Absolutely fantastic ! Thank you so much. Picked up a XA with a really dirty viewfinder. Your video was just what I needed to carefully step by step open the camera without damaging anything. Gotta say the build quality of these cameras is excellent considering the mix of plastic, metal& other small bits. Thanks a ton once agin, the viewfinder is now perfect !
My shutter/winding stopped working. Hopefully I can fix it thanks to your video.. well at least I feel comfortable giving it a try now. Much appreciated! :)
Thank you for this very helpful video, I am very happy that I was able to open my two Olympus XAs and clean their dirty viewfinders! It's almost like they are new now, like the 80's! 😎 Just one thing, on mine the rangefinder window shade is not made exactly the same.... There's a micro spring to put back in place, so it's a little bit trickier.... But with a little thought, I managed it! 😅
My XA stopped working after it fell out of my pocket, no more shutter response and the battery check wasn’t working either. I just took it apart to check for torn cables or broken soldering points but couldn’t find anything. When I put it back together it just decided to start working again 🤩🤩
I just fixed my Olympus XA2, the shutter button would not fire. I could not remove the red shutter button as it was stuck on pretty well but I could get to it by removing the three small screws that the red button was attached to the top cover of the camera from the inside. Cleaned the contacts and bent the four contact pins upwards a bit and problem solved. The shutter button mechanism on the XA2 looks a bit different than on the XA. Self timer still doesn't work but that I won't use anyway.
Is there any way to reach inside the back glass element? This is the glass that sits in front of the film itself. I got inside some kind of a particle (probably from an old light seal foam). Will it degrade image quality, or should I ignore it at all.
Can you explain how to disassemble the Rear lens, because XA mostly get fungus in rear lens and for that, it needs total disassembly which is a shame that they never made that easy like XA2, it will be great if you help.
Does anyone know how to adjust the needle meter reading? The service manuals mentions an arm but i have heard you adjust the meter housing/needle with a screw. My needle respons to light but seems to need adjusting to show the faster and match the speeds.(the camera exposes correct) anyone successfully adjusted the needle?
Mine XA does have a loose film sprocket. So when I am turning the film transport dial the film will stay more or less in the same position. The film rewind buttom underneath is not stuck in and is not causing the issue. So how can I get inside the film sprocket chamber to look what is wrong? Help or advise please
I just bought a XA2 .Without batteries in the camera, the shutter button is stiff and the film advance is stuck. Is this because there is not batteries or is the cam broken? Thanks for your help. Great video!
Hey Eddie. The shutter button on these cameras is sometimes called a ‘hair trigger’ as they’re incredible sensitive, taking very little pressure to fire the trigger. It’ll feel stiff as they have very little play.
Thank you for the content; I found this video extremely helpful for opening the bottom panel of my XA. Currently, this camera (loaded w new batteries) will not fire, will not advance, and has it’s rewind release button stuck in the depressed position. Assuming this is a mechanical issue, do you have any advice on how to repair? Thank you again!
@@manuelzeeman I was lucky to have a camera repair shop nearby where I live. The repair person was familiar with this issue and showed me what would need to be replaced… It was a major component of the camera which would cost more than what most ppl are asking for their used XAs. I’m planning on selling my defunct camera as-is😕
@@manuelzeeman if anyone’s still interested I opened up the bottom and manually triggered the shutter from a lever right behind the focus slider. Then you can wind the film and the button will pop back up. This isn’t a fix because you will need to do it every time you click the rewind button
Hello mikeno62 I hope you find well and healthy, your videos are excellent, I would like to know if you have managed to find any solution to the problem of the always active self-timer, I have a camera in that condition and it would be a shame to lose it.
You could take a closer look at the bottom switch, sometimes there could be some bad connection or bad wires, of course it could also be the electronic parts that have cold solderings, just some ides.
