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Grief with Olympus OM-D E-M5

Started 10 months ago | Discussions
MotionTwelve New Member • Posts: 1
Grief with Olympus OM-D E-M5

Since purchasing this camera, it has only worked for couple of months and since then it's been nothing but constant problems.

A few years ago I had sent it for service to Olympus but nothing was done As you can see in the video below, when I turn it on, it only shows a black image and after pressing the shutter button, there is a huge delay to complete the shutter cycle and then the camera completely freezes. At this point, the only way to unfreeze it is to perform a power cycle but the black screen remains.

I have already updated to the latest firmware (Body 2.3, Lens 1.4) without any noticeable improvement.

Is there anything else that you would recommend me to do as I really liked this camera at first and it would be a real shame to throw it out? I am even willing to get inside and start tinkering/soldering as I am close to giving up.

Any help will be greatly appreciated.

Video: https://drive.google.com/file/d/14fOxcBp6TDnIH8wMn0kENk53M5ZG0beP/view?usp=sharing

John McCormack
John McCormack Veteran Member • Posts: 7,098
Re: Grief with Olympus OM-D E-M5

This forum is for compact P&S cameras. You'll get more responses here: https://www.dpreview.com/forums/1022

Ken Croft Senior Member • Posts: 1,803
Re: Grief with Olympus OM-D E-M5

Clean the lens contacts both on the camera and the lens. Make sure the body pin is free to move into the slot in the lens face.

Replace the SD card with a new one.

Hold the camera in your dominant hand and smack the camera sharply into your other hand to give it a shock. When my OM-D EM-1 mk1 locks up it is the  shutter stuck in the closed position. A sharp smack releases it and it is then good for a few weeks until the next time. My M1 mk1 like your first version M5 is an old camera and repairs would be not economically viable.

Ken C

Stephen Strangways
Stephen Strangways Contributing Member • Posts: 968
Re: Grief with Olympus OM-D E-M5

Many of the E-M5 bodies I've seen in the last two years are suffering from shutter failure that can manifest in this and other similar ways. It seems to me that your camera has just reached the end of its useful life.

OpticsEngineer Veteran Member • Posts: 7,821
Re: Grief with Olympus OM-D E-M5

My OM-DE-M5 stopped working a few years ago.  At the time I noticed there were very few for sale, including on the Olympus refurbished website.   Which was kind of odd for what had been such a popular camera.   The guess I arrived at was that there was a problem part in the camera that consistently fails after a certain number of years and makes them uneconomical to repair.

When I have seen them come up for sale, even though I would like one due to its very compact size, And an exceptionally good fit in my hand when using the optional hand grip, I have resisted buying one because I figure it would only work for a little while before breaking.

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Stephen Strangways
Stephen Strangways Contributing Member • Posts: 968
Re: Grief with Olympus OM-D E-M5

Get an E-M5 II. I haven't yet seen one with a broken shutter, but if it happens, you can still use the camera with the electronic shutter.

Ken Croft Senior Member • Posts: 1,803
Re: Grief with Olympus OM-D E-M5

Stephen Strangways wrote:

Get an E-M5 II. I haven't yet seen one with a broken shutter, but if it happens, you can still use the camera with the electronic shutter.

Unless as is the case with my first version M1, the mechanical shutter stays shut!

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Ken C

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