Repair lens - Olympus Cameras

Sorry, but it's absolutely not a DIY fix. Your lens must be professionally repaired and it will not be cheap.

Get an repair estimate and then decide whether to live with the fault or repair/replace the lens.

First question "is it worth repairing" if it were mine I'd look to see what a new one is worth then divide that in half (cause that's what you might be able to buy a used one for) then figure about $120.00 for cleaning lubricating and adjusting the your lens. With your lens you know what you have, buying used might need the service. you are the one to decide. As for the second question "can I repair it myself" short answer no. If you have to ask if you can repair it then you don't have the necessary tools and general knowledge of how to dismantle and reassemble the lens (and have it work when finished). The lens took a hit and most likely set the inner and outer lens barrels out of alignment causing the inner barrel to slip out of its seal and or focusing gear and hang things up forcing it will break parts causing more repair costs. All else fails get an estimate before repair. Been there with a lens myself and after a couple a months without bit the bullet and had it repaired. Cheers best of luck

Hi
to remove the front lens you will see a ring that you can peel off and you will see
4 screws take them off and the front lens will come off

Any camera repair guy can repair these. A store that specifically sells digital camera can repair these cameras easily. This is actually a common problem for this camera and its cousin, the m525.

I have been tinkering with theses cameras. The lens for the m425 (and m525 ) can be removed and repaired manually. Since I am a amateur, my success rate is about 50%. It all depends on how jammed the lens. If anyone has good technique in manually repair these, I would like to know.

The one good thing is that lens can be removed and swapped out with another from a m425/m525 camera. I would look for broken cameras on eBay, ones with workings lens to replace your non-working lens

problem in lens unit repair or replace

This is not a DIY repair. You need to have access to lens collimators and other specialist tools and also need to be able to remove and replace lens cement to have any chance of tackling this successfully.

The cost is high not only because some parts might need to be replaced but because the lens needs to be stripped down almost totally to ensure that no moisture remains trapped inside. Some of the materials used in the lens construction tend to absorb water and will either need to be replaced or removed and dessicated before being replaced. When originally built, most of the lens was assembled by robots but it's far more difficult and precise for a skilled human to dismantle and correctly reassemble a lens which will already have seen some wear and tear.

If every last drop of moisture is not removed then you can at the very least expect your lens to fog up regularly and to rapidly suffer the onset of lens fungus which will permanently damage the glass coatings. You'll also find that electronic parts will fail due to corrosion.

Sorry to be so negative but I've repaired (and also failed to repair) enough lenses in my time to have a good idea of where the limits lie in lens repair.

Your lens will cost around £800 to replace, so even if repairs cost half that then it's money well spent. Botched DIY repairs will leave the lens either worthless or completely uneconomic to repair.

Lens errors are fairly common. Usually it's sand or grit interfering with the lens extension mechanism. Or the camera's been dropped with the lens extended. Or the camera has been powered on, but the lens had been blocked preventing its extension. Or the battery ran down with the lens extended ...

Here's some things that you can do to try to correct it. They only seem to work for less than 50% of the lens errors, but if the camera is out of warranty, they're worth a try:

http://camerarepair.blogspot.com/2007/12/fixing-lens-error-on-digital-camera.html

Try helping gently the lens to extend completely, using your fingernails, if the lens still do not extend, then the lens cylinder must be taken apart and remounted, this is a job that must be done at a repair shop.

It would not be advisable for you to try and clean this yourself. Special tools are required to remove the optics safely. Canon USA will charge a fortune to make this kind of repair. I suggest you use the search on this site to find a repair person in your area. The proper facility will be able to clean your glass, rather than replace it.