Batteries are good, but still no function? Remove and check the battery cover. Early versions of the battery cover had a tiny pin sticking up in the very center that will often corrode, blocking connection to the battery. Scrape off this pin and try again. XA-2, -3, -4, users -- do NOT try to pry off the red release button! It is inserted from the underside of the top cover and cannot be pried off! After removing the top cover, note that there is a somewhat large brass washer beside the release button, around where the chrome screw goes. Do NOT lose this washer! Be sure to replace it before reinstalling the top cover -- use a bit of contact cement to hold it in place. If it's missing, the release button will not work properly. When reinstalling the top cover, slide the aperture control all the way up to the "Flash" position. (It will likely be necessary to gently lift up the tiny clip above where the flash attaches, just in front of the rewind knob/shaft. This interlock is intended to prevent accidental setting of "Flash" mode unless a flash is actually attached to the body.) Doing so will hold the clip at the top of the aperture slide toward the back of the camera, so that it doesn't catch on the rangefinder's glass window. When we first trained on these at Olympus, we thought they were incredibly small. Then they made the Mju-2!
The meter assembly on the XA can be trouble, but the need for meter adjustment is quite rare. The meter itself is controlled by it's own CdS cell, which may have died, or one of it's leads may be broken, or pinched and shorted. If this isn't the case, check the following: If the needle seems to move, but does not move freely or in a "lively" manner, and is always too low or high, it may be that one of the tiny delicate coil springs at either end of the meter frame has become "looped" over one of the adjustment arms next to the meter frame. If may be necessary to remove the rangefinder assembly, then unscrew the meter assembly which is attached from the underside of the finder's frame. Once the meter is removed from the finder frame, there is a small "+" screw at one end that holds a protective "can" over the meter. (the meter wire is usually painted over -- put a drop of acetone on the paint to free the wire before removing the can) Remove this and carefully inspect the coil springs at both ends of the meter. If one of these springs is hooked underneath one of the small arms next to the meter's frame, carefully unhook it and gently press the arm down against the frame to keep it out of the way of the coil spring. Reassemble Next, probably because of it's horizontal orientation, the galvanometer can be easily knocked off the pivots at either end of the meter. When this happens, the needle may appear to be jammed. If the needle fails to respond to variations in light, this may be the case. It is possible to repair, but it's very tricky. Remove the meter assembly and can as above, and inspect carefully to see if one of the pins of the meter frame is out of it's pivot cup. If so, put a drop of acetone on the paint sealant holding the "--" screw at one end of the meter frame and carefully turn the screw just enough to slip the pin back into it's cup. Then gently turn the screw back in until the meter needle drags, then unscrew just enough for the needle to move freely. Reassemble. Another possible problem is if a small piece of metallic debris has become stuck on the magnet at the center of the galvanometer. Disassemble as above, and inspect carefully with a magnifier to see if there is a foreign object stuck to the magnet at the center of the galvanometer. If so, carefully introduce a needle into the opening to attract this metallic debris to it. It will usually stick to the needle, and can be removed that way. In the exceptionally rare case that the meter is otherwise functional, but simply "off", at the end of the meter is a plate with (to the best of my memory) two small holes. Rotating this plate will affect the position of the coil spring at one end of the meter, changing the needle's position. @@morbidt1641
Hello, i have no idea how to contact you, but i wonder if you can offer any help. I broke my meter needle, by turning the adjustment screw for the needle way too much counterclockwise. I've heard a small click, and now its frozen in place. :( Is this fixable, or did i break something really, really bad?
Hi did you fix your needle in the end? so it is possible to adjust the needle? Is that the screw next to the needle on the light meter? Which way to turn to show faster speeds and by how much? Is it definitely the screw that adjust the needle..I need to do this myself but there's not much information about it
From what I gathered you should not turn this screw at all. Service manual says that to change the shown value there are 2 resistors soldered next to the meter. I just left mine showing one stop underexposed.
I just took a stab at an XA4 and it was slightly different but nothing crazy. The shutter button on the XA4 wasn't hiding a top plate screw, so I dug at it for a while before I realized that.
Does anybody have a clue what might cause the following behavior of my XA: The camera actually operates perfectly fine as long as the shutter speed is about 125/1 or faster. If it's below that the shutter blades will open, stay open, and the red LED starts to blink and the camera beeps along with it (just like it does in Self Timer mode while it's waiting). The shutter blades continue to stay open forever and the camera keeps blinking and beeping until I either point it at a bright source of light or turn it off by closing the lid. Then the shutter closes without any problems and I can advance the film normally.
