About 25 years ago I was photographing a parade in Baltimore when I dropped
my 28/2 on the ashfelt. The only damage was cosmetic -- several small gouges
in the aperture ring.
I don't know why, but I didn't think about getting it fixed until five or
six years ago. I called Olympus and spoke with Eric, who'd treated me well
in the past. He busted his hump, but couldn't find a replacement aperture
ring. It turned out there were at least three versions of this lens, and
parts for the first -- the version I owned -- were no longer available.
Good lenses aren't cheap. And owners tend to keep them for many years --
especially high-speed and "specialty" lenses. You'd think Olympus would
understand the concept of "long-term customer satisfaction." Apparently not.
Olympus's failure to stock a good supply of winder caps is another example.
It's particularly galling to hear that parts must be cannibalized from
existing lens stocks! What about the customers who would have bought those
lenses if they hadn't been torn apart? Wouldn't it be simpler -- and more
profitable -- to keep a stock of common repair parts (especially front and
back elements) so you didn't have to "trash" salable merchandise?
Just to clarify the point... Other than the auto-diaphragm, how many
"internal" parts are you ever going to need? Virtually none. It makes more
sense to stock commonly needed parts, rather than holding good lenses in
reserve.
The only American company I know of who's "good" about repairing old
equipment is Polaroid -- but that's partly because they have/had warehouses
full of old cameras. Virtually any pack-film or integral-film Polaroid can
be easily fixed.
I strongly recommend the OM-4T over the OM-4. The 4T has titanium top and
bottom plates; the 4's are brass. The 4T has significantly lower current
drain than the 4 and is less likely to develop electronic problems. If I
remember correctly, the 4T supports SuperFP flash, while the 4 doesn't.
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