Ok, I'm a little bit annoyed with Olympus America right now:


Yep, I'm being charged to repair water damage, caused by rain, on a rainproof OM-D E-M5. They are NOT covering this under warranty, despite my protests on the phone.

The repair technician says a rubber seal on the bottom of the camera had been removed, I assume he's referring to the cap that covers the connections for the external battery grip. However, I don't own the external grip, so I never touched the cap. Frankly, I don't know if the cap was on the camera or not, I never paid it much attention. If it fell off or even just came loose, which seems to be what must have happened, then it wasn't held in place very tightly in the first place.

So, let this stand as a warning to everybody: if you intend to use your camera in wet conditions, check and double-check the integrity of the rubber cover on the bottom of the camera. If it gets loose, you could be stuck with a very expensive repair.

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Update: See new post downthread, but Olympus is covering the cost of the repair for me. They are treating me right, and have my thanks.

Am I reading that correctly? Is that more than 1/2 the cost of the camera?!?!

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EM5; 9-18, PL25, 100-300 and some others.
(also, 6D + RX100)

That's a p*ss poor attitude on their part. Unless there's obvious abuse, I don't see how they can claim the camera wasn't being used as intended. And $520?!

I don't know how much good it'll do, but if they're not cooperative, I'd recommend raising a stink about it - both here and on DPReview (which their reps. sometimes read).

DH

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E-M5 | E-PM2 | mZD 12-50 | ZD 12-60 | P 14-42 X | mZD 40-150 R | PL 25 | mZD 45

I've never been one to consider weatherproof features as something of importance, as a feature, on cameras I buy. If its wet out, I don't tend to shoot though. I've read some accounts of people shooting in sea spray conditions and even with weather sealing, thats quite risky. The corrosive nature of the salt water is damaging even if a camera is considered to be weather proof.

This experience of yours is a good warning to those who feel that a "weather proof" camera is any kind of guarantee against damage and repair costs. I think it's a good idea to give due protection to camera gear whether it's weather sealed or not and not think of weather sealing as much of a protective factor.

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Don

I'd ask to speak to a supervisor, that price is ridiculous for a camera touted as weather sealed.

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Jonathan
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www.jonathanfriolo.com

Actually, the price is probably exactly correct, the camera has complex electronics inside and repairing water damage is not simple.

What's ridiculous is that they aren't covering it under warranty. If the waterproof seals aren't going to stay in place, then the camera shouldn't be advertised as weather sealed.

Somewhat random, but does anyone know where to buy one of those rear covers? I would hate to buy one from Olympus when you consider how much they charge for hoods and repairs for supposedly splash proof cameras.

You shouldn't pay anything at all. For that price, you might as well go buy a GX1 w/EVF and sell the OM-D for parts!

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Jonathan
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www.jonathanfriolo.com

Possibly you got a camera that was returned previously and where the former user removed the cap to use the grip or whatever.

I agree with the others, this really sucks and Olympus could have shown a whole lot of consideration, even if it would have been your "fault" .

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Best regards, Ad.

Pictures | Equipment | Minolta collection | All lenses

The camera isn't advertised as weather sealed. It says "splash proof". If the bottom rubber cap was missing (which I have no idea if true) then they are correct. That bottom rubber cap needs to be on to still be splash proof. If those contacts were exposed to water all bets are off.

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Olympus OM-D E-M5, Olympus 12-50mm, Olympus 45mm, Olympus FL-300R