There might be a problem with the aperture blades, it might be stuck due to dust or oil, you can remove the front plate and it shouldn't be hard to find a tutorial about it (by far I found one on Flickr) and for the red light timer-like problem, there might be a sensitive wire down below the plate due to corrosion or something like that.
Since it’s a Japanese camera they use JIS screws, so don’t use a Philips screw driver because you will most of the time damage the screw head if the screws are too tight.
hello. do you know hot to remve the pin under the rewind lever? i thought it would be easy to chance the broken pin but i cant get it out without taking the cmaera apart.
Hello Mikeno62, is it you owning the same account on Instagram (with 0 post)? In fact I'd like to communicate with you and send you a photo of some part that fell from the open bottom of an Olympus XA. Opening another one to compare I didn't see that part. In fact it's not the 1st XA that I fix and I'm really surprised seeing that part. I don't see the part on the service manual so it is really strange. Thank you for your answer. Regards
Field leg and arm AS-A I.E electronic Code F(monster) = 1-10R* KA Code V(I blamed)= (es) paco 0034 Field Overlooked objective J. (Hybrid) F KA 1-10R*= (imad)
i am very glad that i read the comment section before disassembling the entire camera. maby i try new batteries first. Thank you for the video sir
It turns out that batteries are super important. Camera appears to work. Next question is will the film be ok after been stored for all this time.
Absolutely fantastic ! Thank you so much. Picked up a XA with a really dirty viewfinder. Your video was just what I needed to carefully step by step open the camera without damaging anything. Gotta say the build quality of these cameras is excellent considering the mix of plastic, metal& other small bits. Thanks a ton once agin, the viewfinder is now perfect !
My shutter/winding stopped working. Hopefully I can fix it thanks to your video.. well at least I feel comfortable giving it a try now. Much appreciated! :)
is there a solution to this?
Thank you for this very helpful video, I am very happy that I was able to open my two Olympus XAs and clean their dirty viewfinders! It's almost like they are new now, like the 80's! 😎
Just one thing, on mine the rangefinder window shade is not made exactly the same.... There's a micro spring to put back in place, so it's a little bit trickier.... But with a little thought, I managed it! 😅
Thank you so much for this excellent step by step video. Got my XA viewfinder sparkling clean without damage !
Thanks a lot, just opened my XA2 with your video. Now to reassemble.
Thank you. Fixed my xa step by step with your video guide
Thank you. This is very useful to service my XA.
Thank you. Awesome content. You helped a lot.
My XA stopped working after it fell out of my pocket, no more shutter response and the battery check wasn’t working either.
I just took it apart to check for torn cables or broken soldering points but couldn’t find anything.
When I put it back together it just decided to start working again 🤩🤩
This video helped me fix my XA's. Thank you!! Keep up the good work!
Thank by your know - how Mikeno!
Thank You🥰
I just fixed my Olympus XA2, the shutter button would not fire. I could not remove the red shutter button as it was stuck on pretty well but I could get to it by removing the three small screws that the red button was attached to the top cover of the camera from the inside. Cleaned the contacts and bent the four contact pins upwards a bit and problem solved. The shutter button mechanism on the XA2 looks a bit different than on the XA. Self timer still doesn't work but that I won't use anyway.
Hello, are you saying that the XA2 top cover will come away without undoing the screw underneath the red button? Thanks.
Is there any way to reach inside the back glass element? This is the glass that sits in front of the film itself. I got inside some kind of a particle (probably from an old light seal foam). Will it degrade image quality, or should I ignore it at all.
Can you explain how to disassemble the Rear lens, because XA mostly get fungus in rear lens and for that, it needs total disassembly which is a shame that they never made that easy like XA2, it will be great if you help.
My XA2' lever is stuck ..cannot be pulled... is it possible to be repaired?
Is it necessary to replace light seals in the camera?
Can you do a video on the mju ii cameras?
How do I go about getting to where the negative battery wire gets soldered on
Does anyone know how to adjust the needle meter reading? The service manuals mentions an arm but i have heard you adjust the meter housing/needle with a screw. My needle respons to light but seems to need adjusting to show the faster and match the speeds.(the camera exposes correct) anyone successfully adjusted the needle?
if the hook is there, how do i remove the underside of the cover?
