Olympus Pen-EE Shutter Repair and Overhaul

The Olympus Pen-EE, from about 1961, can be disassembled with care, cleaned and overhauled, and put back together without much risk of losing any parts or damaging anything inside -- if you are handy, steady, and patient, and you have the right tools.

Step 1 Tools

A bit of a tongue-in-cheek look at the tools I started with. Plus some vodka (not necessarily for obvious reasons) and lighter fluid. And lintless paper towels.

Needed, but did not have, whatever tool is used to turn screws that have two pinholes in them instead of a slot or cross for a screwdriver.

Comments

[genboy]

I wish I did....this was my one and only disassembly adventure with the Pen. If you search the flickr site for Pen-ee groups I'll bet you can find someone to answer your question though. Good luck!

[anfractuosities]

hmmm...trying to take apart my pen-ee, which is slightly different than the one you have. I picked it up, mint, for $10. It is a beautiful little camera, but the shutter is malfunctioning.

http://www.butkus.org/chinon/olympus/olympus_pen_ee/olympu3.jpg

Notice the lack of "pen" on the front side of the camera. So, I cannot remove the first lens in step 3! I tried with my fingers, I tried with a wrench, I'm not even going to tell you the other things that I tried. Needless to say, the camera is no longer in mint condition. At this point, I just want to use the thing. Any suggestions for alternative ways to take off the lens?

d

[Phil B]

I have had a couple of shutters apart and put them back together. Sometimes I tried to clean and lubricate them before assembly. Ether starting fluid worked pretty well as a cleaner. I have not tried vodka or lighter fluid. Sometimes I lubricated with a silicone based TV tuner cleaner. There is always the risk of attracting dust and dirt to the lubricant. I also learned early to place the camera inside the shallow top of a box. If a screw rolled away someplace, it did not go far. It is a good idea to fire the shutter on a film camera in all shutter speeds once or twice a month. It helps keep them from becoming stuck.

[genboy]

Excellent points, thanks --