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Re: [OM] OM-2 Mysterious Mirror behavior

Subject: Re: [OM] OM-2 Mysterious Mirror behavior
From: "Peter A. Klein" <pklein@xxxxxxxxxx>
Date: Sat, 27 Feb 1999 23:45:28 -0800
At 08:30 PM 02/27/1999 -0500, you wrote:
>For various reasons, it is very common to get mirror lock even with good
>batteries.  A dirty trigger or magnet can cause this problem (amongst
>5-6 other reasons).

Thanks, John!   I gather this means that if it doesn't happen again, don't
worry, and if it does, maybe it's time for a CLA, right?  What do you
charge for a CLA, so I know for the future?

While I've got your ear, might I ask another question?

I've got an E. Zuiko 100mm f/2.8 single coated, S/N 126xxx.  I took a risk
and bought it from the Olympus bin of a local camera store.  I paid
$150--they wanted $175.  Too much, probably, but this was before I
discovered the OM list.  I took the chance because the glass looks
flawless, the focusing mount is silky-smooth, and the f-stop ring clicks
well and has no appreciable "play."  

The lens was probably dropped.  It has a 1-mm diameter "ding" on the side
of the lens mount, right under the word "IN" of "MADE IN JAPAN," and a
couple of nearby hairline nicks on the edge of the mount between side and
bottom.  The lens mounts fine, with no scratching or binding that I can
tell--the flaws seem to only affect the side of the mount, not the bottom.

The problem is that when shooting test slides, this lens performed
significantly more poorly than any of my other lenses.  Now I know that a
tele isn't as sharp as a standard.  But with all my other lenses, I can
read stock-market page newsprint set at about 19:1 (so the 2 facing
newspaper pages just fills the frame horizontally) at all but maximum
aperture.  This lens shows visibly less contrast, and I can clearly read
the stock quotes only at f/8, 11, and 16.

Recently, several people have said that their 100/2.8 was their least good
lens, while others have sung its praises. Which might indicate this is a
good lens that is prone to getting out of alignment.

Someone else on the list agreed with me that lens is probably out of
alignment.  But he said that it may not be worth fixing, since one can get
another on the Net for $110 to $180, depending on condition and
single/multi coat.  He suggested selling the lens "as-is," and getting
another in better condition and multi-coated.  

On the other hand, I've already got $150 in the lens, and I suspect that
multicoating may not make that much difference on a relatively simple,
medium-speed lens.  So if I could get it fixed for $60-80, it might be
worth it.  I could put the money I save toward an 85/2.0 and/or 35/2.0 that
I crave eventually. . .   :-)

Now, my standard for sharpness has for years been my Leica screw-mount 90mm
Elmar, which is a teeny bit "cool" colored, but sharp as a tack.  I bought
Olympus because my old Leica IIIf is getting unreliable--seems like it
needs a shutter adjustment every 6 months to a year, which I only find out
*after* the pictures come back.  

Anyway, if you were me, what would you do about the 100/2.8?  And what
would be involved in re-aligning the 100/2.8, and how much might it cost?

Thanks!

--- Peter
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