In December 2013 I got a new Olympus OM-D E-M1, their top of the line camera. It's tough, rugged, waterproof... and not sun proof.

About a year after I bought the camera, I ran into a problem, strange markings in the viewfinder:

Image title: E M1 viewfinder 4          Dimensions:          3268 x 2359, 1248 kB Make a single page with this image Hide this image Make this image a thumbnail Make thumbnails of all images on this page Make this image small again Display small version of all images on this page All images taken on Monday, 22 December 2014, thumbnails          All images taken on Monday, 22 December 2014, small Diary entry for Monday, 22 December 2014 Complete exposure details

 

It took me a while to send it off for repair: it typically takes 3 weeks until I get it back again. In the meantime I wrote this page. At the time I had no idea what caused it. When I sent the camera for repair, it was returned with a note stating that the camera had been left in direct sunlight:

Image title: Oly docket detail 2          Dimensions:          2183 x 283, 180 kB Make a single page with this image Hide this image Make this image a thumbnail Make thumbnails of all images on this page Make this image small again Display small version of all images on this page All images taken on Friday, 31 July 2015, thumbnails          All images taken on Friday, 31 July 2015, small Diary entry for Friday, 31 July 2015

 

Following up showed that this is a known defect in the camera design: if the viewfinder eyepiece adjustment is set to +2 dioptres, it only takes one second to burn a hole in the viewfinder fabric, as these photos by Daniel Bradley show:

Image title: Damaged E M1 viewfinder          Dimensions:          1280 x 895, 82 kB Make a single page with this image Hide this image Make this image a thumbnail Make thumbnails of all images on this page Make this image small again Display small version of all images on this page All images taken on Wednesday, 18 June 2014, thumbnails          All images taken on Wednesday, 18 June 2014, small Diary entry for Wednesday, 18 June 2014 Complete exposure details

   

Image title: Damaged E M1 viewfinder detail Complete exposure details Dimensions: 669 x 386, 34 kB Dimensions of original: 669 x 386, 34 kB Display this image: thumbnail    hidden   alone on page Display all images on this page as: thumbnails    this size Show for Wednesday, 18 June 2014: thumbnails    small images    diary entry

And Olympus didn't even warn me! Fortunately I found out and was able to avoid any further damage—I thought. In February 2016, despite all my attempts, it happened again. The difference now is that the manufacturer's warranty has expired. I called up Consumer Affairs Victoria, who were helpful. Apart from the manufactuer's warranty, section 54 of the Consumer Law provides an implied warranty. Trimming to the details relevant to this case, it says:

If a person supplies, in trade or commerce, goods to a consumer, there is a guarantee that the goods are of acceptable quality.

Goods are of acceptable quality if they are as fit for all the purposes for which goods of that kind are commonly supplied, free from defects, safe and durable.

But Olympus didn't want to know. This was an isolated case. So I went out looking, and came back with a large number of forum threads on the subject. Here are some of them:

• This one shows that Olympus Australia are very aware of the matter. It also sums up the absurdity of the issue:

  Now that goes against the grain of anything to do with photography, as sunlight has been the raison d'être for photography and, for a camera that is advertised as an "all weather" camera, it's the height of irony that you have to be cautious (to the point of being paranoid) when using it in sunlight.

• This one, in German, describes Daniel Bradley's experiment illustrated in the image above.
• http://www.dpreview.com/forums/thread/3717503
• http://wetpixel.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=53324
• https://www.mu-43.com/threads/omd-evf-bleeding.64334

I like the E-M1, but my goodwill towards Olympus is wearing thin.

Are you affected? If so, please contact me.