Olympus PEN-EP5 Broken.

Hi All, Hope you can help. First of all, my three year old EP5 has broken. It turns on but doesn't load the menu and turns back off again very quickly, with a funny whirring/grinding noise like the camera made (when the camera was working) when it starts taking a photo. I've spoken to Olympus in Australia, they say minimum 300 AUD repair as camera is out of warranty by 18 months. This is about half the price of the camera three and a half years ago. They claim the main board is broken, despite the occasional IS error flashing on the screen in red. I have tried both my lenses and without a lens and the result is the same, so it isn't the lens.

Firstly. Does anyone have any ideas on the error? Does this main board diagnosis sound right? Ive searched the web, only significant fault that comes up repeatedly is the dial, which works fine on mine.

Secondly, if the error is correct, what do i do next. I have the two m.zuiko MFT lenses 14-42 zoom and the 150 zoom with all the filters for both, so a considerable investment. And a spare battery plus tripod mount and backpack strap/belt mount clip to suit. So I have enough gear to be upset that I seem to only have the choice to buy another Olympus.

I'm upset the EP5 is toast within three years. I expect a far greater lifespan out of a modern camera. Am I just unlucky? Camera has been treated with kid gloves.

Logical step is to buy the EPL8 or whatever body and move on. But i'm really reluctant to buy another camera which fails inside four years. I'm just a casual photographer, holiday snaps and I like the quality photos the EP-5 created, plus the video was quite presentable. And I loved the feel of the EP-5 body, it felt industrial and it really looked great. Reviews on the EPL8 dont wow me like the EP5 did. Is it necessary to move up the scale of Olympus cameras to get a better life from the camera?

I had a good tripod and struggled with night time focusing, but then again, I never tried to put any effort into working out how to improve it.

Would love to hear your thoughts on what to do next. I cant really afford to just buy the latest and greatest, and definitely feel severely let down by the lifespan of this camera.

Thanks in advance

Stuart

No matter what camera, sometimes mechanical stuff breaks!

The flashing red IS light is usually a death knell.

You could try arguing that 3 years is not a reasonable lifespan for a relatively expensive piece of gear under Australian consumer law.

Otherwise you get essentially a brand new camera for your $300. They will probably replace all its guts (shutter assembly, and probably the sensor as well), not just the main board.

You could try a sad but polite message to Olympus telling them how disappointed you are in their product.  Many years ago we had a TV that died and required very expensive repairs after only a few years.  It was almost cheaper to buy a new one!  I wrote to Sony (I think it was) and told them how it had replaced a still functioning Philips set we had had for many years and how disappointed I was in their product!

Shortly after the shop contacted me and said that they would provide parts free and we would be charged labour only.  Very satisfactory outcome.

I don't know where you are from, but we have consumer laws that required goods to be "fit for purpose" and therefore have a reasonable life-span.  Of course TVs have a much more benign existence compared to cameras that can suffer horrible abuse....! 

glassoholic wrote:

. . . Whilst the E-P5 has a superb charm about it (style and satisfyingly solid metal feeling) to the extent I nearly bought one again, technology moves on with digital (in the old days you just upgraded your film stock) and maybe it is time for a new camera.

It is rare to experience the sort of failure you have without dropping a camera so I think you have had your share of bad luck and should be positive about the future.

Newer models have noticably better IBIS and especially high ISO performance. . . .

To the OP: overall, this is pretty good advice, I think. I have an E-P5 still in good working condition, but recently decided to pick up a Pen-F when the there was a price break. I hemmed and hawed about whether I really needed an EVF or could tolerate the fully articulated screen. But now after using the camera for a while, I have no worries. I'm really glad I made the move. Better performance overall. One bit of advice if you decide to go for a new camera: make sure you get one of equivalent quality to the E-P5. Pen-F or E-M5ii if you want to go to the OMD style.

My Panasonic DMC-G1 and older FZ-5 still run reliably.  If only some of the new offerings could weigh as little.  The god of breakdown is capricious and unfair.  Tell Olympus how much you like their product and how sad it is to have it fail..with luck, they will feel your pain and want to keep you as a loyal customer.  Good luck.

Stufishing wrote:

Anyway I don't like the EP-L8 and I guess the next step up is a PEN-F. Or is there one in between? I will research the EM10 mkii. I know nothing about it.

If you like the EP5, I'm sure you'd like the EM10 II

So sorry to hear its on the way out. I love mine and its currently off to the menders for its 3rd screen. Not a problem with manufacture just me getting into a lot of scrapes with an ace camera. It can be hard to justify putting more money into an ep5.

What I would say is that they do appear on ebay in virtually new condition for very little. I do think it was an underrated camera and a lot of people read initial reviews about SS but didn't follow up on the latest firmware.

For me the first fix was worth it as the ep5 was still selling for a lot of money. the second fix has cost me about £150. My thinking is that in the pen style, the ep5 is the best bang for you buck until the pen f comes down in price or a newer camera with a much better sensor arrives. I am one of those that had the dials fixed by Oly in Europe and the upgraded dials are a massive improvement. So for me the £150 was a no brainer. Oh and I had previously smashed my vf4. A few days before I smashed the screen my Mrs had got me a new one. He he I really did have to get the repair.

