Paul,
I guess if someone brought said camera in to my shop for work I would
probably refuse it by saying: "It is impossible to know what is missing or
broken inside this camera." "Because of that it will be impossible to give
you an honest estimate of what repairs will cost." "If you wish to leave it
I will check it out more fully." "This service will cost $20.00, but that
will apply to the repair charge if you elect to have it repaired."
The fact that the mirror does not retract fully could mean that the
switch
is miss assembled, or it could mean that the whole mirror cage is out of
whack. One is easy to fix, the other is not. As you state, other parts are
missing. This could mean that they were used for something else, or just
lost. At any rate it does not look good for the camera to be anything more
than parts. A working OM-1 can be had for $150.00 or so if you look.
If you get the camera and lens for a total of $50.00 or less then you
got
a deal. If it is more then you must decide how much of that is lens, and
how much is camera. A good parts OM-1 these days is worth about $20.00. So
I make the total worth about $70.00 on the top side and $40.00 on the
bottom side. A "good" parts OM-1 is one that is all there, but not working
correctly, has blown electronics, is jammed or otherwise beyond reasonable
costs to repair. The description of your camera means to me that it is a
parts camera that has been apart, and has had parts removed or changed. I
would pay $10.00 for it max.
Hope this helps,
Regards,
Bryant
----------
> From: P2CON@xxxxxxx
> To: olympus@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
> Subject: [OM] OM-1 Purchase Question
> Date: Tuesday, June 09, 1998 12:10 PM
>
> Hello all, I have been lurking here for some time now and still do not
feel
> confident enough to be posting advice or information, but I do have a
> question. Have any of you taken a chance with an as-is purchase of an
OM-1
> that definitely needs some repair work? And did it turn out OK?
>
> I have the opportunity to buy an OM-1 with two known problems, and
possibly a
> third, (bad meter). What makes it attractive is the 50mm/f1.4 MC Zuiko
> attached to it. I can buy the camera for approximately the value of the
lens
> alone, and the real question is whether I may be letting myself in for
some
> prohibitive repair charges that are unknown at this point. It appears
that a
> previous owner tried to take it apart to fix something, but was
unsuccesful so
> then tried to put it back together, and was also unsuccessful at that, so
left
> a few parts off. The fp/fx switch is missing, and the mirror lock-up
button
> only moves the mirror about half way up. The shutter seems to work good
with
> all speeds proportional, and the camera looks OK (not cosmetically
abused).
> There was no battery in it so unable to check the meter.
>
> What do you think? It is after all a mechanical camera and could be used
just
> as it is, (after plugging the hole where the fp/fx switch used to be).
It
> might even force me to learn a bit more about exposure if the meter also
> doesn't work. Just think, a free camera!! I would appreciate your
comments.
>
> Regards, Paul Connet
>
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