Camera Repair - Help!

[Mary Anne]

Thats good news Lyn and I am so Happy for you.
Yes labour is not cheap though getting it done by the people that know the camera is the main thing.

[Floribunda]

Thats good news Lyn and I am so Happy for you.
Yes labour is not cheap though getting it done by the people that know the camera is the main thing.

You are so right MA. It will be so nice to have it back, I have felt lost without it!
Part of the family.

[Cage]

Oh Dear Lyn

Sounds like you have it sorted.

And I know the feeling from when a ghost toppled my tripod and dinged my wide angle lens.

Well, as I was in a cemetery I'm sure it was a spook.

[arthurking83]

In Nikon world, the damage would have been far more expensive.
At a guess, I'd say their labour charges may have been in the $500 range!

I'm not too well versed on Olympus gear, but is the lens stabilised?
I know Olympus cameras have IBIS, so I'm assuming the outer gyro case could be in the camera body?

If the lens is stabilised, then it probably has a gyro itself too(not sure how Olympus stabilised lenses actually operate)

A gyro is a device that senses movement, to tell the stabilisation brains unit which way to counter the movement.

I assume whichever device(lens or camera) gyro bit is being worked on, the gyro probably would have to be recalibrated in some way.
Obviously they have the machines that do that, but it still takes time, and a specialised repair tech to do ... $s!!


First thing I thought when reading your description was camera mount bent. This is to be expected with a camera fall.
That some folks 'get away' with it not being required is more a dumb luck thing.
most falls will result in some deformation on the camera mount .. to varying degrees.
Camera mount fitment is actually very easy, have the right tools anyone with screwdriver experience should be able to do it.
I'd say a reasonable price to repair a camera mount and confirm it's fitment 100% .. ie. send it in to the manufacturer to repair and test ... about $200-300.
Maybe an hour and a bit work for them, plus the hardware.

But to also need to repair lens too ...

So like I reckoned .. $500 .. yeah it's hit to the finances, and one that really shouldn't have happened .. but is cheap.

[Floribunda]

In Nikon world, the damage would have been far more expensive.
At a guess, I'd say their labour charges may have been in the $500 range!

I'm not too well versed on Olympus gear, but is the lens stabilised?
I know Olympus cameras have IBIS, so I'm assuming the outer gyro case could be in the camera body?

If the lens is stabilised, then it probably has a gyro itself too(not sure how Olympus stabilised lenses actually operate)

A gyro is a device that senses movement, to tell the stabilisation brains unit which way to counter the movement.

I assume whichever device(lens or camera) gyro bit is being worked on, the gyro probably would have to be recalibrated in some way.
Obviously they have the machines that do that, but it still takes time, and a specialised repair tech to do ... $s!!


First thing I thought when reading your description was camera mount bent. This is to be expected with a camera fall.
That some folks 'get away' with it not being required is more a dumb luck thing.
most falls will result in some deformation on the camera mount .. to varying degrees.
Camera mount fitment is actually very easy, have the right tools anyone with screwdriver experience should be able to do it.
I'd say a reasonable price to repair a camera mount and confirm it's fitment 100% .. ie. send it in to the manufacturer to repair and test ... about $200-300.
Maybe an hour and a bit work for them, plus the hardware.

But to also need to repair lens too ...

So like I reckoned .. $500 .. yeah it's hit to the finances, and one that really shouldn't have happened .. but is cheap.

Yep - I am basically happy with the quote - and the confidence that Olympus will do a top job.
The lens is stabilised Arthur. And it is the lens gyro that will be replaced and the biggest expense with part and labour. That was the main cost. Spoke to another lovely guy yesterday and he re-iterated that I was just so damn unlucky. It was not a heavy fall as I guess they could tell by the lack of visible damage to the casing and he said it would just have to have landed on precisely the right point to do the damage that occurred.
These things happen - have had years of carting gear around the countryside with not one mishap, so I guess on the whole, it is not too bad.

- - - Updated - - -

Oh Dear Lyn

Sounds like you have it sorted.

And I know the feeling from when a ghost toppled my tripod and dinged my wide angle lens.

Well, as I was in a cemetery I'm sure it was a spook.

No doubt a disgruntled deceased photographer jealous of your gear Kev.
I would like to blame something or someone for my mishap, but I am afraid the buck stops well and truly with me.
However (and I just thought of this) - I have never been really happy with the strap on my camera bag - made of shiny type stuff - I think with Xmas around the corner a new camera bag may be going on the list to Santa.

[Cage]

I'm now fitting quality straps to all my cameras, ie Black Rapid gear. Don't want to trust a cheapy $20 chinee strap with anything up to $5K's worth of gear.

I have many camera bags but never ever use them unless travelling as 99.9% of my usage is local.

[Floribunda]

It's Back!
And very happy I am to have it too.
Seems to be as good as new and a new padded camera bag purchased for travelling.
Olympus were good to deal with although communication between their various departments need improving.
All up though, a satisfactory result.

[Bensch]

Thanks for the update Lyn, great to hear that it has been successfully repaired, and has arrived back safe and sound

[Mary Anne]

Good News Lyn about getting your camera back all fixed and ready to go.

[Floribunda]

Thanks for the update Lyn, great to hear that it has been successfully repaired, and has arrived back safe and sound

No doubt I will be a bit nervous handling it for a while Andy!
Good to go again now though.

- - - Updated - - -

Good News Lyn about getting your camera back all fixed and ready to go.

Really missed it MA. All good now.

[Ross the fiddler]

Very sorry you had that drop with the camera & lens, but glad it's back home & in good condition again. Thankfully I only had to take my E-M5 in (before the warranty ran out) to have the display bezel replaced (overtightened screws had cracked it in early production of E-M5 models). I took it in at the time since it was only an hours drive for me & then they posted it back a week later. They wouldn't service the old SWD lenses though (suggested a repairer in Sydney instead), nor my wife's Stylus 1s with sand in it. That was with an email enquiry at the time.

[Floribunda]

Very sorry you had that drop with the camera & lens, but glad it's back home & in good condition again. Thankfully I only had to take my E-M5 in (before the warranty ran out) to have the display bezel replaced (overtightened screws had cracked it in early production of E-M5 models). I took it in at the time since it was only an hours drive for me & then they posted it back a week later. They wouldn't service the old SWD lenses though (suggested a repairer in Sydney instead), nor my wife's Stylus 1s with sand in it. That was with an email enquiry at the time.

Yes Ross - glad to have it back as good as new. Have never had any problems in the past with any of my Olympus gear. Accidents happen I guess.