Pentax LX

LX
Year introduced 1980	Mount K	Meter range -6.5 - 20 EV	Meter pattern c
ISO range 6 - 1600	DX ISO range No DX coding	Exposure modes Av, M, X, B	Exposure compensation +/-2 EV
Exposure lock No	Shutter speeds (auto) 125 - 1/2000s	Shutter speeds (manual) 4 - 1/2000s	Shutter speeds (mechanical) 1/75 - 1/2000s
Self timer Yes	Mirror lock-up Yes	Auto bracketing No	Multiple exposures Yes
Winder External winder 2 fps, motor drive 1-5 fps	Built-in flash No	TTL flash Yes	P-TTL flash No
Sync speed 1/75s	Flash exposure comp No	Autofocus No	Autofocus sensitivity Not applicable
Power zoom No	Viewfinder Exchangeable. FA-1: 95% (hor.) x 98% (vert.)	Viewfinder type Pentaprism, waist level, action finder, magni-finder	Diopter correction Yes
Exchangeable screen Yes	Depth of field preview Yes	Image size 24 x 36 mm	Panorama format No
Battery 2 x S76	Battery grip/pack No	Size (W x H x D) 144.5 x 85 x 50 mm	Weight 570 g
Comment 250 exposure bulk film magazine back and many other accessories

Also pictured is the LX2000 along with the SMC Pentax-A 50mm F1.2 Special lens. Other rare versions of this camera were produced, such as the LX Gold and the LX Titanuim Silver/Black.

[Duncan J Murray]

Body

Weather proof metal body. Slightly larger than most pentax manual focus cameras, but still relatively compact and lightweight (compared to a Nikon F2 or K10D for example). Plastic not really used, except rubber to cover the dials.

Handling

Aperture priority and Manual, selectable on the control dial on the right. Exposure compensation set on the left after unlocking the dial. Hybrid shutter, which allows full operation with batteries, and manual without. No autoexposure lock. Centre-weighted metering only. Features ability to precisely advance and retard the frames allowing for multiple exposure on any frame at any time. Aperture controlled by the aperture ring on the lens only. Mirror lock up, self timer and depth of field preview all controlled by multifunction lever at the front.

Viewfinder

Optical viewfinder with around 97% coverage. Interchangeable. One of the few cameras to allow correctly exposed photographs with the pentaprism off the camera.

Exposure

Centre-weighted only. Uses a single off-the-film silicon diode for ambient light exposure and metering. Probably the most advanced off-the-film metering in any 35mm camera, allowing for correct exposures easily up to 1 hour long, and longer. Unfortunately no AEL button, but there is always exposure compensation and manual mode. Largely accurate metering, given limitations (and advantages) of centre-weighted metering.

Focus

Split prism, surrounded by microprism ring, and ground-glass focusing screen. All three are suitable for focusing on. The default screen is a shade darker than modern laser-cut focusing screens, but they are interchangeable for modern screens. The advantage over modern screens is that they provide an accurate preview of depth-of-field for apertures larger than F2.8.

Drive

Manual wind-on. Nicest wind-on of any Pentax manual focus camera (subjectively). Rewind knob also nicely made.

Special Features

Interchangeable viewfinder and focusing screens
Accurate exposure metering in extremely dark and changeable conditions
Accurate exposure with the 'top off' (with particular use for low-down photographs and candid photography)
Hybrid shutter allows autoexposure and function without batteries
Weather-proofing
Small and compact
Precise and reversible drive
TTL Flash, with flash compensation
Fancy accessories, including the 'action finder'

Overall

Rather good.

[grhazelton]

I would add that in common with most of the older Pentax cameras Pentax no longer has parts available, to my knowledge. Given its age one can expect the light seals to be deteriorated, and of course there is the sticky mirror syndrome. Since it was Pentax's most truly professional camera CLAs and repairs tend to be expensive.

I also have the AF400 "potato masher" flash (102 watt-second) which is TTL with the LX. This makes a wonderful kit for sports, weddings, etc, since that flash gives good reach, and with the C-cell battery pack gives many, many flashes.

The unspoken question is, of course, why oh why didn't Pentax continue the LX's development? They built a Nikon F3 killer and then ....