| Author: | | Site Supporter Registered: January, 2011 Location: The Canadian WetCoast Posts: 384
1 user found this helpful
| | Review Date: May 13, 2011 | Not Recommended | Price: None indicated
| Rating: 7 |
| Pros: | Pro features | | Cons: | Ergonomics, electronics not durable, high maintenance | |
My experience with the LX was mixed. Yes, it was solid and have many interchangeable features that rival the rising Canon & Nikon in 1980's. Yet my unit's shutter & electronics didn't perform any better than the A-series cameras, needless to mention the "others". Focusing screens were darker than M Series, even with the optional ones. The ergonomics was not in par with the M-series. My winder housing also crack repeatedly when mounted on a tripod with just a lightweight A*300/4! The dial type Databack couldn't imprint beyond Y2K, while a digital M Databack works up to today. It was pretty high maintenance too.
A collector item? I reckon not. I gave my slightly damaged LX system to my local service guy for parts and walk away with no regret. Couldn't say that about a MX, Super A or K5.
| | | | | | | Veteran Member Registered: October, 2008 Location: Albuquerque NM Posts: 9,830
1 user found this helpful
| | Review Date: December 19, 2010 | Recommended | Price: $800.00
| Rating: 9 |
| Pros: | Great feel,multiple finders, long exposures, TTL flash, weather sealing, accessories
| | Cons: | Needs expensive CLA every half decade or so
| |
| Pros | Great feel,multiple finders, long exposures, TTL flash, weather sealing, accessories | | Cons | Needs expensive CLA every half decade or so | | Rating | 9 | | Price (U.S. Dollars) | 800 | | Years Owned | 25 |
I can recommend this camera: Yes
Value, Features, Performance & Size
The size is perfect for my hands, and works with or without the winder.
The viewfinder display is superb, and the ability to meter long exposures was rare back in the 80s. This is still my favority macro or night exposure body.
Camera Review
What can one say about this body that hasn't been said? It was Pentax' pro film camera, and it is arguably the best performing film camera the company made. I still love shooting with it. It has the feel of a quality piece of equipment, and the exposure (with CLA) is dead on even with low light. I'll keep this one in running order as long as there is film.
| | | | | Giveaway winner! Registered: December, 2007 Location: beantown Posts: 944
10 users found this helpful
| | Review Date: December 5, 2010 | Recommended | Price: $750.00
| Rating: 10 |
| Pros: | Natural in hands, plenty of useful bits | | Cons: | sticky mirror | |
| Pros | Natural in hands, plenty of useful bits | | Cons | sticky mirror will happen | | Rating | 10 | | Price (U.S. Dollars) | 750 | | Years Owned | 25+ |
I can recommend this camera: Yes
Value, Features, Performance & Size
Solid weather resistant camera with many super lovely feature and a grand array accessories that make it a true heavy weight System Camera. Fabulous metering system from the film-plane and the bright viewfinder. A luxury kind of camera.
Camera Review
Over the years, this camera has been a dream to use... Purchased it in 1982. Yet sadly when the odd critical malfunction of the shutter in (about 1999 or 2000?) led to handing it over to a claimed "Authorized Pentax Repair" shop... found out later, a very dishonest one...and the LX has function oddly ever since, yet the strength of the camera still out stripped the problems (partial sticky mirror).
The weight and balance of the LX was wonderful for me and with the added grip "B" is an ergonomic perfection for my hands. The shutter is very accurate and solid and the only short coming is the loss of slow speed functions without batteries, but the upper speeds and B still work. The view finder on my LX is the standard FA-1 and it is simply superb, the screen installed is the standard micro/slit combo and it does well with lenses until about f4.5. The prism finders have diopter adjustments on the penta-prisms which is nice, but I'm getting old and need soon to find the FA-1W. I should mention the film handling and it is a surprise to new Pentax users...Magic Needles... first introduced on the M series it naturally finds its way on the LX and it is fast and easy to load the camera. I've been able to load blind in a crowd and get shooting again fast...do practice this if you wish to do this or you may poke out you shutter curtain. The meter is another important subject as it is very accurate the vast in its sensitivity which makes it popular for night shooting. While the camera is set to auto, I've made accurate, long and almost two minute exposure, with correction for film type, with perfectly balanced results. A dream to use.
