time frame you have to arrange for a repair/replacement.

Jim Pilcher
Summit County, Colorado, USA

Thanks Jim, Guy, Anders and everyone for your advice. Well, the first thing I have done is to adjust my use of the camera as per Guy's suggestion. I was vaguely aware of the back button access to exposure compensation and f-stop, but never used it. I located the button and find that the arrangement - where both f-stop and exposure compensation are accessed at the same time and controlled by pressing the dial, up/down or left/right - to be quite workable, actually. I have started to use the camera that way now. As for the dials, I simply set the dial function selector in the 2 position. Now the dials control ISO and white balance. As these settings are changed less frequently, the dials should last longer. And if the dials start to really fail then I can access these functions through the SCP as I generally have done anyway. So I think the camera will be useable even if the dials become completely unreliable.

After the vacation, I will investigate the repair issue. Anders, I do have a global warranty and my proof of purchase. We shall see if this is accepted by Olympus Norway or if Guy is correct and the warranty is "just a piece of worthless paper" outside the country of issue. If they won't pay for the repair, I will have to decide whether to pay for it myself or just limp along with this E-P5 for a while and then buy another camera in the near future.

If you have a slip for global warranty, I am sure you'll have no issues. A considerable part of my own gear (Oly as well as Pany) was bought in the US rather than here in Sweden. In two cases (40-150/4-5.6 and 12-40/2.8), I have had them repaired under the Oly global warranty. No problems and no questions asked. And I am sure Oly's sad decision to let go of the global warranty doesn't apply to anything that had already left the factory with a global warranty slip. The warranty you get is the one that the warranty slip in the package says that you get. Anything else would be unreasonable and probably illegal as well.

The worst thing about repairing a camera is the time you are without it (not to speak of the ultimate nightmare of having a repair that does not solve the problem). Stupidly, I listened to a certain voice telling me "you have too many cameras in the house" and sold off a perfectly good E-PM2 recently. Now I wish I had it as backup. However, I also have film cameras and can simply shift 100% to film as needed.

Just an update on this story. I wrote Olympus Europe and was referred to Olympus Norway Service. I do have a global warranty, but was informed that it doesn't matter:

"If you bought it in Europe, you have 2 years warranty. If you bought it outside Europe, the warranty cannot be applied in Europe."

Looks like I will have to decide whether to live with a camera without effective dials or pay for the repair myself. If the latter, I think I will do it in the U.S. where costs are generally lower.

traveler_101 wrote:

Anders W wrote:

traveler_101 wrote:

James Pilcher wrote:

I had two repairs for this problem: One to fix the original faulty dial, the second to repair the faulty repair after only two weeks use.

My experience is that the problem will only get worse; it will not stabilize or go away. The only solution is a proper fix or, in my case, a demand for a different body from Olympus. With your travels so close, the best advice right now might be:

• Live with the frustration until you get back and pray that you don't progress to total failure
• Immediately purchase another body while you arrange for repairs on the current one

I know, neither choice seems optimal, but I make these suggestions due to the short time frame you have to arrange for a repair/replacement.

Jim Pilcher
Summit County, Colorado, USA

Thanks Jim, Guy, Anders and everyone for your advice. Well, the first thing I have done is to adjust my use of the camera as per Guy's suggestion. I was vaguely aware of the back button access to exposure compensation and f-stop, but never used it. I located the button and find that the arrangement - where both f-stop and exposure compensation are accessed at the same time and controlled by pressing the dial, up/down or left/right - to be quite workable, actually. I have started to use the camera that way now. As for the dials, I simply set the dial function selector in the 2 position. Now the dials control ISO and white balance. As these settings are changed less frequently, the dials should last longer. And if the dials start to really fail then I can access these functions through the SCP as I generally have done anyway. So I think the camera will be useable even if the dials become completely unreliable.

After the vacation, I will investigate the repair issue. Anders, I do have a global warranty and my proof of purchase. We shall see if this is accepted by Olympus Norway or if Guy is correct and the warranty is "just a piece of worthless paper" outside the country of issue. If they won't pay for the repair, I will have to decide whether to pay for it myself or just limp along with this E-P5 for a while and then buy another camera in the near future.

If you have a slip for global warranty, I am sure you'll have no issues. A considerable part of my own gear (Oly as well as Pany) was bought in the US rather than here in Sweden. In two cases (40-150/4-5.6 and 12-40/2.8), I have had them repaired under the Oly global warranty. No problems and no questions asked. And I am sure Oly's sad decision to let go of the global warranty doesn't apply to anything that had already left the factory with a global warranty slip. The warranty you get is the one that the warranty slip in the package says that you get. Anything else would be unreasonable and probably illegal as well.

The worst thing about repairing a camera is the time you are without it (not to speak of the ultimate nightmare of having a repair that does not solve the problem). Stupidly, I listened to a certain voice telling me "you have too many cameras in the house" and sold off a perfectly good E-PM2 recently. Now I wish I had it as backup. However, I also have film cameras and can simply shift 100% to film as needed.

Just an update on this story. I wrote Olympus Europe and was referred to Olympus Norway Service. I do have a global warranty, but was informed that it doesn't matter:

"If you bought it in Europe, you have 2 years warranty. If you bought it outside Europe, the warranty cannot be applied in Europe."

I would take issue with Olympus Norway about that. I think you just happened to come across someone who does not know how this actually works. It was a while since I looked at the warranty slip of any of my Olympus lenses, but I am pretty sure that the one for the international warranty that you have says that it is valid for one year and entitles you to warranty repair at the closest available Olympus service station no matter where the gear was originally bought. Am I wrong about that?