What type of scew does this camera use? Is it easy to find?
Can you tell me how to fix this issues？
Mine XA does have a loose film sprocket. So when I am turning the film transport dial the film will stay more or less in the same position. The film rewind buttom underneath is not stuck in and is not causing the issue. So how can I get inside the film sprocket chamber to look what is wrong? Help or advise please
I just bought a XA2 .Without batteries in the camera, the shutter button is stiff and the film advance is stuck. Is this because there is not batteries or is the cam broken? Thanks for your help. Great video!
Hey Eddie. The shutter button on these cameras is sometimes called a ‘hair trigger’ as they’re incredible sensitive, taking very little pressure to fire the trigger. It’ll feel stiff as they have very little play.
Thank you for the content; I found this video extremely helpful for opening the bottom panel of my XA. Currently, this camera (loaded w new batteries) will not fire, will not advance, and has it’s rewind release button stuck in the depressed position. Assuming this is a mechanical issue, do you have any advice on how to repair? Thank you again!
same issue. what did you do?
@@manuelzeeman I was lucky to have a camera repair shop nearby where I live. The repair person was familiar with this issue and showed me what would need to be replaced… It was a major component of the camera which would cost more than what most ppl are asking for their used XAs. I’m planning on selling my defunct camera as-is😕
@@michaelfeldman3679 what was to component? I have found the source problem of many dead XAs and its a simple resolder fix.
@@manuelzeeman if anyone’s still interested I opened up the bottom and manually triggered the shutter from a lever right behind the focus slider. Then you can wind the film and the button will pop back up. This isn’t a fix because you will need to do it every time you click the rewind button
Hello mikeno62 I hope you find well and healthy, your videos are excellent, I would like to know if you have managed to find any solution to the problem of the always active self-timer, I have a camera in that condition and it would be a shame to lose it.
You could take a closer look at the bottom switch, sometimes there could be some bad connection or bad wires, of course it could also be the electronic parts that have cold solderings, just some ides.
my camera has the "hook" and i'm having trouble opening the bottom. any suggestions?
Just wiggle it a bit. Just worked for me.
Batteries are good, but still no function? Remove and check the battery cover. Early versions of the battery cover had a tiny pin sticking up in the very center that will often corrode, blocking connection to the battery. Scrape off this pin and try again.
XA-2, -3, -4, users -- do NOT try to pry off the red release button! It is inserted from the underside of the top cover and cannot be pried off!
After removing the top cover, note that there is a somewhat large brass washer beside the release button, around where the chrome screw goes. Do NOT lose this washer! Be sure to replace it before reinstalling the top cover -- use a bit of contact cement to hold it in place. If it's missing, the release button will not work properly.
When reinstalling the top cover, slide the aperture control all the way up to the "Flash" position. (It will likely be necessary to gently lift up the tiny clip above where the flash attaches, just in front of the rewind knob/shaft. This interlock is intended to prevent accidental setting of "Flash" mode unless a flash is actually attached to the body.) Doing so will hold the clip at the top of the aperture slide toward the back of the camera, so that it doesn't catch on the rangefinder's glass window.
When we first trained on these at Olympus, we thought they were incredibly small. Then they made the Mju-2!
Good to know about the release button in the other XAs..Do you know if the light meter needle is adjustable and how to adjust?
