| Author: | | New Member Registered: March, 2024 Location: Adelaide, Australia Posts: 1 | | Review Date: April 1, 2024 | Recommended | Price: $327.00
| Rating: 10 |
| Pros: | good size (for my hands anyway), K mount, good light meter, well-built | | Cons: | stiff shutter speed dial, loud shutter, light meter can be hard to see in bright light | |
This is genuinely such a good camera, I love taking photos with mine. I went through a lot of trial and error and a few cameras before I got to my MX but I'm so glad I did.
Since it's so small (as far as 35mm SLRs go) it fits in my hands well and is easy to carry around. It's also really well-built and feels refined and sturdy, even over 40 years later. The MX also has the K mount, so there is a massive range of lenses for it, although its small size makes it a bit easier to unbalance with heavy/long lenses.
That being said, the MX does have a few flaws. Its shutter is fairly loud, its LED light meter can be hard to see in bright conditions, and its shutter speed dial is fairly stiff. Personally, none of these things really affect the camera too much and I still really enjoy shooting with it.
The MX is such a nice camera to use, I can't really fault it, but YMMV.  | | | | | | | New Member Registered: March, 2024 Posts: 3 | | Review Date: March 16, 2024 | Recommended | Price: $90.00
| Rating: 7 |
| Pros: | compact, can shoot without batteries,displays f-stop in the VF, silky smooth film advance. | | Cons: | VF is slightly dim, very stiff shutterspeed dial. | |
There is a lot to like about the MX - compact, needs no batteries, very well built, shows the f-stop in the VF. The VF is lovely and large. The film advance is very smooth and the shutter mechanism is pleasant.
My main negatives:
- VF is noticeably dimmer and grainer than the ME Super or LX.
- Rather stiff shutter speed dial - this could just me my copy, but its really rather annoying.
- I'm not a massive fan of the metering - it seems to jump about.
The price jumps about these days, but if you can get a bargain, then I would recommend it.
| | | | | New Member Registered: August, 2017 Location: Ronneburg Posts: 1 | | Review Date: February 10, 2024 | Recommended | Price: $105.00
| Rating: 10 |
| Pros: | Size, classic design, viewfinder, mechanical, 3 colour meter reading array | | Cons: | no mirror lock up | |
Pro: size, classic design, large and bright viewfinder, battery independent, good lightmeter, easy to handle
Cons: shutter dial diffult to move, not the smoothest film advance action
conclusion: the pure feeling of taking photos without unnecessary gadgets
| | | | | Senior Member Registered: December, 2023 Location: Murcia, Spain Posts: 116 | | Review Date: December 31, 2023 | Recommended | Price: $80.00
| Rating: 8 |
| Pros: | Size, design, viewfinder, mechanical | | Cons: | no mirror lock up | |
The Pentax MX is a beautiful camera but it cannot be considered a professional camera.
Of course, you can take "professional" photos with this and any other camera, but this one doesn't meet a professional standard.
In its time it lacked professional quality lenses, especially bright wide angles; it has no mirror lockup or high shutter speeds.
Yes, it's true it has a lot of interchangeable focusing screens, date backs and other things but... who needs those things? I do not know anyone.
Apart from this, it is a well made, reliable camera and very suitable for advanced users and, of course, it can also be used for some professional work.
What I like: size, timeless design, large and bright viewfinder, battery-free operation, good lightmeter.
What I don't like: shutter dial stiff to move.
In the mirror box there is too much foam that is difficult to replace when it degrades.
The periscope to see the diaphragm is quite bad and almost useless.
It doesn't have a mirror lock up, but that doesn't matter to me because I don't use it for long exposures or landscapes.
Despite these shortcomings I really like the MX, it's pretty, small and very bearable, as well as pleasant to use. I like and use it quite a bit with an A 24mm f/2.8, a K 28mm f/3.5 and an A 50mm f/1.4.
For the Takumars, I prefer the Super A in which these lenses are much more comfortable to use, even simpler than in a Spotmatic.
If you like a manual, mechanical, small, very nice and pleasant to use camera, go for a working MX. It will not disappoint you.
| | | | | | | Forum Member Registered: December, 2021 Location: Ancona Posts: 83 | | Review Date: August 23, 2022 | Recommended | Price: None indicated
| Rating: 10 |
| Pros: | practically perfect | | Cons: | nothing | |
I found this MX with the Pentax smc m 50mm f1.7 lens and paid everything for Euro 180  | | | | | New Member Registered: January, 2020 Location: Oregon Posts: 3
1 user found this helpful
| | Review Date: March 4, 2022 | Recommended | Price: $140.00
| Rating: 10 |
| Pros: | Compact, Lightweight, Sturdy, Simple, Superb Viewfinder | | Cons: | None | |
Oh, where to begin.
