How to Open Olympus OM10

Opening the Olympus OM10 top cover is extremely simple. You would want to open it if you needed to clean the prism; however, this camera has a flex circuit with soldered wires above it, which will require removing first. If you are getting intermittent connection for the ON switch, or the film advance lever does not easily return all the way back, then you may have to remove the top cover to clean away the dust that usually settles there.

On my one, the film advance lever shaft had some rust, which required removing, and it works perfectly after some cleaning.

To open the top cover, there are the obvious screws around the sides that will require removing. Then remove the film rewind crank, and selector dial underneath. On the other side of the camera, remove the film advance lever.

The mode / ASA film speed dial remains in place do not attempt to remove it. The shutter release button and activator also stay in place, do not remove those. After removing the top cover, do not rotate the ASA film speed dial because the mechanism underneath it has to remain in alignment. The shutter release button also has to remain in alignment. If you lose the alignment, then it is possible to set them again visually, but it is very fiddly and time consuming.

When you open the top, a spring may fall off. This spring is for the back door lock mechanism.

The following pages show the systematic removal of the top side controls, and then large clear images of the insides and the electronic engineering involved in this camera.

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