The meter assembly on the XA can be trouble, but the need for meter adjustment is quite rare. The meter itself is controlled by it's own CdS cell, which may have died, or one of it's leads may be broken, or pinched and shorted. If this isn't the case, check the following:
If the needle seems to move, but does not move freely or in a "lively" manner, and is always too low or high, it may be that one of the tiny delicate coil springs at either end of the meter frame has become "looped" over one of the adjustment arms next to the meter frame. If may be necessary to remove the rangefinder assembly, then unscrew the meter assembly which is attached from the underside of the finder's frame. Once the meter is removed from the finder frame, there is a small "+" screw at one end that holds a protective "can" over the meter. (the meter wire is usually painted over -- put a drop of acetone on the paint to free the wire before removing the can) Remove this and carefully inspect the coil springs at both ends of the meter. If one of these springs is hooked underneath one of the small arms next to the meter's frame, carefully unhook it and gently press the arm down against the frame to keep it out of the way of the coil spring. Reassemble
Next, probably because of it's horizontal orientation, the galvanometer can be easily knocked off the pivots at either end of the meter. When this happens, the needle may appear to be jammed. If the needle fails to respond to variations in light, this may be the case. It is possible to repair, but it's very tricky. Remove the meter assembly and can as above, and inspect carefully to see if one of the pins of the meter frame is out of it's pivot cup. If so, put a drop of acetone on the paint sealant holding the "--" screw at one end of the meter frame and carefully turn the screw just enough to slip the pin back into it's cup. Then gently turn the screw back in until the meter needle drags, then unscrew just enough for the needle to move freely. Reassemble.
Another possible problem is if a small piece of metallic debris has become stuck on the magnet at the center of the galvanometer. Disassemble as above, and inspect carefully with a magnifier to see if there is a foreign object stuck to the magnet at the center of the galvanometer. If so, carefully introduce a needle into the opening to attract this metallic debris to it. It will usually stick to the needle, and can be removed that way.
In the exceptionally rare case that the meter is otherwise functional, but simply "off", at the end of the meter is a plate with (to the best of my memory) two small holes. Rotating this plate will affect the position of the coil spring at one end of the meter, changing the needle's position.
@@morbidt1641
Hi i just got this camera everything is OK but shutter not fire and the film advance seems jamed
My guess would be you need new batteries
Hello, i have no idea how to contact you, but i wonder if you can offer any help. I broke my meter needle, by turning the adjustment screw for the needle way too much counterclockwise. I've heard a small click, and now its frozen in place. :( Is this fixable, or did i break something really, really bad?
Hi did you fix your needle in the end? so it is possible to adjust the needle? Is that the screw next to the needle on the light meter? Which way to turn to show faster speeds and by how much? Is it definitely the screw that adjust the needle..I need to do this myself but there's not much information about it
Maybe someone could make a video explanation as it seems to be common easily fixable? Problem
From what I gathered you should not turn this screw at all. Service manual says that to change the shown value there are 2 resistors soldered next to the meter. I just left mine showing one stop underexposed.
How different would a XA2 be??
I just took a stab at an XA4 and it was slightly different but nothing crazy. The shutter button on the XA4 wasn't hiding a top plate screw, so I dug at it for a while before I realized that.
Does anybody have a clue what might cause the following behavior of my XA:
The camera actually operates perfectly fine as long as the shutter speed is about 125/1 or faster.
If it's below that the shutter blades will open, stay open, and the red LED starts to blink and the camera beeps along with it (just like it does in Self Timer mode while it's waiting).
The shutter blades continue to stay open forever and the camera keeps blinking and beeping until I either point it at a bright source of light or turn it off by closing the lid. Then the shutter closes without any problems and I can advance the film normally.
There might be a problem with the aperture blades, it might be stuck due to dust or oil, you can remove the front plate and it shouldn't be hard to find a tutorial about it (by far I found one on Flickr) and for the red light timer-like problem, there might be a sensitive wire down below the plate due to corrosion or something like that.
What size screws are they? Are they Phillips or JIS?
Since it’s a Japanese camera they use JIS screws, so don’t use a Philips screw driver because you will most of the time damage the screw head if the screws are too tight.
@@mikeno62 great, thanks
hello. do you know hot to remve the pin under the rewind lever? i thought it would be easy to chance the broken pin but i cant get it out without taking the cmaera apart.
Hello Mikeno62, is it you owning the same account on Instagram (with 0 post)? In fact I'd like to communicate with you and send you a photo of some part that fell from the open bottom of an Olympus XA. Opening another one to compare I didn't see that part. In fact it's not the 1st XA that I fix and I'm really surprised seeing that part. I don't see the part on the service manual so it is really strange. Thank you for your answer. Regards
Field leg and arm AS-A I.E electronic
Code F(monster) = 1-10R* KA
Code V(I blamed)= (es) paco 0034
Field Overlooked objective
J. (Hybrid) F KA 1-10R*= (imad)