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Pentax LX exposure issue

Tumbles

Member
Joined
Apr 20, 2016
Messages
136
Location
SF Bay Area
Format
Med. Format RF
Very recently I've started getting uneven exposure with my Pentax LX. From the looks of it, something must be up with the shutter. I'm seeing a dark vertical band that can be any position in the frame with varying widths. This happens about once every two rolls. I'm afraid it might be a difficult and expensive repair. My budget is super tight right now. The repair guy that's worked on most of my stuff said that with the LX, Pentax refused to send him any parts or manuals. It was supposed to be a factory only repair.

I found a walk through page on Pentax LX repair:
https://www.ifixit.com/Device/Pentax_LX

It makes me consider trying it myself. It looks difficult, but possible. There's a lot of wires to unsolder. There isn't any section on servicing the shutter. I take that it'll involve cleaning and adjusting tension. There's the service manual, but I'm finding it difficult to follow. I've been reading through it, looking over the exploded views to get a sense of how everything goes together. There's a lot of setting clearances, and it calls for specialized tools. I have my doubts. I bet it would be easy to get in over my head.

Then there's the issue of the weather sealing needing to be replaced, and the unavailability of the seals. I've though about the possibility of 3d printing new seals. Printing silicone parts is a thing you can now do. A friend suggested using some form of RTV, but I'm not sure if that would be an acceptable solution. I would be afraid of it getting squished into areas where you wouldn't want it.

Some examples:


 
For those looking at this it's important to note this camera is different from most in that its shutter runs horizontally.

Problems like this are normally caused by dirt or dried grease or disintegrating foam on or around the shutter parts.

You're likely to find that this problem is only occurring at certain shutter speeds (most likely the highest ones) and you might be able to just avoid using those. However if left untreated expect it to creep down into lower speeds over time.
 
Tumbles said:
From the looks of it, something must be up with the shutter.
Click to expand...
Yup, looks like some form of shutter capping. Bad news.

Tumbles said:
I'm afraid it might be a difficult and expensive repair. My budget is super tight right now.
Click to expand...
So the realistic option is to find a different camera that suits your needs and budget, and set this one aside for now.
 
It was literally many decades ago now, but I had to have a camera's shutter changed to a new one, when I got similar shadows like this. Luckily it was a new camera and under warranty.

Not the news that you wanted to hear I know and I think that Koraks advice might be the way forward.

Terry S
 
If you don't have experience servicing cameras, do not start with the LX. It's a beast.

And, yes, this looks like your shutter curtain speeds are off and they are overlapping during the exposure, rather than maintaining a proper gap.
 
I guess all the dust storms it's been through have finally got to it. For the time being I guess I can accept that I'll loose a shot every few rolls. Around 80% of the shots I've been taking have been in low light, so I always end up with exposure times around a second. I primarily went with an LX for the metering. It all else fails, I can switch to my K1000.

How difficult would fixing some of the more surface level things be? Such as cleaning the ISO dial, and disassembling and cleaning out the multi-function lever. I'd also want to replace one of the top dented body panels with one from a parts camera.

After some searching I found 9 shops that are said to work on the LX, for when I have money for the full repair.
 

camera repairs are sensitive issues. In the rright hands and done well it's a blessing. In hesitant unexperienced hands, more harm than good is easily done. My advice: unless you really know what you're doing,pay for the pro repair or look for a 2nd-and replacement.
 

Double check that list- some that said they service them in the past no longer do so. Also, expect a LONG wait time for getting it serviced. I ran into that with my LX - I've got an issue with the film advance mechanism. I was told that the estimate for repair was within $50 or so of a replacement body, and the wait time would be on the order of 5-6 months.
 
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