I got my E-M5 last august. Lately, I notice that a hairline crack starts to appear where the screws at the bottom bezel of the screen. The middle screw have a crack, the left starts to appear. See attached photo.

I'm wondering, it's just me or this is typical?

I called olympus and they told me to send it in. But I don't know why this is happening and I'm afraid it will appear again and again.

Attached Thumbnails

 

I recall seeing at least one other user reporting such issue on this forum before, but I sure hope this is an exception rather than the norm!

Sounds like a quality control issue with the plastics of the frame. Chances are that part was outsourced and the supplier put out some bad plastic. It happens in all industries, and fortunately in your case it is in warranty and is an issue that can easily be resolved by replacing it with parts made to spec.

Another possibility is screws that were over tightened at the factory due to a bad setting on the relevant machine. Otherwise, same as above.

I'll send my camera to oly for repair. I wish
The bezel is magnesium!! And not plastic. Thanks guys.

Thanks for posting. Mine is the same way, never noticed it. :(

Just checked mine, and I also see a hairline line (I hesitate calling it a crack...). Never noticed it before - or if I did, it didn't concern me. It is much less obvious than in the OP's images - more like what's visible at the left screw in the OP's images.

Are we sure that this is a defect? Or are we jumping to conclusions? Perhaps it's a joint between two pieces whose tolerance is better on some cameras than on others? (Just asking...)

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Bert
adirondack fotoscapes

I am steering clear of the OMD. These quality issues are piling up, and they are issues I haven't seen on other cameras. Just out-and-out structural failures.

It seems that the crack is unacceptable. For sure it wont affect photo quality. Still a great camera. The crack probably started just as a hairline like what you have now. Eventually, it will crack i guess. So the crack will affect the weathersealing? Or its neglectable? Is it going to get bigger? Is it going to eventually split? I really dont know. I only have this camera for 3 months. For me, its not a wear and tear.. Its a crack and crack is defective. This never happened to my 60D or my old e520 oly.

I just noticed I have a faint hairline crack too. Doesn't look as cracked as the OP. Gaffer tape here we go

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E-M5 | M. Zuiko 45mm f/1.8 | Lumix G X Vario 12-35mm f/2.8 | Lumix G X Vario 35-100mm f/2.8

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I was about to send mine for warranty. I would wait a bit to see how it goes. Maybe wait until all 3 screws will show cracks and fall apart. Update us how the hairline thingy if it grows on you. LOL