Update:
Many more bodies seem to be up for sale and chance are that they've been serviced by a non pentax authorized shop and not very concerned about re-sealing the body after servicing. You should never test it out in the weather unless you've inspected it all around for missing sealant or gaps that allows a piece of paper to slip in. I've had my favorite LX not resealed by a local repair guy (crook). Eric Hendrickson serviced and properly sealed it again.
Update:
I've recently purchased an LX with almost all seals missing, even when the seller swore up and down it was original never serviced, but it seamed the store sold him a problem body that was fixed by their in store tech and he left many seals out. This camera had signs of water damage or moisture infiltration.
Update:
So, when buying used, look out for the following signs of a problem:
Check for sticky mirror syndrome - commonly caused by the decaying pad and bumper under the mirror or the foam seals above the mirror
Check for the hidden sticky problem - with lens off, flip in and out of depth-of-field preview and note any delay in the metal "open-aperture" tab as it moves while you flip in and out.
Check for missing seals around body joints and around screws, if properly services then properly sealed.
Check if speeds 15th-30th-60th-X-125th in manual, in timer, in mirror-lock-up... do they all look correct
Check if Automatic works, but if camera has no film that the TTL meter may pick longer times than indicated if measuring off pressure plate
Check to see if, while the lens cap is on and blocking stray light from finder, the meter should read at bottom red LED
Check if the meter stays on too long... not more than about 20 seconds... greater than 30 may mean a problem is starting.
Check if the meter is overexposing... lens cap on, and try to keep the light out of the viewfinder, see if at 15th and the ASA set to 100 or 200 if the meter reads more than the bottom most red LED.
Update: I've been informed by "anonymous" that I'm exaggerating about the chance of unsealed bodies and that I'm misleading people and should retract my claims and admit that it is not anything more than rare at the extreme. I am only expressing caution that it could happen... So, NO I will not. Thanks for sharing Mr/Mrs "anonymous".
Update: "...LX is a solid well engineered... you'll find few that can equal..." as "anonymous" another or the same? "You can not deny that it was built with many features that few can equal today... you must be one of those snap-shooters that upgraded from a cellphone to a film camera, hipster types and think you discovered film cameras..." The rest of the email goes on and lists quotes from this review. The possible flaws, and I will emphasize, are very real things now after some 30 plus years after its introductions. If you have a pristine-new in box-sealed in a bubble example, you will possibly be in possession of a camera of near perfection as SLR-film-"system" cameras go. For the rest of us, a used and second or third hand body with many years of climate and temperature changes will need some TLC to shine. I own three LX bodies and one of them I've owned since the second year of its introduction. Please read the entire review and note what I say here... Oh, and the language it is written in is English.
Update: DIY repair my extra LX bodies acquired for cheap... if you call 150 US dollars cheap. One was "adjusted" by a tech who didn't seem to know much about LX. All seals torn or breached and the magnet was loose as well as old gooey bumpers were still installed. So "erratic shutter" is all that and yet I paid $150...oh-boy... but now it is all working perfectly. The other was sold by a seller from Japan and it is, for all signs, a "Franken-camera". It had cut traces, non-oem wires installed, time or AV selector was filthy, wrong version trip lever installed and was not calibrated for particular body and a few critical screws missing. It was a mess and not even worth the $149 I paid.
| | | | | Forum Member Registered: December, 2007 Location: Winnipeg, MB Posts: 51
2 users found this helpful
| | Review Date: December 3, 2010 | Recommended | Price: $250.00
| Rating: 10 |
| Pros: | Well built, easy to handle, superb metering, aesthetically pleasing
| | Cons: | Mirror occasionally decides it wants to remain up (sticky mirror syndrome)
| |
| Pros | Well built, easy to handle, superb metering, aesthetically pleasing | | Cons | Mirror occasionally decides it wants to remain up (sticky mirror syndrome) | | Rating | 10 | | Price (U.S. Dollars) | 250 | | Years Owned | 3 |
I can recommend this camera: Yes
Value, Features, Performance & Size
See review
Camera Review
This is easily my most solid camera and the last Pentax body I regularly shoot with. The tolerances in body construction were clearly very low. Though it’s nearly 30 years old now, the seals are still intact and I’ve yet to require a servicing with the camera in my possession. I’ve found my shutter speeds have remained accurate, or at least within the latitude of the films I use, that they also have not required calibration. It’s overall a joy to use.
