In article , John Austin <johnaustin@xxxxxxxxxxxx> writes
>Hi all,
>
>I'm considering the purchase of a used OM4. Since the plain OM4 is usually
>several hundred cheaper than the OM4Ti, I'm going to go that way. I don't
>need the extra strength of the titanium, and can do without the F280 flash
>sync. My question concerns the reliability of the original OM4. I understand
>that if electronic problems occur and a new design circuit board is
>required, the cost of repair would be more than the camera is worth. How can
>I tell if a used OM4 I'm considering has already had the new circuit
>installed?
If your dealer is particularly helpful, he might let you measure the
drain on the battery with a digital ammeter once it has powered down.
If it is the original circuit it is likely to be of the order of 10A or
so - it should be much less than 1A with the new circuit. When you
first make the circuit with the meter the OM-4 will be fully powered of
course, with a drain of several hundred A, so you need to wait for it
to power down.
>Is this something to be concerned about?
Depends - I have an OM-4 with the original circuit in it and when it
gets stored away for more than a couple of days I just swap the motor-
drive cap with the battery cap. Some time ago I stuck some insulating
tape ofer the inside of motor-drive cap, so swapping these caps cuts the
battery drain to zero.
I also do the same thing with my OM-4Ti, although it isn't strictly
necessary - its just avoids confusion between the two.
> What should I be looking
>for when checking out used bodies? Thanks in advance for all help.
Apart form the usual signs of abuse, check the foam seals around the
back for signs of rot.
Also check the camera working with a lens fitted and make sure the spot
meter works - some cameras have been fitted to non-zuiko optics (Vivitar
were a culprit) which were built before the OM-4 came out and the
mounting screws sheared the top off of the spot reset switch on the lens
flange, which prevented spot metering from ever working again! Most
independant lens manufacturers switched to the 3-screw lens mount after
this debacle - but be careful if you intend to use older independent
lenses. If the screw heads on the lens flange would wipe over the
switch on the body while fitting the lens DO NOT EVEN THINK ABOUT
FITTING THAT LENS TO THE CAMERA BODY. Generally, 3 screws on the lens
at 120 is good, 4 screws on the lens at 90 is bad, but check every
lens before you attempt to fit them for the first time.
--
Kennedy
Yes, Socrates himself is particularly missed;
A lovely little thinker, but a bugger when he's pissed.
Python Philosophers (replace 'nospam' with 'kennedym' when replying)
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