I wrote this page shortly after the event. At the time I didn't understand that this is
a serious design flaw in the viewfinder of the Olympus OM-D E-M1. See
this page for more up-to-date information.
In December 2013 I purchased
an Olympus OM-D E-M1, at the time very new on the market. On the whole I'm satisfied with it, but it hasn't
proven to be very reliable. Within 9 months one of the strap lugs fell off, and I was lucky
not to damage it. And when it came back, it developed a strange flare in the viewfinder.
It wasn't bad at the time, but it got worse, and now it's clear that I'll need service.
There's a collection of curved reflections in the viewfinder, not on the same focal plane as
the image. They're only there when the viewfinder is active, so they must have something to
do with the viewfinder illumination. Here the viewfinder in focus on the left, the
artefacts in focus on the right. The first row is with the lens cap on, the second looking
at an (out of focus) object through the lens.
One way or another, it's a good thing that this camera has a 2 year warranty. It has been
more unreliable than any real camera I have ever had. Only the horrible Casio QV-5000 SX
was worse.
