The illustration in Vision Age #4 differs from the one on your link as well.
The right side of the meter window on top has three symbols -- at the rear a
red circle, in the middle a yellow semicircle, at
the top a black box with a "-" through it, whatever those mean. I suppose
"full sun", "half-sun", and "low light"?
To quote the relevant portion of the article verbatim (pay particular attention
to paragraph 4):
PERFECT LIGHT VALUE
In 1958, Olympus announced one more pioneering high-performance 35mm lens
shutter camera. This was the Olympus Auto. First, let's take a look at its
highly individual design.
The top of the camera is dominated by the light meter and the viewfinder, with
the rewind crank relegated to the camera bottom. The explanation is that the
designers wanted to lengthen the base length of
the rangefinder and get the maximum possible viewfinder magnification in order
to fully exploit the fine performance of the newly developed 42mm F1.8 G Zuiko
lens.
At that time, Olympus gave the new camera's exposure meter system the title of
"Perfect Light Value System." In justification, we should point out that the
camera's exposure selection system permitted a
free choice between aperture preferred and shutter speed preferred, what is now
known as a programmed exposure system. In other words, at a time when people
were still bumbling along with awkward linked
exposure meter and shutter systems, Olympus offered the generous choice of
setting either the aperture or the shutter as desired. After that it was
merely a question of aligning the moving indicator line
with the meter exposure indication in order to be sure the exposure would be
all right. Furthermore, when extreme lighting conditions rendered the initial
aperture or shutter speed settings unsuitable,
there were automatically corrected to ensure a perfect exposure.
"Perfect" was clearly more than just the usual advertising hype. There is not
space here to go into a detailed explanation of the newly developed mechanism
adopted in the construction. Suffice it to say
that when the shutter speed dial was rotated, the aperture was also changed in
order to maintain the same light value, but when the aperture dial was rotated,
only the aperture setting was changed. In fact,
the Olympus Auto was then the only coupled exposure meter-type camera in the
world with this kind of versatility. But the spirit of the times was drawn
more to developing a simple, basic type of exposure
automation rather than pursuing this kind of perfect picture-taking technology.
Consequently the ambitious Olympus Auto was unavoidably discontinued only a
year after its first appearance."
The article also contains a box titled "Olympus Auto Specifications", which
notes that the camera has an intentional multiple exposure mechanism -- I
suspect that the slide under the wind lever activates
this function. This mechanism may be damaged, causing the wind problems you
note, though if the camera is similar to many of the era, the fault may lie
inside the bottom cover. If it is like cameras like
the SP, etc, there is a large clutch gear and arm inside the bottom, and a
winding crank, either on which may have come loose. Unless the rewind
mechanism is in the way, you might want to try opening it to
check for loose parts.
Earl Dunbar wrote:
> The top plate of my camera does not look exactly llike
> http://medfmt.8k.com/mf/kb/ The meter indicator is different... larger with
> more markings.
>
> Other differences from from the views on that site:
>
> Front
> * Lens -- G.Zuiko f1.8 f=4.2cm SN 104797
> * Meter cell is covered with a metal flap, in which there is a slit,
> )apparently for varying lighting conditions?); the flap swings up revealing
> the cell
> Top
> * As noted meter indicator is different; wider, with more graphics
> * SN of body is 106198
> * If you crank the wind lever to the right, a small slider button is
> revealed that has two positions. There is no writing/markings and no
> apparent way of determining its purpose.
> * All other markings/ labelling are the same; there is no change in model
> name to indicate it is a different lens and shutter
> Bottom
> * No differences
>
> The inside of theis camera is really clean. The sprocket spindle is a very
> nicely machined piece of aluminum. This is not a super-compact Oly, nor
> particularly lightweight. Probably typical of the era.
>
> I'll see if I can get some digital pics and post them somewhere.
>
> Earl
>
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