Want to Buy Looking for a Pentax MX . . . .

[John Galt]

. . . . For a reasonable price. KEH has a black one for more than I am willing to pay . . . and it is unrated but with a one year warranty??

I really only need the body in good working order but if it came with the superb f1.4 50mm I would consider it . . I am awash with f2 50mm Pentax lenses

 

[jtk]

Just out of curiosity...what other Pentax do you shoot? fwiw I've shaken all 35mm down to a pair of ME Supers and carefully chosen fast primes plus a 2.8 macro..and all work on my mirrorless..

 

[John Galt]

Just out of curiosity...what other Pentax do you shoot? fwiw I've shaken all 35mm down to a pair of ME Supers and carefully chosen fast primes plus a 2.8 macro..and all work on my mirrorless..

Hi JTK . . I also shoot a K1000 SE . . I like my cameras to not require a battery to fire the shutter. I guess it is the Prepper side of me

 

[runswithsizzers]

The Pentax MX is not particularly rare - there are are dozens of them offered on eBay. So I assume the sticking point is "For a reasonable price"?

There are many MX cameras on eBay between $100 and $200, and <this one> for $210 (shipped) includes the SMC M 50mm F1.4 lens.

Is your idea of "reasonable" significantly different?

 

[ChrisPlatt]

Good working ones are regularly advertised for sale at reasonable prices in Pentax Forums Marketplace (classified ads).

Chris

 

[Ron (Netherlands)]

MX's are indeed not rare, but flawless working MX's are IMHO. I've repaired quite a few and these are the weak points to beware at:
1. the shutter is not electronic and made of fabric in stead of thin metal alloy; therefore more prone to wear (comparable to the old Barnack Leica's)...I've seen a few were the shuttercloth was or came lose from the shafts;
2. the light meter diodes are very cute presented in what may look at a round translucent dial; however that dial is operated by a set of cooperating wheels connected with a very thin metal wire. Over time the wire becomes lose: most of the MX's I've had in my hand, had slippery wires resulting in a bad / wrong readout of the diodes.
3. as the old MX's almost all old Pentax camera's are in need of new light baffle material.

All these 'repairs' can be done by yourself, but if the camera is in need of those, it should only cost you a 'bargain' price....

 

[runswithsizzers]

MX's are indeed not rare, but flawless working MX's are IMHO. I've repaired quite a few and these are the weak points to beware at:
1. the shutter is not electronic and made of fabric in stead of thin metal alloy; therefore more prone to wear (comparable to the old Barnack Leica's)...I've seen a few were the shuttercloth was or came lose from the shafts;
2. the light meter diodes are very cute presented in what may look at a round translucent dial; however that dial is operated by a set of cooperating wheels connected with a very thin metal wire. Over time the wire becomes lose: most of the MX's I've had in my hand, had slippery wires resulting in a bad / wrong readout of the diodes.
3. as the old MX's almost all old Pentax camera's are in need of new light baffle material.

All these 'repairs' can be done by yourself, but if the camera is in need of those, it should only cost you a 'bargain' price....

Thanks for sharing your experience. I would certainly want my Pentax MX to be 'working' but 'flawless' might be too high of an expectation. Unless the seller specifically says the camera has had a recent CLA, new light baffles, etc. I would recommend anyone thinking about buying a 30-40 year-old camera to assume a CLA will be necessary, and factor that into the price.

I last had my two Pentax MX cameras serviced in May of 2018 by Eric Hendrickson (USA) and the total for the 2 cameras was $220 USD. The cost may vary quite a bit depending on who is doing the work, and whether parts are needed. A person should have some realisitc idea of what to expect to pay for CLA servicing, and know who can do that kind of work before buying any used camera.

 

[jtk]

I like metal shutters. Canon F1, Canon P..and strangely believe it, Samsung NX 500 (30mp digital).

 

[jtk]

I like metal shutters. Canon F1, Canon P..and strangely believe it, Samsung NX 500 (30mp digital).

...plus my remaining Pentax ME Supers (little known Pentax factoid).

 

[GRHazelton]

The MX is one of my favorites but ..... after about five happy years my first MX developed an insatiable appetite for the meter cells. They'd last perhaps 6 weeks, after previously lasting a year or more. Then a trip to a not to be mentioned repair shop here in the Atlanta area. After explaining to them the problem I told them to keep it long enough to see if the appetite had abated. It was still hungry; a return to that shop and yet more time resulted in no improvement. Money down the drain!
I picked up a really rough MX for a song as a parts source. Then another MX which again ate cells. Back to the seller. I now have my first MX, the parts camera, and a lovely black example, which ALSO eats cells! I should send the original MX, the black beauty, and the parts camera to Eric for repair, the parts camera for Eric's parts bin.
Yes, I've removed the bottom plate to check that the little leaf switch controlling the meter opens, it does open. (MX fans will know about this!)
I love the MX. With a winder and my 50mm f1.2 it is a fantastic walk-about camera; second only to the mighty LX with its winder. But reliability is a real concern, and short meter cell life is a real problem. Any users out there with a solution??

 

[GRHazelton]

The MX is one of my favorites but ..... after about five happy years my first MX developed an insatiable appetite for the meter cells. They'd last perhaps 6 weeks, after previously lasting a year or more. Then a trip to a not to be mentioned repair shop here in the Atlanta area. After explaining to them the problem I told them to keep it long enough to see if the appetite had abated. It was still hungry; a return to that shop and yet more time resulted in no improvement. I picked up a really rough MX for a song as a parts source. Then another MX which again ate cells. Back to the seller. I now have my first MX, the parts camera, and a lovely black example, which ALSO eats cells! I should send the original MX, the black beauty, and the parts camera to Eric for repair.
Yes, I've removed the bottom plate to check that the little leaf switch controlling the meter opens, it does open. (MX fans will know about this!)
I love the MX. With a winder and my 50mm f1.2 it is a fantastic walk-about camera; second only to the mighty LX with its winder. But reliability is a real concern, and short meter cell life is a real problem. Any users out there with a solution??