Olympus 35RD

[Snapper]

My Father-in-Law has given me a bag full of his old film cameras from the '70s. No long-forgotten Leica in there unfortunately, and nothing of great interest, except for a Olympus 35RD. It looks in really good condition, the lens looks clear and good as new.

Of course, the shutter doesn't fire. I've read around and the RD seems prone to the aperture blades sticking. Or, perhaps does it need a new battery to fire the shutter, if so, what modern battery can I get for it?

If it is stuck blades, is it worth the pain/cost of getting this fixed. Has anyone used the RD - it does look nice, light, easy to handle and has a fast 1.7 lens. Would make a very nice carry around?

I've seen a website describing in detail the process of taking the lens apart and fixing it - I'm not entirely sure if I want to go down that route. Anybody ever tried?

[Rick A]

You need to replace the battery to get the shutter to fire. It takes the old 1.35v mercury type, which can be replaced with a Varta v625 PX battery which is the closest to the old mercury cell.

Rick

[Snapper]

Thanks, I'll give that a try. Looking at the blades they look nice and clean, so hopefully they won't be stuck. The light seals are a mess though, so I'll have to get them replaced.

[mablo]

I'm using hearing aid batteries in mine. Works well. RD is one of the very best fixed lens rangefinders, particularly the lens is really exceptional. Their price reflects that too. I've seen one or two going over $150 mark recently in *Bay.

[Snapper]

Bah. Got the batteries, but the shutter still doesn't fire. From reading a manual online it says that in manual mode the camera doesn't need a battery to fire the shutter anyway, it just needs it for auto mode.

Do any lights come on anywhere in the viewfinder when battieries are in?

The shutter won't fire and the film advance lever won't go. The aperture blades are a bit sticky - when opening the aperture up the blades don't move all the way, it takes a bit of waggling of the focus to get them to move. I only intend to shoot wide open anyway, so it's not too much of a problem.

It's a shame, as people do say this is a good little r/f. Any ideas anyone?

[Larry H-L]

RDs don't have a good track record for being reliable, but they're great when they work.

I've had a couple, but even after professional repairs they crapped out. RCs and SPs seem to hold up better.

I hope you get it working.

[andrewc]

Every RD will require the shutter blades to be cleaned at some point because of the design and how it allows the oil to migrate to the shutter blades. Jon Goodman repairs these; I don't know if he frequents this forum but he does Rangefinder Forum and Photo.net (Classic Manual Camera Forum). I think it's worth it as this is one of the nicest lenses in the RF world.

Andy

[Solinar]

Hello Andrew - The Seikosha shutter is gummed up with lubricants that have leaked out of the focus helical over the years.

The leaf-shutter is mechanical. So, it operates independently of the battery unless the camera is set to the auto exposure mode.

In the auto exposure mode - the shutter will not fire if the selected shutter speed will result in an over exposure. For example: if the camera is set to ASA/ISO 400 film and you walked out on a sunny day with the shutter speed set to let's say 1/30th of a second - the auto mode will prevent the shutter from firing until you properly adjust the shutter speed to let's 1/250th or 1/500th of a second.

Luton Camera Repair Services Ltd. - which is in your neck of woods relative to Austin, TX - can clean/overhaul the shutter to get the camera back in working order.

Andrew in Austin, TX

[Solinar]

I forgot to add that - if there is no battery fitted or the battery is dead - the shutter on the Olympus 35RD will not fire in the auto mode.

Also - in addition to an overexposure lock - the auto mode will not release the shutter if the selected shutter speed will result in an under exposures - at which point the meter will be indicating in the "red zone" below f/1.7.

Again, Andrew in Austin, Texas

[Snapper]

But I'm in the UK.

Any recommendations for camera repair of this type in London City/West End?