Lost Mode Knob on Olympus OM-D EM-5 Mark I

I think I recall someone else had this problem, but I can't find it in search. The mode knob on my Oly EM-5 Mark I fell off and is lost. My Oly dealer can't fix this and said I had to use Olympus Repair. Olympus will not ship me the part (I could replace it myself) and the service department quoted a ridiculous price for replacing.

Does anyone have a source for this part?

TIA,

Huck

I know this may sound silly, but have you tried ebay to look for the part or 3D printing service?

Hi Huck,

I had to buy a new EM-5 when the old one went belly-up for unknown reasons. Fortunately I didn't throw it in the trash yet. So if you want I can salvage its mode dial and mail it to you. PM me to let me know if you still need one and to let me know your shipping address.

Bart

Glasseye Snapper resolved my problem. Thanks Bart.

Huck

It was me who had the same problem. I ended up buying a used camera instead. The other camera became topside only. However since then I also lost the right hand thumb dial :-)

You know, I like my Olympus cameras, but I get really annoyed seeing threads about pieces falling off these cameras. I would think making a camera that doesn't fall apart would be a pretty basic starting point for an established camera company. I have been "into" photography for a lot of years and only in the past couple of years have I felt the need to include a small bottle of glue as part of my camera kit. I have been lucky so far, and have not had any bits fall off my cameras, but at times I wonder about my brand choice...

Okay, it is a few hours since I posted the above and I guess I need to keep things in perspective. Ironically, after posting the above, I happened onto a discussion about the Sony A7Rii. Apparently, it is very easy to knock the sensor out of alignment with even modest bumps to the camera. Supposedly even a bump in a camera bag or a jolt to the camera strap can do it. This renders the camera inoperable and the resulting official repair is hundreds of dollars, so users are resorting to "slapping" or hitting the camera body with their hand in an attempt to knock the sensor back into alignment. I gather this issue is somehow related to the IBIS.

I don't know how common the Sony problem is, but now the risk of having to glue a control dial back on seems less significant.

Yeah, I have certainly had my misadventures with cameras due to Stupid User Errors (SUE): Nikonos IVa, Nikon F3, F4, and N90s, but fortunately not my Nikon DSLRs. I was either able to fix them on the spot or locally repaired at reasonable cost. Olympus could take a lesson in durability.

That said, I really like this Olympus camera. The size and light weight of the camera and lenses are great for hiking in the mountains and vacation travel. In 35mm terms, I have 14 to 600 mm range of lenses at a reasonable cost. The camera has paid for itself with some commercial work.

OBTW, SUE is not my beloved Sue, wife, dive buddy, and u/w model.

Regards,

Huck