E-P5 rear wheel not responding

[Ricoh]

Intermittently, but I'm concerned a service will not be a complete cure. If it's a materials problem, swapping one wheel assembly for another could well be just a temporary fix.
A search on the forum reveals a similar issue with the EM1, eleven pages worth, but only one person reporting the same issue with the E-P5! My guess is that it's a common part and hence there are many out there who silently get on with it.
Nice cameras, but reliability is sadly lacking. An underlying design flaw or materials issue (quality), I hope the latter, otherwise it will be backwards and forwards for repair until the guarantee runs out.

What we need is Zorki, that well respected Russian military-grade camera manufacturer, to get into u43, they wouldn't use consumer grade components, on no, it would be anti tank, nuclear warfare resilient, built like a brick outhouse!

 

[MajorMagee]

I've never a had a bit of trouble with mine, so don't assume that we're all just suffering in silence.

You should probably just get yours repaired, and live happily ever after.

 

[NoTan2]

I bought an E-P5 as a backup for my E-M5 about 8 weeks ago to use on a trip to Europe (from which I've just returned). The rear dial started to develop the same fault during the first week. It had only taken fewer than 300 images.
Didn't bother me especially - I just remapped the dials to use the front dial instead.

It actually made me respect the camera even more that I could so easily work around what might have otherwise been a show stopper.

When I get a chance, I'll send it off to Olympus Australia for repair.

If it's a materials problem, swapping one wheel assembly for another could well be just a temporary fix.

I haven't read every post on the topic, but I seem to recall that most E-M1 users were happy with the repair? At least those which were actually repaired - I think one got sent back from Olympus Australia with just a reset but after a complaint they replaced the dial second time around. I'll be interested to see how I go with my repair. :smile:

but reliability is sadly lacking.

I still think that the E-P5 is a very well built and solid camera. Like yourself, I could only find one complaint about the E-P5, so that's three of us. I know the E-P5 hasn't been as popular as Olympus would have liked but it still has to be a very small percentage of total sales.
I happily used it for the rest of the trip and didn't really notice the new dial configuration. My E-M5 with the 12-40 got most of the work (and I even found the courage to use it in light rain.)

 

[Ricoh]

Thanks to MajorMagee and NoTan2.
The lack of response is encouraging, and although not statistically relevant, it looks as though it's just the odd few that have this.
It will be going back to Olympus, but should I wait until it develops further? Something for me to ponder over.

 

[BAXTING]

This is something ive heard about quite a few times. Not sure exactly how bad each occurence is/was, but I have the same issue with my EP5. If I rotate the rear dial quickly, especially if I go back and forth it is completely unresponsive. However if I carefully turn it at modest speed it never fails. I have learned to turn the rear dial much slower and now the issue never appears unless I purposely aim for it to. I suppose it can/should be fixed but I learned how to work around since I like the EP5 so much. Not sure if mine worse off than anybody else's either.

 

[Ricoh]

Actually now you've mentioned that I think mine is rate dependent as well. I became aware whilst reviewing my pathetic snaps (god, please help me with my composition) and now I'm aware when adjusting aperture.
I'd like to know more about the technology, is it contact (eg conductive plastic, gold plated pads forming a circle) I doubt seriously it's Hall effect, otherwise we wouldn't be discussing this (unless electronic).

 

[NoTan2]

However if I carefully turn it at modest speed it never fails.

I just tried that and it doesn't seem to be the same issue as mine. Even leaving a 2-3 second gap between clicks, it responds once or twice and then requires anything up to 10 clicks to respond after that.
I tried "spinning" the dial back and forth a few times to see if that freed up or improved things, but to no effect.

I'll pack it up on the weekend and send it in for repair.

 

[NoTan2]

I doubt seriously it's Hall effect,.

I've been building an autonomous tracked vehicle for some time now (have to be careful not to call it a "robot" or the purists get their noses out of joint). Each motor has a quadrature encoder. Mine are optical and somewhat unreliable. The latest version of the chassis uses Hall Effect encoders which are apparently a considerable improvement.

 

[zensu]

Just got out my E-P5 and no matter what speed I spin the rear dial it responds instantly in whatever mode (ISO or EC). I hate to start an argument but maybe the E-M1 and E-P5 have very similar rear dial configurations (share some parts and not others)?

 

[Replytoken]

Just got out my E-P5 and no matter what speed I spin the rear dial it responds instantly in whatever mode (ISO or EC). I hate to start an argument but maybe the E-M1 and E-P5 have very similar rear dial configurations (share some parts and not others)?

I truly hate to sepculate on these kinds of things, but I suspect that Olympus received a less than ideal batch of parts from a supplier, and they are replacing them as they fail.