The MX was my first mechanical camera, and it's left quite an impression. It may be small, but it feels very rugged. The viewfinder is really second only to the LX, which has the best viewfinder of any 35mm camera I've ever used. It's giant and as clear as it gets, and the aperture readout window is miles better than the Nikon FE2 I had. I also love the SA-3/SA-23 focusing screens for fast lenses. Being fully manual, it just stays out of your way and lets you focus on photographing. I would call it analogous to a fine musical instrument.
One thing that I really had to get used to was how sensitive the shutter release button is on this camera. Coming from a Canon A1 and new digital Nikon bodies, this one felt like a hair-trigger. The meter on mine has unfortunately stopped working, but it doesn't really bother me. I just use a handheld meter or meter by eye. Otherwise, I can't say I have any real complaints.
Overall, if you can find one in good working condition, you can't really go wrong with an MX.
| | | | | New Member Registered: September, 2021 Posts: 2 | | Review Date: October 8, 2021 | Recommended | Price: $80.00
| Rating: 8 |
| Pros: | large viewfinder, smooth mechanical shutter action, compact body, simplicity, solid built, adapts M42 lenses perfectly, beautiful timeless design | | Cons: | not the smoothest film advance action, compact size not for everyone, thin body material, no interchangeable viewfinders, no TTL flash metering | |
Good
The viewfinder of MX is large, sharp, and flare-less; it's easy to acquire precise focus on this camera. The shutter action is super smooth and absolutely lag-free; which is impressive for a vintage camera, which I actually expected it to be sluggish and vague. For me, the performance was on par with modern professional full size SLRs like Canon 1DX. Like what Pentax advertised, there's very minimal, almost no shutter/mirror recoil (all hail horizontal cloth shutter); and it even performs better than most modern cameras that I have used. I really love the light meter, it's simple, clear, and ergonomic. I also appreciate the fully mechanical flash sync hot shoe. I use it with modern flashes and have no problems. Just that it has no TTL metering so it's fully manual. One thing that most people doesn't talk about was MX adapts M42 lenses perfectly (focus to infinity!) thanks to K-mount, and this provided vast lens choices for the MX. I use Super Takumar lenses on the MX. I opt them for the optical quality and also the cosmetic/mechanical quality (I really hate rubber/plastic focus rings).
I refer the Pentax MX as the Ferrari F40 of the cameras. I felt the design principle was similar; which is pure driving experience (in this case photography). The Pentax MX only gives you what's necessary. No fancy dials, no confusing buttons and levers, everything is simplified and focused purely for photography. It's one of the few cameras that I can completely forgot the existence of the camera itself when I'm using it. It's a camera that feels very "connected".
No fancy functions/dials means less parts, and less parts is beneficial for durability. I have no worries about the camera's durability as most reviews praised the mechanical durability and shutter accuracy of MX, and it's designed to withstand the punishment of five frames per second bursts. The maintenance/lubrication for Pentax MX was also very easy as most of the mechanical parts were located at the bottom plate.
Middle Ground
I favored the compact design, but it's definitely something that needs to get used to. A lot of people complained that the shutter speed dial was too stiff, but I'm fine with it as it prevents me to accidentally knock the dial out of its adjustment. The Pentax MX is a solidly built camera, but I felt the material that it used was too thin (probably to reduce weight), so it's quite common to see a Pentax MX have various dents and marks all around its prism/body. You definitely don't want to knock it against a hard surface.
Update: My MX have shutter accuracy issues at 1/1000, for some reason it's almost two stops faster than how it should be. It probably became one of the few MXs that have a 1/4000 shutter speed
Bad
The film advance action is very mediocre. Often times, it feels "sticky". Definitely not what I expected from a professional grade camera. This my only major complaint about the MX. Besides that, I also heard the accessories (motor drive etc) for MX were quite mediocrely made and scarce to find. You might want to take note on that. Also, the Pentax MX offers no interchangeable viewfinders and mirror lock up abilities.
Update: After shooting with it for some time the film advance became noticeably much smoother. Probably like what people said, vintage mechanical cameras will repair themselves!
