Battery Eating Olympus OM-2s
Mark D. Esswein
something I had to live with. Now I discover ( through various
threads,) that other OM-2s owners have had theirs fixed. Does anyone
know if it is still possible to get the battery eating problem
corrected?
I had been considering selling it and buying another OM-1n which always
seems to take better pictures anyway. If I can get it fixed, I'll keep
it.
Mark Esswein - mess...@nimbus.worldbank.org
---------
The opinions expressed herein are entirely my own and not to be confused
with those of my employer...
Mark D. Esswein
John De Armond
>I have an OM-2s that eats batteries - I always thought that it was
>something I had to live with. Now I discover ( through various
>threads,) that other OM-2s owners have had theirs fixed. Does anyone
>know if it is still possible to get the battery eating problem
>corrected?
I'm beginning to wonder whether Olympus is conspiring with the battery
makers. My IS-1 ate batteries like popcorn, to the tune of a pair
of 3 volt lithiums per 2 rolls of film. That is, when the damn thing
worked. It spent most of its first year and a half lost in the
bowels of Olympus or Wolf Camera while undergoing warranty repair.
Extensive hellraising on my part finally got the camera fixed on the third
try. Even though they never admitted it, they did something on the last
fix to make the battery life very much better. Still worse than what the
manual claims but not too bad at about a set of batteries every 8-10
rolls of film. When the extended warranty wears off - if the camera
is still working by then - I plan to adapt a screw-on pack I've made to
the pack.
By all means demand the camera be fixed. But be ready for extensive,
relentless hell raising to get it done. Olympus is one of the most
unresponsive consumer companies I've ever dealt with. I probably
spent enough money on long distance to have bought another camera.
Wolf Camera was as bad. I've learned two lessons from my experience.
One, I'll never again touch a piece of Olympus gear as long as I live and
two, I'll never spend another dime at a Wolf Camera store.
Caveat Emptor
John
--
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Michael Johnson
> Olympus is one of the most unresponsive consumer companies I've ever
> dealt with.
This has not been my experience AT ALL. I have always found their service
excellent and speedy. They REPLACED a misbehaving out-of-warranty OM-4T
(worth ~$600) at no charge with no yelling or threats from me.
-Mike Johnson, Indiana University School of Journalism
Jake Livni
>I have an OM-2s that eats batteries - I always thought that it was
>something I had to live with. Now I discover ( through various
>threads,) that other OM-2s owners have had theirs fixed. Does anyone
>know if it is still possible to get the battery eating problem
>corrected?
This is a known problem on some OM-2S's. I don't know if the repair
requires replacing a part or perhaps some other correction but they
should still be able to do it. Write to Olympus telling them that
this is a known problem, that you bought the camera new (if this is
case), that you bought it through the US distributor and not the grey
market (if this is the case) and that you expect them to correct the
problem. Seeing as the OM-2S was discontinued some years ago, the
original warranty is long gone but perhaps anyways...
--
Jake Livni ja...@bony1.bony.com Ten years from now, George Bush will
American-Occupied New York have replaced Jimmy Carter as the
My opinions only - employer has no opinions. standard of a failed President.
SPW...@psuvm.psu.edu
>
>In article <1993Jun29....@worldbank.org> Mark D. Esswein
><mess...@nimbus.worldbank.org> writes:
>
>>I have an OM-2s that eats batteries - I always thought that it was
>>something I had to live with. Now I discover ( through various
>>threads,) that other OM-2s owners have had theirs fixed. Does anyone
>>know if it is still possible to get the battery eating problem
>>corrected?
Just how fast do the batteries drain? Every couple rolls? Once a year? I've
got an OM2-S and I'm wondering how to tell if I've got the problem. It uses
batteries faster than I wish it did, but I'm not sure if it's fast enough to
indicate a problem. So, How fast do they drain?
-Stephen Walker spw...@psuvm.psu.edu
Mark D. Esswein
writes:
>
>Just how fast do the batteries drain? Every couple rolls? Once a year?
I've
>got an OM2-S and I'm wondering how to tell if I've got the problem. It
uses
>batteries faster than I wish it did, but I'm not sure if it's fast
enough to
>indicate a problem. So, How fast do they drain?
>
> -Stephen Walker spw...@psuvm.psu.edu
It seems to vary... In March, when we had the big snow, I was out
shooting
pictures and the batteries died ( mid frame as always.) I bought some
new
ones that day and shot the rest of the roll. The camera sat on the shelf
until last week when I went to use it and discovered that the batteries
were dead again! I think it is a problem with the internal timer that
turns
the camera off when it isn't being used.
I received a suggestion via mail that might be a good work-around; switch
the
shutter speed to one of the manual (red) settings when not using the
camera.
Jake Livni
>Just how fast do the batteries drain? Every couple rolls? Once a year? I've
>got an OM2-S and I'm wondering how to tell if I've got the problem. It uses
>batteries faster than I wish it did, but I'm not sure if it's fast enough to
>indicate a problem. So, How fast do they drain?
It depends on your usage.
On the OM-2S, the battery drives the:
- exposure meter
- focal plane shutter curtains
- viewfinder light
(I once tried using an OM-2S with dead batteries on mechanical 1/60
and flash and, if I recall correctly, those frames that were shot with
the shutter release on the winder 2 were unexposed while those shot
with the camera shutter release came out OK. I'm not sure of this but
the battery might power some other significant circuit here, too.)
If you don't use the viewfinder light very much and don't spend hours
metering and don't use long exposures, then the batteries should last
(in my rather unknowledgabel opinion) around 1 year, perhaps rather
more, perhaps a bit less. More or less usage will obviously affect
this.
If the battery dies with little or no usage every few months, then you
might have a bettery-eating problem. If you put the camera away and
the battery checks out fine and then a week or a month later when you
take out the camera, it's dead, then the camera has been eating your
battery without you doing anything.
If your battery lasts a year or so, you're doing OK. If you're
changing the battery twice a year or more, then you've got a problem.
Notes:
- I've never known the battery-check system to work as specified. It
either shows the battery to be good or dead but has never given me a
warning of a low battery, even on othe same day of battery failure.
Perhaps my battery-check circuit isn't sensitive enough in the right
range or something.
- I recommend EVeready EPX76 batteries. They are said to have a long
shelf-life.
- There is a trick for saving batteries, even on sick cameras: Set the
shutter speed to "B" before storing your camera. This turns off all
camera electronics and should isolate your battery.
David Ballo
: I have an OM-2s that eats batteries - I always thought that it was
: something I had to live with...
For what it's worth, here's how I deal with battery-eaters. I know it's
inconvenient, but I remove the batteries from my OM-2s whenever I know it
will be sitting unused for more than a few days (which is most of the
time). I store the used batteries in the refrigerator. This gives good
battery lifetime. I always carry a set of spare batteries whenever I'm out
shooting.
Andrew Siegel
Try leaving the shutter speed on the manual 60 setting when you're not
using the camera. My OM2s used to eat batteries, but has stopped since
doing this.
--
Andrew Siegel D. E. Shaw & Co., New York, NY
sie...@deshaw.com (212)478-0000
Yizraeli Yehuda
i can be happy with is the great pictures i got out of it. Of course, I WILL NEVER TOUCH OLYMPUS ACMERA ANYMORE....
yehuda yizraeli
John De Armond (j...@dixie.com) wrote: