Working with Olympus XA oil on aperture blades and shutter blades

[@tiansili]

Note - It's possible to remove the front group without unscrewing the focusing tab connection - move around the aperture ring until 3 screws are revealed - unscrew them then flip over the lens group along with the plastic ring tab to access the aperture and floating elements - this way you don't need to mark the focus position and risk misalignment the lens! Aside from this thank you Kenneth!! My XA came with dirty viewfinder and fungus in lens but this guide helped me fix both so the camera functions as new and is sparkling clean!! THANK YOU SO MUCH

[@elliotowens8939]

Thanks for the input here I was looking at this video wondering is it worth it to clean the lens. still a very tricky operation tbh

[@marksaris7921]

Great addition. I had the same issue with fungus behind the front lens group. Without taking off the focusing tab connection you can reach the screws mentioned at (25:15)

[@pyannaco]

This video was super helpful in repairing an XA I picked up that was out of alignment. The focus ring was stiff on one side and loose on the other end and it could cause the apeture blades to stick open. Tearing it down and rebuilding it solved all the issues. Thanks!

[@jagannathmudaliyar]

and thanks for making such videos it really helps a lot

[@jimoneill5984]

Hi mikeno62, your videos were very helpful in resurrecting my XA which I have had since new. I had not used it for about 20 years and everything was very stiff to turn, with the help of your videos I was able to take it apart and get everything moving again. I still have one problem though - when I pushed in the button for film rewind on the bottom it stayed down and I can't get it to come back up, that means the sprocket which is supposed to pull the film through is always free turning. Could you make another video showing how to disassemble this mechanism? I'm guessing something is stuck in the gears on the bottom under the film take up spool but I don't have a good one to compare to. Just pulling on the button does not seem to do anything.

[@refotografia]

Thank you very much for these videos. I got a dead XA from a friend and used your videos to help me take it apart. I read in these comments that sometimes there are dirt on the small electromagnet, I was able to clean that and I can confirm the meter works now and the camera will fire when pressing the shutter button. Still don't get different speeds from the shutter, is the timing mechanism together with the magnet? Any other ideas?

[@scottlevine5631]

Hi, thanks for this and all your other fantastic videos about the XA. Lately, mine has started exposing everything at the same shutter speed no matter what I set the film speed or the aperature to. It just clicks fast, Even at ISO 25 and f/22, in very dark room, it's still the same. Is there any way to fix this? Maybe I missed it in one of your other videos. Thanks.

[@TomFindahl]

Just got an Olympus XA with stuck winding mechanism. I opened the bottom and managed to release the shutter, then all was working just fine. Then I did some click tests, and it was stuck again, now I can’t release the shutter from the bottom of the camera. Any idea what’s going on? All electronics seem good, no battery drain, battery test seems fine… …and by the way, thanks for enlightening us with your great videos!

[@mikeno62]

Thank's Tom, sometimes there are dirt on the small electromagnet, try to clean the metal surface with a few drops on a cotton bud it will make a better contact, and maybe help (just an idea)

[@zz-kn3nj]

How did u managed fixing the stuck winding?

[@MrRuffun]

How did you release the shutter from the base? Is there something you can click with batteries in or out as I think this is my issue too! Any feedback would be hugely aprpeciated as I couldn't find the answer in this excellent video

[@TomFindahl]

@@MrRuffun I cleaned the magnetic surfaces that release the shutter, but I don’t think that was how I got it going again.

[@mikehobi]

Thank you so much for your videos. I love understanding how things work. Mine seems to be a hybrid of these two new and older versions. I’ve got the same range finder window mechanism as the new one, but a metal ring on the lens like the old one. Anyways, I’m having trouble unscrewing the lens bit at 14:40. It’s really stubborn and won’t budge. Any suggestions for getting it loose?

[@mikehobi]

Ended up using a small channel locking wrench to get the job done!