I absolutely love the Pentax MX. In my opinion, it's one of the best professional, fully mechanical SLR ever made. What a lovely, underrated machine.
| | | | | New Member Registered: April, 2020 Location: Lincolnshire Posts: 7
1 user found this helpful
| | Review Date: April 19, 2021 | Recommended | Price: $200.00
| Rating: 10 |
| Pros: | Compact size, rugged and robust construction | | Cons: | None | |
I have owned my Pentax Mx since 1979, it was my first Pentax SLR and has been a fathfull companion over the last 41 years, I had looked at the Olympus OM1 and Canon AE-1 as well but settled on the MX as it felt right. The compact size had been a bonus when traveling which it has over the years, USA, South Atlantic, Middle East, and around Europe. The mechanical construction means no worries about batteries running out, but they last for years anyway. Maintenance wise it's had a couple of CLAs in its life. Back in the 1980s it was used to cover motorsports coupled with a 2fps winder and I would have loved to have the motorised film rewinding that the LX has but that is the only improvement I would have to this fantastic little camera.
| | | | | New Member Registered: March, 2019 Posts: 2
1 user found this helpful
| | Review Date: February 24, 2021 | Recommended | Price: $104.00
| Rating: 9 |
| Pros: | size, weight, selection of lenses available, looks, features | | Cons: | possibly reliability | |
When it rains it pours.
I have been on the hunt for an MX for over a year now. Each time I found one I was either too slow contacting the seller or I baulked at the high prices. Like the K1000, prices of MXs have skyrocketed here in Australia with sellers asking many hundreds of dollars for decent working examples with a 50mm lens attached.
Fast forward to this past month and I now have three MX bodies. The price listed above is the average of all three, two of which also came with lenses (a SMC Pentax 50 f2 and a SMC Pentax 55 f1.8).
My main focus of this review is to tell you that these cameras seem very easy to work on. If you have opened a lens before to clean fungus from elements you can definitely do simple repairs of these generally reliable cameras. The second MX body I purchased had the mirror in the up position and extremely slow shutter curtains. The third body I purchased refused to wind on. In both cases it was the 'slow shutter speed mechanism' that was to blame. I am lead to believe that this set of springs, cogs and levers controls speeds from bulb through to 1/60sec. In each case the mechanism was dirty and full of grime. The whole assembly can be taken out in one piece, given a good clean and then put straight back. This requires the removal of just two screws. So, if you fancy doing a little tinkering, don't discount Pentax MX bodies that have stuck mirrors, stuck film advance levers and slow curtains. It is very possible that the fix is an easy one. You could save yourself a good amount of money and end up with a lovely little camera that is a joy to hold, use and look at.
| | | | | New Member Registered: September, 2020 Location: Derbyshire Posts: 3
1 user found this helpful
| | Review Date: October 18, 2020 | Recommended | Price: $125.00
| Rating: 5 |
| Pros: | The 3 colour meter reading array and errrmmm.............. | | Cons: | Slow in use, basic centre weighted meter, stiff shutter speed selectors | |
I've had two of these. The first just perplexed me and then I saw another all beaten up and tried again only to end up where I was before.
On paper there is a lot to like about the MX. The viewfinder is quite good, the judas window giving you the aperture read out; the disc carrying the shutter speed you have selected, the meter readings with it's simple colour red, amber and green read out is great (better than my FM2N if I'm honest). The magnification of the viewfinder is very helpful.
And yes - it's a well made, rather wide camera loved by many.
I simply however did not get on with it.
1) It was slow to take pictures with.
2) The centre weighted metering was very basic and could lead to under-exposure. For example you'd get a different reading if you went from
landscape to portrait mode. It reminded me of my Olympus OM-1 metering wise but the Olympus was a much faster camera to use.
3) The shutter speed knob is too stiff to be useful - in both samples that I had serviced at Pentax House in Harrow, London. Even the KX I now have has an easier to use shutter speed knob you can push with your finger when composing and metering. The FM2N's shutter speed knob is SO easy to use and that (and the KX) is what a manual camera should be like to use - you should not have to fight it.
