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Olympus E-M1 issues - shutter????

Discussion in 'Olympus Cameras' started by pcrit, Apr 14, 2014.

Top Rated
  1. pcrit

    pcrit Mu-43 Regular

    151
    Jan 18, 2014
    I bought a brand new E-M1 a few months ago and have used it maybe 5 times due to time restraints. I remember shooting some portraits about a month ago where it kind of froze up (for lack of a better description) and I shut it off and powered back on and it was fine and continued shooting. Well I was shooting yesterday at the zoo really trying it out and believe I had a 75-300mm Oly lens on it and was zoomed all the way out and it totally froze and the image was stuck on the EVF and no buttons would respond or no affect pressing the shutter again. I powered back off and on again - the image was still there and I was able to shoot fine the rest of the day. I am wondering if I should send it in for repair as this does not seem normal. I have owned close to twenty different cameras (mostly Nikon DSLRs) and never experienced anything like this. I am going to update the firmware and see if that helps.

    On a side note I also noticed battery life is really short, shot for maybe 150 frames all through the EVF w/ no flash and powered off between most of the shots and had to replace a full new battery. This seemed really low to me.
     
    pcrit, Apr 14, 2014
    #1
  2. lightmonkey

    lightmonkey Mu-43 Veteran

    479
    Dec 22, 2013
    sounds similar but better than the problem i had. sent mine for repair. its very anecdotal - no conclusions should be made on my account - but across multiple cameras and brands, ive had 2 olympus OMDs and theyve both needed repair, where none of the other enthusiast-prosumer (sony, fuji, canon) ever had a problem
     
    lightmonkey, Apr 14, 2014
    #2
  3. pdk42

    pdk42 One of the "Eh?" team

    5,839
    Jan 11, 2013
    Leamington Spa, UK
    pdk42, Apr 14, 2014
    #3
  4. pcrit

    pcrit Mu-43 Regular

    151
    Jan 18, 2014
    Thanks for the advice and I have been very fortunate and had one issue with an older Nikon D2x with the shutter but I expect that after years. This is a new camera and I can't chance problems so will probably send it in once I buy an E-M10 for backup/second body.
     
    pcrit, Apr 14, 2014
    #4
  5. pcrit

    pcrit Mu-43 Regular

    151
    Jan 18, 2014
    lightmonkey - was it fine after repair from Olympus????
     
    pcrit, Apr 14, 2014
    #5
  6. pdk42

    pdk42 One of the "Eh?" team

    5,839
    Jan 11, 2013
    Leamington Spa, UK
    I think the problems are software related and may now be resolved. I think the vast majority of users are very happy with them. For that matter, I've had a couple of lockups with my E-M5 (approx 1 a year!). These things are complex embedded computers!
     
    pdk42, Apr 14, 2014
    #6
  7. lombardispot

    lombardispot Mu-43 Regular

    100
    Sep 19, 2013
    Did you update your firmware?
     
    lombardispot, Apr 14, 2014
    #7
  8. pcrit

    pcrit Mu-43 Regular

    151
    Jan 18, 2014
    Not yet and plan to do so this week and test out as much as I can. I am hoping it's okay and I won't have to send it back for repair and agree that it's much more complex. I like the camera a lot but won't pay that much for something that doesn't work correctly either.
     
    pcrit, Apr 14, 2014
    #8
  9. heli-mech

    heli-mech Mu-43 All-Pro

    1,079
    Mar 9, 2012
    Vancouver Island, Canada
    Andrew
    Check your shutter delay setting. If its set for quick (or fast, can't remember the term used) then it says right in the manual any bumps could lock up the camera. Also that same setting can reduce battery life.
     
    heli-mech, Apr 14, 2014
    #9
  10. lightmonkey

    lightmonkey Mu-43 Veteran

    479
    Dec 22, 2013
    i expected mine to return today (!) but its not here,so ill know tomorrow probably
     
    lightmonkey, Apr 14, 2014
    #10
  11. heli-mech

    heli-mech Mu-43 All-Pro

    1,079
    Mar 9, 2012
    Vancouver Island, Canada
    Andrew
    Found it:

    Custom Menu C, Setting: Release Lag time (options Short or Normal)

    Warning in manual: (if set to Short)

    This will shorten the battery life. Also make sure that the camera is not subject to sharp
    impacts while in use. Such impacts may cause the monitor to stop displaying subjects. If
    this happens, turn the power off and on again.
     
    heli-mech, Apr 14, 2014
    #11
    • Like Like x 1
  12. pcrit

    pcrit Mu-43 Regular

    151
    Jan 18, 2014
    Thanks so much and I will check the settings and change. I know it didn't bump anything as I am so careful with my gear.
     
    pcrit, Apr 14, 2014
    #12
  13. jnewell

    jnewell Mu-43 All-Pro

    1,751
    Jun 23, 2011
    Boston, MA
    Thanks for that and the follow-up post.

    FWIW, it seems that the reports on the UK site have gone way, way down after installation of firmware v.1.3, although it's too soon to really conclude that v.1.3 addressed the lockup issue.
     
    jnewell, Apr 14, 2014
    #13
  14. pcrit

    pcrit Mu-43 Regular

    151
    Jan 18, 2014
    I just did the update so we'lll see what happens. I will keep this updated.
     
    pcrit, Apr 14, 2014
    #14
  15. jnewell

    jnewell Mu-43 All-Pro

    1,751
    Jun 23, 2011
    Boston, MA
    Changing the default to 'short' seems like a no-brainer, but with those potential side effects, I have decided to leave mine at 'normal.'
     
    jnewell, Apr 14, 2014
    #15
  16. bredman

    bredman Mu-43 Top Veteran

    532
    May 30, 2013
    Sherwood Forest
    Pete
    Just to clarify things, the lock ups that have plagued many EM1 owners can not be rectified by turning the power off and on again. Only after the removal of the battery can the control of the camera be regained -- awkward when the battery pack is on. The lock ups seem totally random, but for mine the majority were when using CAF with low burst rate, but that probably means nothing.

    Speaking with Olympus' techs repeatedly they informed me that each firmware update had attempted fixes, so i hope the latest got it, as it has been observed, the lock up reports seem to have died off somewhat since 1.3.
     
    bredman, Apr 14, 2014
    #16
  17. pcrit

    pcrit Mu-43 Regular

    151
    Jan 18, 2014
    Thanks for that advice, I never had to remove the battery but I do recall powering on/off to resolve it getting frozen maybe 2-3 times since using it with maybe 500 shots so far. I hope it's fixed with the firmware and not something else.



     
    pcrit, Apr 15, 2014
    #17
  18. OzRay

    OzRay Mu-43 Hall of Famer

    4,991
    Jan 29, 2010
    South Gippsland, Australia
    Ray, not Oz
    Sometimes the problem can be related to the memory card. I had problems with my E-1 with one card which caused camera lockup, and always the same card, until I twigged to what was going on. After ditching that card, I never had a lockup problem again. Formatting the card in-camera or on a PC made no difference, there was something corrupt with the card that caused issues.
     
    OzRay, Apr 15, 2014
    #18
  19. gems

    gems Mu-43 Rookie

    21
    Nov 22, 2013
    Vancouver, BC
    Has anybody experienced more lock ups since upgrading to 1.3? Since upgrading, I've had a lot more lock ups.


    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
     
    gems, Apr 21, 2014
    #19
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