As my main film camera I've had no issues with scratched film or inaccurate exposure with the in-camera meter. Occasionally, particularly when it’s cold, the mirror will remain up long past when the exposure has finished. This is a well documented issue known as sticky mirror syndrome and which could be resolved by sending my camera in for a CLA, but it’s yet to become a common enough occurrence to merit the expense. This problem does not affect exposure and can be temporarily fixed by wiggling the shutter speed dial around until the mirror decides to come down.
I’ve shot with this particular body in temperatures as low as -50C and as high as +35C with the body performing perfectly in both situations. The battery actually lasts surprisingly long at -50C, with this likely attributed to the substantial battery door helped along by the fact that the battery compartment is often insulated by the shooter’s left hand when holding the camera normally. Even once the battery dies, at higher shutter speeds the camera is still quite operational.
The accessory viewfinders available for this camera are also quite an asset to the LX system. I use the FF-1 waistlevel finder when shooting in the street and find it very useful at turning my LX into a tiny Hasselblad. The FE-1 Waist-level finder is also very useful, particularly in near-ground macro situations where accurate focussing is of great concern.
| | | | | | | New Member Registered: April, 2009 Location: Berlin, Germany Posts: 2
1 user found this helpful
| | Review Date: August 13, 2010 | Recommended | Price: $1,000.00
| Rating: 10 |
| Pros: | simply the best analogue Camera ever made | | Cons: | No High Eyepoint | |
| Pros | simply the best analogue Camera ever made | | Cons | No High Eyepoint | | Rating | 10 | | Price (U.S. Dollars) | 1000 | | Years Owned | 30 |
I can recommend this camera: Yes
Value, Features, Performance & Size
small and light for a pro, perfect
Camera Review
Mit der LX begann meine Foto-Karriere.
Ich weiß bis heute nicht, warum alle eine Nikon F3 wollten, weder die Kamera noch die Objektive waren besser.
Und Minolta und Canon hatten nichts wirklich vergleichbares.
Wer einmal die Wechselsucher ausprobieren konnte, weiß wie unvergleichlich perfekt diese Kamera ist.
Ich würde sie immer wieder kaufen... die K-7 geht in diese Richtung, aber der Sensor ist zu schwach und sie braucht zumindest einen beweglichen Monitor.
Die LX ist meine Königinn, für immer.
| | | | | Forum Member Registered: November, 2006 Location: Birmingham, UK Posts: 97
1 user found this helpful
| | Review Date: August 11, 2010 | Recommended | Price: None indicated
| Rating: 10 |
| Pros: | OTF metering, accurate exposure without head, weatherproof. | | Cons: | No exposure lock | |
| Pros | OTF metering, accurate exposure without head, weatherproof. | | Cons | No exposure lock | | Rating | 10 | | Price (U.S. Dollars) | Unknown | | Years Owned | 15 years |
I can recommend this camera: Yes
Value, Features, Performance & Size
MLU DOF OTF
Camera Review
What's special about this camera is the OTF metering. This makes it one of the best cameras to use in very low light levels. The metering measures light falling onto the curtains and film during the exposure, and triggers the second curtain when the cumulative light has reached a certain level. The camera will happily expose down to -6.5 EV, and possibly more, and also react to changing light conditions (e.g. lightning).
The other great thing about this camera is that you can use it with the head off. As the metering is in the body, and the mirror blocks any light from where the head might come from, you can accurately meter and expose without the head. This is very useful in two circumstances - using a mini tripod on the floor, and shooting candids.
Other pros are weather proofing and fully manual shutter speeds which don't require batteries. There's also depth of field preview, mirror lock up and self timer.
