Light meter on my Olympus 35 RC not working

bambam

bambam

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Hi

Thought I'd take the Oly 35 RC off the shelf and stick a battery in it to finally try it out with a film. Had a new Weincell lying around so put that in - no joy.
Left it to 'activate' overnight and still no joy.
Left it in the camera and tried it the next day - no joy.
Bought a new LR9 alkaline battery and put that in - no joy.
Whatever I have tried, I get the needles moving for shutter and aperture, but the shutter won't fire.
Moving it to manual and it fires fine.

Is there something simple and obvious that I've missed / not done?

Really wanted to use it and take advantage of the auto feature....

Thanks
 
Is it simply a case of low light indoors? Have you tried it outside or even pointing at a desk lamp?
What shutter speed are you testing it at? Try it on its lowest but not bulb outside.
Also what is your iso set at? I was using mine pushed to 800 over the weekend and she still forced my hand to use worrying slow shutter speeds and sometimes not take shots at all. And I've tested my rc against my hand held meter, its spot on.
Also, and this is obvious. Did you peel the sticker off the wein?
 
Hi

Yes, took the sticker off the Wein (wasn't sure how long I'd had it sitting there though hence trying a new alkaline one.

I've tried it at various ASA settings and pointed it at light sources that should not cause a low light lock-up.

Just tried it outside on 800ASA/ 1/15sec and also at 1/30 but no joy.

Wondering if the meter is just fried.
 
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Doesn't sound good.
Here's a link for some service diagrams, they are a bit mental looking but make sense
http://rick_oleson.tripod.com/index-134.html
I remember seeing a repair on the internet for a loose wire coming from the battery to the meter, its under the bottom plate, sure its a white lead. Failing that there could be all sorts of problems with the circuit. Try flicking the aperture ring through the modes a few times, you might have some dust on a contact?
 
Ok nothing seems to have brought the meter to life.

Thinking of getting repaired as don't trust myself to open it up!

Any pointers as to where I should try? And likely cost?

Cheers
 
bambam said:
Ok nothing seems to have brought the meter to life.

Thinking of getting repaired as don't trust myself to open it up!

Any pointers as to where I should try? And likely cost?

Cheers
Click to expand...

erm just a thought...why not buy something else from 50p to £10?

E.G.....Olympus XA's, Konica C35, Nikon L35, these are VG, and there are plenty more makers.
 
bambam said:
Ok nothing seems to have brought the meter to life.

Thinking of getting repaired as don't trust myself to open it up!

Any pointers as to where I should try? And likely cost?

Cheers
Click to expand...

Contact Miles Whitehead - http://www.mwcamerarepairs.co.uk/

Great guy, offers very reasonably priced CLAs and warranties his work for 6 months. Many of us here at F&C trust him for this sort of work :thumbs:
 
This is an electronic problem of some sort. You could contact Michael Spencer if you're near Clay Cross (Derbyshire). Very nice fellow. Phone number is 01246 250767. Please tell him Jon in Texas said hello.
Jon
 
Simon photo said:
Or use a handheld light meter :wink:
Click to expand...

Hi
Thanks for the tips re potential repairers - I'll give them a call next week.

In the meantime, I think I'll give it a bash with a meter (just downloaded a light meter app so might just use that)....

Cheers
 
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