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| Looking at food? (click to enlarge) Olympus E-M1 Mark II, 300mm f/4 PRO lens + MC-14 1.4x tele-converter (840mm FOV); 1/1000th sec. @ f/6.3; ISO 400 |
In a previous post, here, I wrote about my Olympus E-M1 Mark II dying in my hands while out photographing. After sending it to the Olympus Service Center for repair in South Hackensack, New Jersey it is now safely back in my hands—and I'm glad! I've missed my partner in photography.
Overall, I found the experience with the Olympus Service Center to be satisfactory. There was clear instructions on the website outlining how to send in a camera for repair, both under warranty and out of warranty. I shipped my camera United Parcel Service (UPS) Ground with insurance. The day the camera was received by Olympus, I received an email indicating so. Included in the email was a repair ticket number with instructions on how I could monitor the progress of the repair. Three days later when my camera repair was completed, I received another email with a brief description of what repairs they made and telling me it had been shipped. A tracking number for UPS was included. I thought the level of communication was excellent. The camera was out of my hands for 7 business days, which I think is reasonable.
The Olympus Service Center paperwork indicated the shutter was replaced. They also replaced the leatherette material (I never saw any place where it needed replacement but they indicated there was a little place on the grip that was coming loose), checked all functions, cleaned, lubricated and adjusted the camera to factory specs as well as installed the latest firmware. I would say a nice comprehensive going over. The camera should work well for years to come. Hopefully!
When the camera was returned everything was reset to factory defaults. After inserting a battery and turning it on, it was as though I bought a new camera and I then had to select language, set time, etc. Luckily, I keep my settings saved in the Olympus Updater software so I found it easy to attach the camera to my computer, open Olympus Updater and load all of my settings. Quick and easy. Perfect!
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| Testing the repaired camera. Belted Kingfisher. Same camera and lens combo as above. (click to enlarge) 840mm FOV; 1/250th sec. @ f/5.6; ISO 200 handheld |
Here is the baffling thing. As I just wrote, the shutter count was 22,208 when I sent off the camera for repair. Would the new shutter count (with the new shutter) be zero or very a minimal number reflecting they tested it or would it still be 22,208? It turns out neither. I opened the maintenance menus to find the shutter count (I wrote about how to do that here). The shutter count read 19,962. Where did that number come from? I have no idea. Then I made an exposure to see if the next exposure would be correctly sequenced as 22,209. Nope! It was 20,001. Another number that makes no sense to me.
I have no idea of where these numbers may have come from but I needed to get my future image files into correct sequence to avoid duplicating files 22,000 to 22,208, which already exist in my Lightroom catalog and on my hard drive. I wanted my next exposure to be the next sequential number—22,209. How did I do that? Easy.
I made one exposure in the camera. Then I removed the memory card and placed it into my card reader. From my computer's hard drive, I copied the last image file I made (22,208) and pasted it into the card's DCIM folder. After I returned the card to the camera I made another exposure and the camera properly sequenced it as 22,209. I'm back in business. All is back to normal. Why did I first take an exposure before copying the file to the card? If you don't have an image already on the card you will not have a DCIM folder in which to copy your last image. So that one exposure is necessary.
I thought the cost for the repair was about average from what I could find from other camera manufacturers and the speed of repair and return was satisfactory. The repair comes with a 6 month warranty for photographic gear. Olympus does offer a professional service for those who need faster repairs or loaner cameras or lenses while a piece of gear is in for repair. There is a yearly fee for that. That is not something I need.
All in all, a satisfactory experience for me.
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Thanks for looking. Enjoy!
Dennis A. Mook
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Hello Dennis:
ReplyDeleteThere are a couple of ways one could look at this. Olympus, from what I have read and heard, is a good company and generally serves their customers well. One could adopt the posture that the repair was "reasonable" and since I want Olympus to stay in business and serve their community of users, all is good.
On the other hand, if the charge was significant and the shutter failed after only 11% of the suggested MTBF shutter count one could argue that the repair should have been free. Or perhaps free with the cost of shipping.
In any event, I do hope this repair lasts for a long time and that the camera continues to provide good service.
BTW - interesting story about the picture count. I didn't know you could reset it the way you did!
Jeff, I didn't include the cost in the post but Olympus standard charge for repairs to the E-M1.2 is $330 US. Add shipping and insurance and you are at about $350. I thought that price was not out of line. Now, with only 11% of the shutter's rating used, is $330 appropriate? I'll let others decide.
DeleteAs far as continuing the sequence of image files, I've been performing that little trick for some time. It works well. File it away and someday the info may prove helpful.
Great photo of the belted kingfisher. Beautiful little bird.
ReplyDeleteJeff, thank you. There will be a post next week on this particular image. It has an interesting anatomy as to how its final appearance came to be.
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