Phil.

Stufishing wrote:

I'm really undecided now, but down to two options. I can't afford the PEN-F.

I could spend $350 or more repairing the EP-5 by the time I pay for two lots of postage. Or I could buy the EM-10 mkii new for $600. Either way, I get to keep my lenses.

If I repair, I get the camera back and it may break again. The dial may go as lots of others have happen. What do you think the success rate of the repair will be?

If I get the EM10, I get a marginally better camera and I could possibly sell the broken EP-5 body. I wonder what I would get for selling the body for spare parts? Surely the screen etc must be worth something in excellent condition?

Thanks

Well the cameras are very different in style and use. But I feel if you were happy with the E-P5 you should stick with it. However, why pay $350 to repair when you can buy a new E-P5 with a 2 year Australian warranty for $450 Australian? On e-bay right now.

Stufishing wrote:

Hi All, Hope you can help. First of all, my three year old EP5 has broken. It turns on but doesn't load the menu and turns back off again very quickly, with a funny whirring/grinding noise like the camera made (when the camera was working) when it starts taking a photo. I've spoken to Olympus in Australia, they say minimum 300 AUD repair as camera is out of warranty by 18 months. This is about half the price of the camera three and a half years ago. They claim the main board is broken, despite the occasional IS error flashing on the screen in red. I have tried both my lenses and without a lens and the result is the same, so it isn't the lens.

Firstly. Does anyone have any ideas on the error? Does this main board diagnosis sound right? Ive searched the web, only significant fault that comes up repeatedly is the dial, which works fine on mine.

Secondly, if the error is correct, what do i do next. I have the two m.zuiko MFT lenses 14-42 zoom and the 150 zoom with all the filters for both, so a considerable investment. And a spare battery plus tripod mount and backpack strap/belt mount clip to suit. So I have enough gear to be upset that I seem to only have the choice to buy another Olympus.

I'm upset the EP5 is toast within three years. I expect a far greater lifespan out of a modern camera. Am I just unlucky? Camera has been treated with kid gloves.

Logical step is to buy the EPL8 or whatever body and move on. But i'm really reluctant to buy another camera which fails inside four years. I'm just a casual photographer, holiday snaps and I like the quality photos the EP-5 created, plus the video was quite presentable. And I loved the feel of the EP-5 body, it felt industrial and it really looked great. Reviews on the EPL8 dont wow me like the EP5 did. Is it necessary to move up the scale of Olympus cameras to get a better life from the camera?

I had a good tripod and struggled with night time focusing, but then again, I never tried to put any effort into working out how to improve it.

Would love to hear your thoughts on what to do next. I cant really afford to just buy the latest and greatest, and definitely feel severely let down by the lifespan of this camera.

Thanks in advance

Stuart

First off, sorry to hear about your E-P5.

I don't know anything about Olympus repairs, specially in OZ but in general, what happened to you is NOT common. Seems you were just subjugated to bad luck. You shouldn't worry about another Olympus dying on you.

Now, with that said, Olympus does have it's share of build quality problems but they are generally not that serious.

Personally, I do tend to buy quite a bit off eBay. If you are careful and patient, there is a lot of good stuff there. So if you don't mind buying used or don't mind buying from eBay, it's not bad. Got my E-P1, E-P2, Panasonic GX1 and Panasonic GM1 (among a ton of other stuff) from there.

With that said, M43 is not just Olympus. You have the choice of all Panasonic M43 cameras as well. Currently, the closest to your E-P5 from a design/looks perspective is probably the Panasonic GX80/85 and GX8. Both are superb cameras albeit the latter one I believe may be out of your price range. In general, Panasonic seems to have a better reputation for build quality.

Either way, whether you go Olympus E-M10 mk(whatever), another E-P5 or some Panasonic camera, you should come out with a very good camera. Good luck.

Jackson Bart wrote:

Whatever you do, don’t buy the Mark III, it has been dumbed down.

getting the E-M10 MKIII. Yes, it's simplified but that is NOT necessarily a bad thing. Look at what the OP wrote. Unless I'm wrong, the OP seems to be the type of photographer that the MKIII menu system is targeted at. In general, a casual photographer will do just fine with the MKIII way of doing things.

traveler_101 wrote:

Stufishing wrote:

I'm really undecided now, but down to two options. I can't afford the PEN-F.

I could spend $350 or more repairing the EP-5 by the time I pay for two lots of postage. Or I could buy the EM-10 mkii new for $600. Either way, I get to keep my lenses.

If I repair, I get the camera back and it may break again. The dial may go as lots of others have happen. What do you think the success rate of the repair will be?

If I get the EM10, I get a marginally better camera and I could possibly sell the broken EP-5 body. I wonder what I would get for selling the body for spare parts? Surely the screen etc must be worth something in excellent condition?

Thanks

Well the cameras are very different in style and use. But I feel if you were happy with the E-P5 you should stick with it. However, why pay $350 to repair when you can buy a new E-P5 with a 2 year Australian warranty for $450 Australian? On e-bay right now.

but if you can really get a new E-P5 (with warranty) for only a $100AUD more from a reputable seller, than it's really a no brainer which of the options you should take. No way I would get it repaired in that circumstance.