Bad rear dial on EM1?

[plinden]

I have a perplexing problem that I think results from a faulty rear dial on my OMD EM1. My question is can you think of any other explanation I can test without sending the unit in for warranty repair?

No matter what function/mode I am operating on, the rear dial will not increment the value. If I am in aperture mode, the front dial changes EC, but nothing happens when I move/change the rear dial. if I spin it 10-15 times it might change the value a little. This is true no matter what function is currently assigned to that dial. In aperture mode if I change/swap the dial preference settings, the front WILL change aperture but now the rear won't do anything to the EC!

When i attach my vertical grip, the rear dial on that unit behaves as you would expect.

Any thoughts? Thank you.

Peter

 

[G43]

Seems the rear dial doesn't 'drive' the internal switch. Sound like a repair to me.

 

[DaveS]

I have the exact same problem. Mine works about 1 time for every 3 clicks. Very frustrating. Will be sending it in.

Dave

 

[DaveS]

Hi Peter, not sure if you have sent yours in yet, but I found a quick fix from a friend. He suggested I turn the wheel 100 times one way and then 100 times the reverse. Not pushing hard or anything, just turn it multiple clicks 100 times with your thumb and then the other way 100x.

So I did this yesterday and it is working properly. (so far) My guess is the wheel contact is dirty and this action wipes it clean enough to work. Not sure how long it will last, but it is working for now. You still might want to send it in when it is still under warranty to be sure though.

all the best,
Dave

 

[Godfrey]

A few folks have reported this issues on various forums. It sounds to me like a small batch of rear dial assemblies with inconsistent quality. If DaveS' fix works, that's great, but be prepared to send it to Olympus if it stops working again.

I've been lucky. So far...

G

 

[plinden]

I ended up sending in the camera for repair. It is on it's way home, due next week. Thank you for the comments. I hope I don't have to resort to the 100 turns trick!

Peter

 

[G43]

Now we are taking bad dials, my exposure comp. dial started to freak out. Sometimes it works, sometimes it works only by turning the dial endlessly and fast, sometimes it does not respond at all.
It is going at bit too fast pushing a stress test through in R&D.

 

[plinden]

I just got my camera back, fully serviced, and so-far-so-good. Peter