Help with SLR camera

Hi group - sorry about this - I know this is not the right group for this
discussion. I need help. I have an older type SLR camera - Olympus OM2.

Yesterday I took a photo and the camera just jammed. The reflector swung up
and the shutter opened, then the reflector got stuck at the top and
everything is jammed. I will only be in Cape Town in about 1 months time and
I need this camera urgently. I am quite handy. The little handbook that goes
with the camera, offers no help.

Thanx so much.
Koos

"Bob Jordan" <bjordan@hortresearch.co.newzealand> wrote in message
news:bjordan-D442D0.12502209072003@news.xtra.co.nz...
> In article <3f0b37ba$0$76748$1b62eedf@news.wanadoo.nl>, "Hans
> Schoelink" <schoelink@wanadoo.nl> wrote:
>
> > Well Johan no need to react the way you do. Koos is a respected user of
> > this
> > newsgroup...
> > I have no pronlem that he is posting his questions about his camera.
> >
>
>
> I agree, and furthermore I think it is an Africa problem as the
> identical thing happened to me on Safari in East Africa. A large group
> of very close elephants in the Serengeti and the shutter jammed open on
> my semi automatic pentax. I pushed lots of internal levers carefully
> and put batteries in and out etc. over maybe 30 minutes before it came
> free. I was told on my return by the camera shop to keep an eye on it.
> It has never happened again. Probably had 100 films through it since
> then including a month in Nepal - but guess that is outside this groups
> interest :-)
>

If we get an answer to the question it could be very useful information for
some of the rest of us when we encounter a similar problem travelling in
Africa. So far I have been very lucky with putting in a new battery to free
a jammed camera most of the time. I don't think I will ever be able to fix
something like a broken spring (happened in extreme cold in Canada) in the
field.

Many people recommend fully mechanical cameras over electonically operated
ones in difficult locations, but I have had more mechanical than electronic
problems with my various cameras.

Scott Elliot

"Hans-Georg Michna" <hans-georgNoEmailPlease@michna.com> wrote in message
news:vtongv8ld4bm070f8usetkcg5pk6um8364@...
> Koos,
>
> I've had a camera (Canon EOS) jam in India once. It was probably
> the moisture, perhaps some condensed in the camera and shorted
> the electronics.
>
> After some dry weather the camera came back to life.
>
> In other words, it may not be a mechanical jamming. Were you in
> an area with high moisture?

Hi Hans-Georg,
Greetings to you all! I've been lurking for a few months, but this thread
is spicy enough to bring me out of hiding.<grin>

My favorite safari guide feels "camera jams" are frequent and relative
enough to warrant a half-page written in his "Things You Need to Know
Before You Leave Home" booklet. You nailed the number one problem --
moisture/condensation from the extreme shifts in day/night temps--and you
nailed the remedy (store those cameras and lenses inside a zip-lock type
baggies with silica to prevent the problem). Two other common problems:
If your camera jams on early game drives, take the battery out and place it
in an inside pocket so it can warm up from your body heat. A very common
problem is automatic focus cameras just get confused sometimes. When this
happens he suggests you remove the battery and wait 2-5 minutes before you
reload it. This is similar to rebooting a computer using CTRL-ALT-DEL.

Personally I've had two cameras jam over 14 safaris, but Francesco's tips
got me up and shooting in no time. Of course his golden rule is, "have your
cameras cleaned/serviced/calibrated just before you leave. Shoot a test
roll of film to make sure the equipment is working properly after the
service.
Now I will hush and climb back under that workaholic lifestyle I've been
living...Felicia