Olympus E-Pl1 Sensor Assembly Removal

Written By: Jeffery Smith

Comments: 10

Difficulty

Moderate

Steps

Time Required

15 - 30 minutes

Introduction

This guide will go through the steps on removing the sensor assembly to work on internal components.

Tools

Step 1

Push the gray tab down, using a spudger if necessary, and the battery will come out.
Failure to remove the battery prior to disassembly can result in harm.

Step 2

There are a total of six screws that must be removed using the the #000 Philips screwdriver.
As per picture one: there is one 4.9 mm Philips head screw on the left side of the camera.
As per picture two: on the bottom of the camera, there are three 3.4 mm Philips head screws; these are located on the darker area of the case.
As per picture three: there are two 5.3 mm Philips head screws on the right side, one is beneath the USB cover.

Does this method can be applied on Olympus Pen E-P1 Model? Do you have a tutorial like this on that said model I’ve mentioned?

Matt M - 29/04/18

Step 3

Open the case by peeling off the back panel.
Pull the case apart gently so that the ribbon connector will not tear.

Step 4

Disconnect the two ribbon cables as shown in picture one.
Avoid using metal pry tools, as shown in the photo, on internal electronic components, as it can cause a short and damage the device. Use an ESD-safe tool such as a standard nylon spudger.
To disconnect a ribbon cable, use a spudger to lift the black tab then pull the ribbon out. This works the same for all ribbon cables.

The cables (2) on the camera back are quite short. Because of this, removal is quite easy while reconnecting can be challenging. You might have an easier time if you use some masking tape connecting the back to the front loosely to support the back as it takes both hands to reconnect the cables.

davel4wa -

Step 5

The back panel has now been removed.

Step 6

Using a spudger, remove the ribbon cables by pushing the black tab back and gently pulling the cable out.
Avoid using metal pry tools, as shown in the photo, on internal electronic components, as it can cause a short and damage the device. Use an ESD-safe tool such as a standard nylon spudger.
Do this process for the two ribbon cables shown in the third photo.

Step 7

Using the #000 Phillips screwdriver, remove the 4.3 mm screw as shown by the screwdriver and the 6.0 mm screw holding down the ribbon.
These screws have washers on them, do not to lose them.
Using tweezers, gently lift the ribbon off the sticky pad.

Both of the screws have copper washers. Steel one from bottom red circle is actually one of eight washers from beneath sensor board (step 13).

Adam -

Step 8

Unlike previous connectors, this cable has a light grey clip holding it in place on opposite side of the connector in regards where the ribbon is inserted. Flip it up and then using your fingers, gently pull the top ribbon cable out.

Flip up the grey lid opposite the cable and then gently pull it out

Heiner Sommer - 05/07/20

Step 9

Using a #000 Phillips screwdriver, remove the 6.0 mm screw on the bottom left hand corner. You can locate the screw on the picture as the green circle.

Step 10

In the upper left hand corner, use the #000 Phillips screwdriver to remove the 6.0 mm screw.
Retain the copper washer held in by this screw.
Using tweezers gently lift the copper grounding strip.
Do not tear the strip as you pull it off, it must stay attached to the main camera body.

Step 11

Remove the bracket in the lower right hand corner. In order to do so, you must remove two different screws.
Using the #000 Phillips screwdriver, remove the 2.4 mm screw on the bottom.
Using the #000 Phillips screwdriver, remove the 6.0 mm screw on the top and lift off the bracket.

Step 12

Now you can lift out the sensor assembly. The following steps will explain how to lift it out.
First, sightly lift the bottom half following the direction of the arrow.
Second, lift the top left up side up. It may be a little stuck so you will have to wiggle it out.
Finally, pull the entire assembly towards the bottom and away from the case.
There is a ribbon connector that is beneath the assembly. Be careful when lifting the assembly out. Do not yank it out very hard or you may damage the ribbon connector.

BEFORE you start lifting sensor assembly board read comments from next step. It is very important.

Adam -

Step 13

This is the sensor assembly with the photo showing the connected ribbon cable.
There are three washers held in by the 6.0 mm screws as shown in picture two. Be sure to replace them when reassembling.

after removing sensor assembly, besides these three washers I found three more. Where could they come from?

kantora98 - 13/07/18

All the washers come from underneath the 6 mm screws. I had 8 washers alltogether. Allways two together.

Heiner Sommer - 18/07/20

I have six (6) washers as well. Three (3) have black marking, two (2) have green marking, and one (1) has purple marking. If there are multiple washers per position I would need two more. I measured the thickness of each one thinking that they are shims to correct the sensor to be parallel to the shutter. If so, the colors on each one don't coincide with a particular thickness. Perhaps the color identifies a position of one of the four mounting bosses, then there are only three colors for four bosses. Perhaps one boss had no washer at all. In any case, it is unlikely the sensor will be back as it was since all but one washer was found lying in the underlying area.

davel4wa -

As far as I know there are 8 washers, in 4 pairs. There is one pair under every hole, and they absolutely love to fall inside camera while you lift the sensor.

Also, they are not same thickness, and color of the paint on them is not related to thickness. There is unique combination of them for every camera, calibrated in factory to make sensor perfectly flat. You must carefully remove them with tweezers while you slighty lift sensor assembly, then write where they were. If you miss doing this, there is no way to assemble camera exactly as it was.

If You don't find all 8, first look if they are not stuck on back of the sensor board, if not, flip your camera body and tap it gently to make them fall out.

Adam -

This tip only for people using this guide not for sensor lens replacement, but to know how to get to hot mirror for infrared camera conversion:

If you remove hot mirror, and NOT replace it with clear glass, then you want to assemble camera without these 8 washers. If you do this, it reduces flange focal distance and helps lens to focus properly in infrared light. You still want to find them all, as they can create short if left inside.

Adam -