Note: The warranty provided for cameras bought in Europe is and was a bit special in that EU consumer law gives the consumer some protection for at least two years no matter what the manufacturer thinks about it (although this protection may be somewhat weaker in some respects than that typically offered by the manufacturer). However, this does not mean that the one-year international warranty previously provided by Olympus for gear bought anywhere in the world is not valid for repair in Europe.

Looks like I will have to decide whether to live with a camera without effective dials or pay for the repair myself. If the latter, I think I will do it in the U.S. where costs are generally lower.

Sounds like a mechanical contact issue but I wonder if it's worthwhile to:

1) update the firmware (if not already done)

2) reset camera to the manufacturer's settings

Cheers,

Anders W wrote:

traveler_101 wrote:

Just an update on this story. I wrote Olympus Europe and was referred to Olympus Norway Service. I do have a global warranty, but was informed that it doesn't matter:

"If you bought it in Europe, you have 2 years warranty. If you bought it outside Europe, the warranty cannot be applied in Europe."

I would take issue with Olympus Norway about that. I think you just happened to come across someone who does not know how this actually works. It was a while since I looked at the warranty slip of any of my Olympus lenses, but I am pretty sure that the one for the international warranty that you have says that it is valid for one year and entitles you to warranty repair at the closest available Olympus service station no matter where the gear was originally bought. Am I wrong about that?

Note: The warranty provided for cameras bought in Europe is and was a bit special in that EU consumer law gives the consumer some protection for at least two years no matter what the manufacturer thinks about it (although this protection may be somewhat weaker in some respects than that typically offered by the manufacturer). However, this does not mean that the one-year international warranty previously provided by Olympus for gear bought anywhere in the world is not valid for repair in Europe.

I looked up the warranty - soon to expire by the way (purchase was made 6 September 2014). All it says is "This worldwide warranty must be presented at an Olympus authorised repair service station dealer before any repair can be made under the conditions of the warranty. This warranty is valid if the Warranty Certificate and proof of purchase are presented." There are two strips with bar codes neatly pasted onto the warranty.

I thought perhaps to take my case to Olympus corporate in Japan. . .

BUT just now as I leafed through the papers the Korean seller sent with the camera, I can find NO PROOF OF PURCHASE! Yes, there is a Customs Declaration from the seller, in triplicate no less, but no where on that declaration does it specify which camera has been shipped!

So this is the greyest of the grey market . . . (lol). Buyers be forewarned of what can happen when you purchase outside of your own country.

In this case, I can live with it - and well, I have to. I got the camera at an unbelievable bargain price and except for this occasional problem with the dials it works perfectly. When the problem gets worse (as I have been assured it will), I can live with pushing buttons to adjust aperture and exposure OR I can send it in for repair at my expense. Read on a different site that three months ago someone paid $175 for Olympus America to repair his E-P5. That's not too bad.

Thanks for everyone's insights.

traveler_101 wrote:

Anders W wrote:

traveler_101 wrote:

Just an update on this story. I wrote Olympus Europe and was referred to Olympus Norway Service. I do have a global warranty, but was informed that it doesn't matter:

"If you bought it in Europe, you have 2 years warranty. If you bought it outside Europe, the warranty cannot be applied in Europe."

I would take issue with Olympus Norway about that. I think you just happened to come across someone who does not know how this actually works. It was a while since I looked at the warranty slip of any of my Olympus lenses, but I am pretty sure that the one for the international warranty that you have says that it is valid for one year and entitles you to warranty repair at the closest available Olympus service station no matter where the gear was originally bought. Am I wrong about that?

Note: The warranty provided for cameras bought in Europe is and was a bit special in that EU consumer law gives the consumer some protection for at least two years no matter what the manufacturer thinks about it (although this protection may be somewhat weaker in some respects than that typically offered by the manufacturer). However, this does not mean that the one-year international warranty previously provided by Olympus for gear bought anywhere in the world is not valid for repair in Europe.

I looked up the warranty - soon to expire by the way (purchase was made 6 September 2014). All it says is "This worldwide warranty must be presented at an Olympus authorised repair service station dealer before any repair can be made under the conditions of the warranty. This warranty is valid if the Warranty Certificate and proof of purchase are presented." There are two strips with bar codes neatly pasted onto the warranty.

That suffices. There is no mention that you have to use a repair service station in the country of purchase.

I thought perhaps to take my case to Olympus corporate in Japan. . .

Not sure that will help much. I'd try other alternatives first. A second talk with Olympus Norway, first of all.

BUT just now as I leafed through the papers the Korean seller sent with the camera, I can find NO PROOF OF PURCHASE! Yes, there is a Customs Declaration from the seller, in triplicate no less, but no where on that declaration does it specify which camera has been shipped!

That's a pity. Olympus does want to see the receipt and we can all understand why. Otherwise, you could keep claiming warranty forever.

But don't you have any record of the transaction from the on-line services you were using at the time of purchase (ebay, PayPal, etc.)?

So this is the greyest of the grey market . . . (lol). Buyers be forewarned of what can happen when you purchase outside of your own country.

As I mentioned, I have had no trouble with this at all. I have had three pieces of Olympus gear repaired or replaced under warranty. Two of them were bought in the U.S. The third was bought in Sweden but was used rather than new, in which case I don't really think the warranty is valid any more. IIRC, the warranty is personal and not transferable. In all three cases, Olympus Sweden honored the warranty without questions.

In this case, I can live with it - and well, I have to. I got the camera at an unbelievable bargain price and except for this occasional problem with the dials it works perfectly. When the problem gets worse (as I have been assured it will), I can live with pushing buttons to adjust aperture and exposure OR I can send it in for repair at my expense. Read on a different site that three months ago someone paid $175 for Olympus America to repair his E-P5. That's not too bad.

Thanks for everyone's insights.