Hey Darin,
You could consider bringing your own lens, test film and batteries to
check the camera.
these would be the first things I'd check:
the Ti circuits can be recognized by using the battery check feature:
Set the switch to battery check, end if it stops beeping after 30
seconds you have a Ti circuit. The older ones just keep whistling
away.
The older circuits are not bad per se, the Ti ones just tend to be more better.
I'd make sure all the little buttons on top work. They should give a
beep and give an indication of their activation in the viewfinder.
Make sure all the symbols in the viewfinder are working. All of the
diamonds and bar segments.
Make sure that it doesn't display the +- signal in the viewfinder when
you haven't set a correction.
If one of these later three tests fails it indicates a little
electronic issue, you can wait for it to become a bigger one.
Back foam and mirror damping foam probably is deteriorated by age.
That is common so it shouldn't be a showstopper.
Check all the manual times.
Check the auto times. When testing without film they should be a lot
longer than indicated!
Check the response to operating the aperture, both in indication and
in operation.
The wind-on of an OM-4 typically is somewhat less smooth and buttery
than an OM-1.
Check if the mirror AND the secondary mirror flip up completely (use B).
Check the focusing screen to be clean and unscratched. Check which
type it is: 2-4 or 2-13 are the brightest there are.
You could do some tests with a flash as well (bring your own)
Happy hunting!
Bart
On 8/22/08, Darin <d.rhein@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
>
> Hello List,
>
> I found an OM-4 for sale for $100. I'm going to look at it latter this
> morning and don't have time to search the archives. So, I was wondering if I
> could get some tips on anything I should keep an eye out for. I'm not very
> familiar with the Om-4, are there any common problems I should be aware of?
> Also, if I recall correctly, I've seen posts to this list regarding OM-4
> circuits being replaced with those of the OM-4Ti. Is there any easy way I can
> tell if this has been done to a camera? Any help is greatly appreciated!
>
> Darin
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