In fact, when I got my first KX, I knew that the MX was just not what I was after at all. I never looked at one again. I know people love them and that's fair enough - but not for me folks.
| | | | | Veteran Member Registered: July, 2011 Location: Eastern Oregon Posts: 856 | | Review Date: September 25, 2020 | Recommended | Price: $100.00
| Rating: 9 |
| Pros: | Manual, mechanical | | Cons: | viewfinder could have been 100% | |
One thing most people don't realize about the MX is that the shutter is actually an integral part of the chassis. Unlike most other cameras where the shutter is a modular unit installed into the chassis. MX photos always seem to have a certain something, pixie dust if you will and I have always thought it was due to this construction. I have 2 of them and they are my go to full frame cameras.
| | | | | New Member Registered: July, 2019 Posts: 8 | | Review Date: February 23, 2020 | Recommended | Price: $80.00
| Rating: 8 |
| Pros: | Great build quality. Full mechanical operation. Small size pro SLR in its day. DOF. Great bright viewfinder. Interchangeable focus screens. | | Cons: | propr mirror lock up would be nice | |
I also own a ME Super. Since getting the MX the ME Super sits on the shelf. I also have a Nikon F3 which I absolutely love and the MX feels like its baby brother. Great solid construction packaged into a small body, all the controls are in a right place so that whilst its small its easy and intuitive to use. Its full mechanical so look after it and it will never die of circuitry issues. This camera is such a pleasure to use. Coupled with M glass and you have a small compact extremely well made and rugged camera that you can take anywhere. The viewfinder is really good, bright clear and easy to use for focusing and the arrangement to the shutter speed dial indicator and the red/amber/green meter lights is well placed and easy to use. Mine came with the motor winder which adds grip depth but I don't put it on the camera as I like winding the camera myself - its part of my I shoot film. Want speed? get a Mirrorless or DSLR
   | | | | | New Member Registered: November, 2016 Posts: 13 | | Review Date: July 23, 2019 | Recommended | Price: $75.00
| Rating: 9 |
| Pros: | Light weight, View Finder, | | Cons: | Shutter speed selector is tricky if you have large fingers | |
If you are looking for a small light weight Pentax slr this is the one for you. The view finder is without doubt a major plus especially if you find yourself in low light conditions or times when you need to be quick. I've graduated to the MX after owning a K1000 and KX and simple additions like the exposure confirmation lights (as opposed to the needle) make exposures that bit faster and more intuitive especially if you are used to focus confirmation in digital cameras, if you have a green light just focus and shoot. Success rate is much higher as a consequence of all the above.
I've walked around all day comfortably with this camera and lens strapped around my neck, try that with a K1  .
However, its strength is its weakness! It is small, if you have large hands the camera is tricky use, shutter speed selector is tricky especially as the ASA selector is incorporated into it. I've accidentally adjusted ASA without realizing it while changing shutter speed and I don't have particularly large hands!
The MX really is a joy to shoot with especially with a fast 50 or 35 lens. The MX is my 35mm film camera of choice, it travels with my Pentax 6x7 and Rolleiflex TLR
If you find one in good condition don't hesitate.
| | | | | New Member Registered: September, 2016 Posts: 1 | | Review Date: May 12, 2019 | Recommended | Price: None indicated
| Rating: N/A |
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First off I own a few Pentax K1000, a K1000 SE, and K2, they are my most used cameras. Here is my observation: Regarding film camera image quality, truthfully the choice of which Pentax film camera used does not matter. Using the same lens on each film body capturing the same scene, same settings, produces the same exact results. Thus, all this about how good ones images appear with a specific camera are utterly meaningless.
Camera functions, ergonomics, and its feature-set are important to us users, however they have absolutely nothing to do with the image quality. Save your comments about “oh look at this image from this old Pentax XYZ film camera” for the lens section; that is where they belong. The lens determines how our images appear not the camera.
| | | | | New Member Registered: February, 2016 Location: lake constance Posts: 1
1 user found this helpful
| | Review Date: February 17, 2019 | Recommended | Price: $50.00
| Rating: 10 |
| Pros: | absolute pure, mechanical independance, sturdy, light, beautiful | | Cons: | viewfinder is not suitable to the rest of the camera ( plastics ) | |
This is my favourite analogue camera for infrared photography. Solid and really beautiful in black and chrome. I also use it as alternative camera in my holidays in the alps, if my digital camera doesn´t work because its battery is exhausted. It is light weighted and all my lenses are useable on the MX and my Sony A7 with Novoflex adaptor unit. Ok, 500g additionally in my backpack, but you´ll never walk alone with this good oldschool "friend" - safety first!
In connection with the M series lenses, there are only less subjects, you can´t manage with the MX.
The only point I don´t agree with the Pentax engeneers of the seventies is the
beginning influence of plastics. The viewfinder window of the MX is very poor and doesn´t suit to the sturdy body of camera. The viewfinder itsself is very bright, I like it very much in using it with dark filters, because I am always able to see enough to shoot.
A really legendary camera - similar to the Nikon FM and the following FM2.
Its a great pity, that you have to buy such cameras in used condition, because
you must have a little bit luck to get a long lasting one.
Good luck!
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