Problems With The E-M1

[Mary Anne]

Not one to bash any Brand of Cameras though I dont seem to have the greatest luck with the little Olympus E-M1 model.

Bought my first E-M1 in late January this year and had problems with the rear dial/wheel spinning around and I could not set the aperture when shooting Manual.
Took it back three months later to where I bought it, and they replaced it with a brand new camera.

I was happy about that at the time, though read every post on here when Members asked about this camera.
One Member actually send me a PM asking if I could see green spots in the viewfinder I said No, and to start a post when I searched on line and seen many owners had this problem.

In time my E-M1 also developed these green spots and I rang Olympus to be told they had never heard of that problem, that strange I replied as there is plenty about these spots on the www.
Lovely young man told me to send my camera in and they will look at it, and as we were going away for a two week holiday it was not a good idea, so I would do that when we got back.

While on holiday I noticed that the rear dial/wheel was starting to spin again, not all the time like the first E-M1 did though enough to annoy me when setting the aperture so I started using it on Auto
As it is not my primary camera that was ok for holiday snaps though prefer shooting Manual.

Then I noticed that the Vinyl on the hand grip was peeling off, so I packed it up till we got back home then took it to where I bought it.
By doing that I saved a fair bit of money on Postage and Insurance to Olympus in Sydney, and was told it could take a few weeks if they dont have the parts

Four week later I got a call this Thursday evening actually to tell me my camera was fixed and to pick it up any time.
Collected it yesterday morning and took a few shots on the way home it seemed ok though I realised I have forgotten a few things over this time.
Looking at the many pages that came back with it, they Replaced the Mode Dial, Replaced the Grip, Repaired the Viewfinder and cleaned and tested all functions.
So to me this is better than getting it replaced with a new Camera as everything should be working correctly.

If any Members who own this Olympus E-M1 start getting any of these problems do ring Olympus for help.
They have been very helpful to me at all times from Day 1 with the first camera, though I am glad this camera comes with 2 years warranty.

[Ross the fiddler]

Glad to hear it was fixed OK. Unfortunately there has been the problem with the rear wheel by some & they were replacing the top plate assembly by what others had been describing. Maybe they have sub-assembly parts now. Thankfully for myself I can take an hours drive down to Olympus in Macquarie Park (Sydney) for repairs (as I did for the E-M5 screen bezel after I had the E-M1 to keep using). The other possible problem with the EVF is sunburn spots that can occur if left facing the sun, particularly at certain diopter settings. Hope you don't have anymore issues with it again.

[Mary Anne]

Hello Ross I am a little concerned about what it said on the report about replacing the Mode Dial as it was the rear dial I was having the problems with.
And looking on line I have read that it is the top plate assembly they are replacing so I will ring Olympus again tomorrow.
And yes Thank You I do know about the EVF facing the Sun but this is Qld so plenty of sun and strange as it may seem the macro I shoot is usually in the Shade.
I have never changed the diopter settings I can see fine, so it would still be on factory settings what ever that is.
Hopefully I wont have any problems with it again either. And Thank you for taking the time to reply.

[Aussieden]

Sorry to hear about your problems with the E-M1 Mary Anne. But good to hear you got it fixed.
I am a longtime Olympus shooter and have always been satisfied with the quality of their gear.
However I did get the green blotches in the EVF.
Sent the camera away to Olympus Sydney who replaced the EVF. Very prompt service as camera was back in 7 working days.
First time I had to get a camera repaired (probably very fortunate) and I was impressed with their service.
Dennis

[Mary Anne]

Hello Dennis. Yes a little bad luck with this model though not to worry as everything should be fixed up now.
And Yes very good Service, all great to talk to on the phone I have rang them a few times for help from instruction manuals to cables.
By time their next model comes out all these problems should be fixed and Thank You for replying.

Ross. I Rang Olympus Service Department this morning and the reason they had Mode Dial on the order is the Computer only has so many items on it so its prints mode dial for all the dials/wheels.
Also asked if just the wheel was replaced or they were replacing the top plate assembly, he took my order number and looked it up and I was told they only replaced that rear wheel.
Olympus dont want their customers to have to pay more money than necessary if any of those wheels have to be replaced in the future, and it would cost a few hundred dollars to replace that top plate.
So much cheaper to just replace the wheel he said and that makes sense, so hopefully this rear wheel will last a lot longer.

[Ross the fiddler]

Hello Dennis. Yes a little bad luck with this model though not to worry as everything should be fixed up now.
And Yes very good Service, all great to talk to on the phone I have rang them a few times for help from instruction manuals to cables.
By time their next model comes out all these problems should be fixed and Thank You for replying.

Ross. I Rang Olympus Service Department this morning and the reason they had Mode Dial on the order is the Computer only has so many items on it so its prints mode dial for all the dials/wheels.
Also asked if just the wheel was replaced or they were replacing the top plate assembly, he took my order number and looked it up and I was told they only replaced that rear wheel.
Olympus dont want their customers to have to pay more money than necessary if any of those wheels have to be replaced in the future, and it would cost a few hundred dollars to replace that top plate.
So much cheaper to just replace the wheel he said and that makes sense, so hopefully this rear wheel will last a lot longer.

Thanks for checking up on that. I wonder how it is failing & whether it is a lack of lubrication or just not a robust enough design? At least it is just that component they're replacing then & hopefully they'll keep enough in stock.

[Mary Anne]

No problem Ross I wondered to and I never thought to ask at the time, though I doubt if they would tell me.
I just hope this wheel lasts a lot longer than the last two.