--Ken

 

[zensu]

I truly hate to sepculate on these kinds of things, but I suspect that Olympus received a less than ideal batch of parts from a supplier, and they are replacing them as they fail.
--Ken

Very well could be the case. I got my several months ago "refurbished" from Olympus.

 

[Replytoken]

Very well could be the case. I got my several months ago "refurbished" from Olympus.

I picked up a refurbished E-M1 and the dials/wheels have been behaving so far. I suspect that most of the camera manufacturers have been having these kinds of issues of late to one degree or another. I would like to believe that the current crop of cameras will run for quite some time out of the box, but as they keep packing more and more hardware and software in them, I think that reliability tends to take a hit. My response has been to keep an older body available if I need to ship something back to Olympus/Precision for repair. Not exactly a strategy I feel great aobut recommending, but somtiems being practical and prepared comes in handy.

--Ken

 

[zensu]

I picked up a refurbished E-M1 and the dials/wheels have been behaving so far. I suspect that most of the camera manufacturers have been having these kinds of issues of late to one degree or another. I would like to believe that the current crop of cameras will run for quite some time out of the box, but as they keep packing more and more hardware and software in them, I think that reliability tends to take a hit. My response has been to keep an older body available if I need to ship something back to Olympus/Precision for repair. Not exactly a strategy I feel great aobut recommending, but somtiems being practical and prepared comes in handy.
--Ken

My fear is that digital cameras are going in the "modular" direction. If one part breaks or fails that part can't be replaced alone but may require a sub-assembly to repair.

 

[Replytoken]

My fear is that digital cameras are going in the "modular" direction. If one part breaks or fails that part can't be replaced alone but may require a sub-assembly to repair.

To a greater or lesser degree, I think that has been the case in electronics for some time (and I first noticed this in the late 1980's when Apple no longer did component level repair on its original Macs). With the savings on my refurbished body, I picked up an extended warranty while they were on the 20% off sale. I hope to never need to use it, but it is there if need be.

--Ken

 

[Growltiger]

It has been claimed by some that rotating the wheel 50 full rotations in each direction will cure it.
It would be interesting to know if this is true, or will make it worse.

 

[lytnus]

I actually noticed this exact issue myself after not using the camera a while. before this period of non-use (a couple of months ish easily; been too busy!) I don't recall any issue. When I started using it again the front and rear dials were both very unresponsive, mores when rotating clockwise than counter-clockwise I noted (I believe someone noticed a similar thing with a faulty EM1 lens); this can be tested by flicking the dial back and forward one notch at a time and seeing whether the reading that is being affected trends one way or the other.

Anyway, It was pretty bad initially but I rotated the dials in quick succession back and forth a bit, and I believe more importantly took my lens cleaning air puffy thing and did my best to puff air into all the gaps between the dials and camera body. The problem seemed to reduce a bit each time I did this and now my front dial seems (touch wood) fully responsive again to each press, and at last test my rear dial was fully responsive counter-clockwise and fails to respond say 1 in every 6 turns.

I hope that helps someone else that comes across the same issue.

Nevertheless I'm probably going to contact customer support to make them aware that I have the issue incase it crops up again or appears to get worse. I feel as if my lack of use caused the issue which makes me wonder whether it's just trapped dust or some other thing that accumulates in the spaces between dial and body and would otherwise not be given the chance with more day to day use.

 

[MajorMagee]

Being time related might argue for a corrosion related issue. Over time the contact surfaces tarnish and lose their conductivity. Working it back and forth can rub through the smut and improve the performance, but it would be prone to happening more and more frequently and become increasingly more difficult to clear.

 

[dejongj]

I've had mine over a year now, bought it July 2013 when it was released. And can't say I've had any of such issues. I'd just get it repaired under warranty and not worry about what may or may not happen in future.

 

[Ricoh]

By applying a downwards force whilst rotating the rear wheel, I find it overcomes the problem. Anyone else tried this?
(It's just a temporary solution until the camera has a 'holiday' in Portugal. Apparently, that's where they go to in Western Europe.)

 

[MarkRyan]

The wheels on my EP5 were a bit flaky just before my warranty ran out, so I sent it in for repairs. Came back with a brand-new top plate and new wheels -- the front wheel even clicks different -- which function perfectly.

Unfortunately, two months later and now the rear wheel is way worse than it was before sending in for repairs. Fortunately Olympus extends the warranty 90 days after a repair (at least I think it's 90 days) but disappointed I'm going to have to send the camera in again and worried about the longevity of the wheels. For what it's worth, the front wheel -- which, again, clicks differently after the repair -- is still functioning 100%.