Pentax MX with some LEDs not working. Fixable?

jeztastic · Aug 28, 2014

Local camera shop has a bargain MX on sale, body only. However the overexposed LEDs don't work. Is this an easy fix? Is it worth picking it up?

Jez

railwayman3 · Aug 28, 2014

Probably a job for a camera technician. Could be just a connection, but, OTOH, they might be part of a printed circuit board, in which case it may need a spare. Depends obviously on the availablity of parts, or if a defunct doner body is available.

I use Pentax MX and LX bodies and their great solid little cameras. If the body is very cheap and otherwise sound, and if you could use it without the LED's working properly, it might be worth a punt, but I'd probably budget for a CLA anyway if I were buying another body of that age.

Dan Daniel · Aug 28, 2014

Send Eric Hendrickson an email and see what he says-
http://pentaxs.com/

There's a flexible circuit board that bends over the top of the prism, and I know that this can crack.

If you do buy it, he's the best choice to get it worked on.

Vonder · Aug 28, 2014

Maybe

Dan Daniel said:
Send Eric Hendrickson an email and see what he says-
http://pentaxs.com/

There's a flexible circuit board that bends over the top of the prism, and I know that this can crack.

If you do buy it, he's the best choice to get it worked on.

I've had bad results working with him. I honestly believe he was once great, but has slipped in recent years. I know there are tons of people who swear by him but I'll never deal with him again.

Here come the testimonials! *ducking*

jeztastic · Aug 28, 2014

Hmm, sounds too complex. Repair prices are astronomical here in the UK. I'll give it a miss.

Dan Daniel · Aug 28, 2014

Wolfeye said:
I've had bad results working with him. I honestly believe he was once great, but has slipped in recent years. I know there are tons of people who swear by him but I'll never deal with him again.

Here come the testimonials! *ducking*

Suggestion: give some details? I'm all for people telling about bad experiences. Providing some context and details seem appropriate.

I've sent Eric Hendrickson three cameras. And two came back with problems. One he didn't catch a failing shutter block; he replaced it for no charge. The second had a flash sync/curtain issue that he was trying to figure out; I traded him for another body instead of being his beta tester. So yep, he isn't perfect. Years later, all three cameras work well. He worked with me to make things right, and I respect that. And yep, posting about this in Pentax forums will lead to a string of rebuttals....

BradS · Aug 28, 2014

Wolfeye said:
I've had bad results working with him. I honestly believe he was once great, but has slipped in recent years. I know there are tons of people who swear by him but I'll never deal with him again.

Here come the testimonials! *ducking*

He's a technician who's trying to run a customer service based company all by himself. I think he probably should have hired somebody to deal with people...customers....as it may not be his strength...if you get my meaning. He does do a good job...but, I think he is probably tired of dealing with the many, many ...er, 'unfriendly people' who treat him poorly.

Same could be said of many other one-person companies who serve our industry.

Disclaimer: I am not affiliated in anyway with pentaxs.com. I am a repeat, satisfied customer and I would be very unhappy if he were to toss in the towel.

Vonder · Aug 28, 2014

Well, as I am through dealing with him, I'm not going to mention specifics and drag him through the mud, but yes he misses stuff. He even misses stuff you tell him to fix. My big blowup involved a warranty repair - he refused to fix something under warranty, even after I'd spent several hundred dollars with him over a short time period, including a complete CLA on this particular camera. I didn't use it immediately after getting it back but then discovered the ASA dial wasn't working properly. In addition to the camera being mis-reassembled there was apparently a broken resistor inside. How you miss this on a CLA is beyond me. I sent him the camera and ignored his request for payment. He never even returned it.

BradS · Aug 28, 2014

fair enough. It so happens that I have a spotmatic I was going to send him soon....maybe, I'll reconsider that and send it somewhere else. Any recommendations?

Les Sarile · Aug 28, 2014

Wolfeye, That is unfortunate that you have had some unresolved issues with Eric. Even if statistics are in his favor - as reported in the Pentax Film forum, I am sure it doesn't help you and any others on the negative side of the equation. As for my experiences with him, they have been completely uneventful - good communication, great price and done right first time. I even bought a none working original Asahi Pentax that was in good cosmetic shape knowing he would be able to fix whatever was wrong with it . . . and he did.

Vonder · Aug 29, 2014

BradS said:
fair enough. It so happens that I have a spotmatic I was going to send him soon....maybe, I'll reconsider that and send it somewhere else. Any recommendations?

The really sad thing is, if I had to recommend anyone to work on a Pentax, it'd still be him. By default. He seems to have cornered the market. I know the Olympus guy, a couple Canon FD guys, a couple Nikon guys, ZERO Minolta guys, even one great Konica guy (Weber) but there's only 1 specialized Pentax guy that I know of.

As long as you're in no hurry and can deal with back and forth shipping to repair things over and over again, and being charged when "new" things come up, you'll be happy with Eric. In the end the cameras do get repaired properly.

Pentax MX with some LEDs not working. Fixable?

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