Originally posted by ATGC I'm looking at picking up a Pentax MX or KX to play around with.
Welcome!
Check out the camera reviews here -
Pentax KX and
Pentax MX.
Consider the relative sizes of these cameras - the KX is significantly bigger in the body, and may suit you better if you have larger hands or you like to hand-hold long prime or some zoom lenses. On the other hand, if it's compactness you want, the MX is pretty much the king of the manual-control hill (the ME is slightly smaller but is aperture-priority only). Ultimately there's no substitute for being able to handle them, so if you've got a nearby pawnshop or second-hand camera dealer, go in and have a play - even if the pawnshop cameras are so terrible you would never buy them, you will get a sense of how they feel in your hands, looking through the viewfinder and working the controls. And that can be important in the long run; I started off in film and have gone back to it with a vengeance (alongside digital), and manual-focus-era film bodies and digital ones are ergonomically very different kettles of fish.
I don't own the KX but I do own the Ricoh XR-1, which is of similar size and has the same match-needle metering system. My feeling is that match-needle is better in bright light, where the LED exposure indicators of my MX can sometimes be difficult to see. On the other hand, in dull or fading light, or indoors, the MX becomes tops. There are also a few things the KX does that the MX doesn't, and vice versa (check out the links). The best thing about both is that they will keep on kicking after the batteries have died - you lose metering, but you can still set shutter speeds and apertures and take pictures, and there are rules of thumb (see "Sunny Sixteen" if you're not familiar with it) to help you go about it. Best of luck in your search.
And of course we have film and film-camera sub-forums (and a forum marketplace where you can buy online from sellers with an established reputation) so we look forward to seeing you there when you've made your decision. Happy snapping!