[@madesmad9935]

Hi, very useful vidoes! tOne question: I have two XA, one is the early model, the other one is the second model (the differences you show in your video). Do you think the top cover is identical? I need to replace the one on the newest model with the one of the oldest model. But I do not want to dissasamble two cameras just to find out is impossible for some differences in the plastic top cover. Thanks in advance for your help

[@gooseman121]

If you were still wondering I just did a few part swaps including the top cover between an old and new model XA and they seem to be exactly the same. I had no trouble trading the back cover top cover and front door assembly between the two.

[@madesmad9935]

Good to know, thanks!

[@m1kel]

whats that tool u used to pick up the aperture blade?

[@joefrengley]

hi there @mikeno62 i have an XA which works well. however the aperture lever is quite stiff going upwards (from lower to higher f stops). do you think this would just be the two screws being too tight or a problem with the aperture blades themself?

[@christianmonnet9137]

Hello Mikeno62, I'd like to ask you a question: how to you call that small pump you're using to put the blades in alcohol and do you remember where you got it (I think that with the name, I'll be able to find one). Thank you. Regards. Chris

[@kap3214]

Hi Mikeno! Do you have any knowledge on removing fungus from the Olympus XA lens? Both the front and rear element. I wonder if it’s even possible to disassemble the lens under home conditions.

[@TomFindahl]

Hydrogenperoksid NAF 3% will remove the fungus

[@tiansili]

Hi Kenneth, my XA is perfect except focus tab is very hard to move. Can I apply lubricant to under the focusing tab or should I disassemble the lens and apply it directly onto the metal? Thanks in advance

[@mikeno62]

The best way to get the best result is to disassemble the lens and apply it directly onto the metal, and you should use very little "Molybdenum MoS2" grease. This is type I found out was really good for focus helicoids "Liqui-Moly" LM47 MoS2 grease with Molybdenum disulfide: products.liqui-moly.com/lm-47-long-life-grease-mos2-1.html

[@orlandpunzalan8790]

hi, i am trying now to clean the inside like what you're doing but the floating element or the focusing knob on the side (21:09). mine is stuck and can't really move. is there a way to go inside that part? based on the manual, the whole lens group can be removed.but its really stuck?

[@2765Max]

I know this is a 4 year old comment but could you ever fix this? I'm having the same problem now

[@stuartlloyd1746]

Hi, I have an XA and all seems to work fine except the needle in the viewfinder bounces around and doesn't always stay at the correct shutter speed. Is this something I could fix myself? I have some repair skills but a little limited!

[@angusbeof566]

do you have advice on how to remove stripped screws? mine seem to be stuck

[@mikeno62]

I'm working on a video about that..

[@wamanwamin6094]

Hey, could you do a video about fixing the aperture blade on the Nikon 35Ti? Mine won’t shoot below f2.8

[@mikeno62]

Sorry, I do not have a Nikon 35Ti.

[@LotosSoonyPark]

can u help me please? one part of the mechanism felt out, and i dont get where did it come from! its a tiny silver-mirror like part felt out when i was unscrewing the front aperture stuff

[@mikeno62]

I would think it the small mirror from the rangefinder, it has the part number LC409700 and it's shown on the page 10 in the repair manual. Here you can get the repair manual: mattsclassiccameras.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/OlympusXA_repair.pdf

[@jagannathmudaliyar]

hi I did the mistake of removing the focusing lever without marking it as i had removed it before i watched your video. what can i do now?

[@mikeno62]

It should be possible to see where the little metal pin and the plastic part should have sitting, because there's maybe old track's of how the part's had sitting, if you look very closer you should also see where the screw has sit. just some idea's.

[@jagannathmudaliyar]

@@mikeno62 thanks for the reply ,what i did was remove the shutter and put back the lens without shutter and then focus using a matte film , and lock the focusing lever in place and install shutter back and put it together i'll have to run a test film to see if that worked

[@jagannathmudaliyar]

@@mikeno62 if that does not work i'll try your idea