Disadvantages : no exposure lock. no spot metering.
The following photo was 30min @ F8
| | | | | Site Supporter Registered: February, 2009 Location: Indianapolis Posts: 527
1 user found this helpful
| | Review Date: August 11, 2010 | Recommended | Price: $500.00
| Rating: 10 |
| Pros: | Solid camera, reacts to exposure changes during shot, beautiful jewel
| | Cons: | Maybe that some shutter speeds mechanical, some electric
| |
| Pros | Solid camera, reacts to exposure changes during shot, beautiful jewel | | Cons | Maybe that some shutter speeds mechanical, some electric | | Rating | 10 | | Price | $500 | | Years Owned | 13 |
I can recommend this camera: Yes
Value, Features, Performance & Size
It would take an hour to list all the features of this camera, the ones I liked best though were the screen options, solid build, view finder options and motor drive options. The on plate exposure was always a dream. This is the camera to own if you love a great camera.
Camera Review
How can there only be two reviews for Pentax's all-time best cameras?Simply put use this camera and you will feel like a real photographer. It is so well built, the features are unparalleled
There are a couple of different versions. The button on the top and to the left actually defined the first couple of generations, one that allowed you to get exposure with the button used to remove the view finder and one that did not. Of course there are the specificity versions of this camera (gold, 2000, titanium, etc) but I don't think they are measurably different mechanically than the newer version.
This is a dream manual focus to own.
| | | | | Veteran Member Registered: April, 2007 Location: Uppsala, Sweden Posts: 576
1 user found this helpful
| | Review Date: May 11, 2010 | Recommended | Price: None indicated
| Rating: N/A |
| Pros: | Solid, versatile, good viewfinder, handling, auto exposure.
| | Cons: | No self timer and MLU at the same time, ISO range, no AE lock.
| |
| Pros | Solid, versatile, good viewfinder, handling, auto exposure. | | Cons | No self timer and MLU at the same time, ISO range, no AE lock. | | Rating | 9 | | Price | 210€ | | Years Owned | 2 |
I can recommend this camera: Yes
Value, Features, Performance & Size
Pro grade camera for those that want the best that Pentax has to offer.
Camera Review
This is a very nice camera to use, it has a certain feel to it. Also sits very comfortably in at least my hands with the Grip-B in place, and all the dials and buttons are just where you want them. Simply easy and comfortable to use. It has all the accessories you could want and is a very versatile camera.
What I like about the camera:
- Solid, well it is a pro grade camera and built to last, and that is transmitted to a firm feel in buttons et.c.
- Full information viewfinder, big and bright and you have the ability to change focusing screens to a number of different models. It also shows all available shutter times at all times which is a HUGE plus, you just have to look in the viewfinder and you instantly know what time to use. The LEDs are good in low light also.
- Very advanced auto exposure system metering of the film itself, meaning that if something bright comes into the frame during the exposure the camera compensates for it. Very useful for example when shooting concerts with rapidly changing light. Also huge meter range which means auto exposure up to many minutes.
What could be better?
- The single biggest drawback in my opinion is that you cannot use the self timer and mirror lock up at the same time. This is of course totally idiotic as quite often you want to use just those two together to reduce shaking.
- The ISO range only goes to 3200, in my opinion it could very well go to 6400.
- There is no auto exposure lock so in auto mode the centre part of the picture is metered, not so good if you want to compose the picture with the primary feature at one side of the frame.
Over all a very good camera! The MLU self timer blunder pulls it down from the 10, and almost to an 8. This is the one Pentax to have if you shoot manual lenses on don't care for auto aperture or auto focus. It is the best Pentax body I have used (and the ones I have used are: Spottie,KX,MX,LX,ME,ME Super,MG,P30,MZ-5,*istDL,K100D,K10D,K20D).
| | | | | Forum Member Registered: November, 2006 Location: Birmingham, UK Posts: 97
1 user found this helpful
| | Review Date: June 2, 2009 | Recommended | Price: None indicated
| Rating: N/A |
|
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.
| | |
;)
;)
;)
;)
;)
;)
