In article <916@blake.win.net>, swedenborg@blake.win.net says...
(a long post about Olympus and Nikon reliability deleted)
>What kinds of reliability and repair experience do other users and
>hobbyists collectors have out there? By reliability, how
>trustworthy the camera is, does it let you know it is failing; and
>by repair experience, what seems to go wrong.

I will begin with a few comments about sources for used cameras.
IM(NS)HO, I would avoid body purchases at shows, swap meets, etc.
Aside from the question of whether or not a cameras origin is, uh,
legitimate, it is also a great place for people to dump their
perhaps none too reliable (or slightly out of adjustment) camera
bodies. (I never go to the shows, but I used to buy cameras from
someone who did, and, while the lenses were usually O.K., the
bodies were almost 100% defective in at least small ways.) Buying
over the 'net, from Shutterbug, out of the local paper, or from
dealers has been far more satisfactory - probably because I am
buying from someone who will be there after the sale if something
is wrong with the purchased equipment.
The next comment regards Olympus, a company whose products I would
like to like (interesting lenses, innovative design, nice feel, etc.),
BUT my first and second hand experience has been poor in the
reliability area (though the Olympus repair people are nice to deal
with). At the campus store, 10 out of 10 of the OM88 (?) AF bodies
were DOA or died soon after sale, and of 4 OM4T's, 2 were DOA!
(One of the OM88's was mine.) (YIKES! With reliability that good,
I am surprised you had any problems at all with Olympus bodies!)
(Though the OM-1 and OM-2 have a good reputation, and the OM-4
DOA's may have been a fluke.....) And those Olympus Pen EE's I had
in my early days kept getting weird, also (nice lens and VF, though).
BTW, the EM was Nikon's absolute rock bottom camera in the line,
though I have had good luck with the EM and its more advanced
spinoffs, the FG-20 and FG (a kinda nice camera!). And I also find
that the batteries in all Nikons N2000-2020 and previous seem to
last forever, but more recent bodies tend to eat them (1-2 YEARS
of frequent use seemed to be possible with the motor driven N2000
bodies, but battery use is a real problem with 8008's, etc.,
and absurd if the camera requires expensive lithiums [the battery
cost can approach the cost of the film {B&W, user rolled}]).
I have found Nikon bodies quite reliable (only one repair in over
25 years of personal and professional use - not bad!). BTW,
I am a strong believer in keeping cameras clean and protected
as a preventive measure - it pays in reliability and resale value.
Also, DO NOT get a clean-lube-adjust, unless there is a REAL need
(missadjustments made in servicing are more likely than from
careful use, even over a very extended time). If the camera fails,
THEN send it in for service - otherwise you waste money and risk
turning a well adjusted camera into one that is not (assuming you
checked the camera thoroughly when purchased, and returned it if
not well adjusted). BTW, Nikon's body repairs seem to be good,
though oddly priced (minor adjustments or major rebuilds seem to
be about $100 +/- $30), but I have never been happy with their
lens work (though they do try hard to satisfy the customer).
I have no experience with other camera brand reliability (just
lens design and manufacturing quality, or lack thereof ;-), but I
do notice a lot of the older type Minoltas, Pentaxes, Nikons, Leicas, and Canons still in use.....
Hope this helps.