[lakingsfan82]

Hi I need some help I have a Pentax MV Asahi that was given to me years ago that was my grandads when he died and was working then but has in the last few years suddenly been playing up, when I try take a photo in auto no matter if the viewer comes up green/yellow or red the shutter stays open for way to long and the pictures comes out blurred and unrecognised but the shutter works fine when set to B tho hope someone can help as I would like to be able to use this camera again along with my other cameras & get different style photos etc

[scc]

Thé MV has an electronic shutter, it needs a battery to operate. Except for the B setting which is mechanically operated.
I suppose you checked the battery?

[lakingsfan82]

Hi,
I didn’t know about the battery at all so the battery has been in the camera since the 80’s I used the camera for my photography course in 2004 and it was working fine on auto then just not the last few years, I just took the batteries out to see what type they was so I Know what to buy and when I put them back in the red/green/yellow light doesn’t come up anymore and the shutter shuts normally , if the battery isn’t working does that mean the photos taken on auto won’t come out? And the B setting photos will? & would taking the batteries out affect the film that’s already inside the camera?

[scc]

Hi,
Now I am a bit confused.
In your first post, the lights in the viewfinder operate but the shutter takes too long. In your second post, the lights do not operate and the shutter works "normally".
Did you put fresh batteries, with the approprate polarity ?
Without battery only the syncro flash speed 1/100 s and B setting are available. There will be no exposure metering and no shutter speed calculated. No way to get correctly exposed pictures.

[THoog]

I think SCC is correct - it sounds like the button batteries were dying. It's kind of amazing that they could still power the viewfinder LEDs. Taking the batteries out will not affect any exposures already on the film.

It *is* possible to use an ME/MV/MG with no batteries in 100X (Flash sync) mode using the "sunny 16 rule", but that requires some old-school light estimation skills and a lot of practice. B mode (B for "Bulb", as in old-old-school flash bulbs.) doesn't use batteries because it just holds the shutter open as long as the shutter button is pressed. I've used B for long multi-second exposures by counting the seconds out loud, but unless you are really really good at estimating fractions of a second , it's useless for most exposures.

Side note: Asahi Optical Company (AOCo) was the name of Pentax' parent company until 2002. The model name is just Pentax MV.

[lakingsfan82]

I took the batteries out to check what type they was and put them straight back in the same as they came out and the camera is set to auto even I was confused that when I pressed the button the shutter worked like it does on all the other settings but the light in the viewfinder wasn’t showing up But was before I took the batteries out , getting paid on Tuesday so will buy new batteries then and see how it works did have trouble at first finding the right batteries online as the batteries in the camera are from the 80’s and had the old battery name 10L14 but it’s been replaced now with LR44 so confusing

[lakingsfan82]

I brought new batteries today & found out when I took the old ones and then put them back in I had put them upside down and that was why it didn’t work 🤦🏼*♀️ But confused why the shutter was still working if the batteries were connected like, I have now put the new batteries in but the camera still shows the yellow light no matter where I point the camera I tried the garden in nice light and in the house with reasonable light but only yellow showed up but the shutter did shut quicker when the room was much brighter but stayed on yellow, just a bit confused why the light never changes to green or red as it used to when I used it years ago 🤷🏼*♀️

[scc]

The fact that the shutter shuts quicker in bright light shows that it works correctly. Now you have to select the appropriate f-stop to get higher shutter speeds and have the green led lighting. Look at the f-stop ring on the lens. The smaller the f-stop, the higher will be the shutter speed.

[lakingsfan82]

I’ve changed the settings on the lense from smallest to biggest but that doesn’t make any difference, I make sure everything is in focus etc but only the yellow light is ever on 😞

[scc]

What lens is it?
Also check the selected film sensibility.

[THoog]

But confused why the shutter was still working if the batteries were connected like,

While the shutter speed is controlled electronically, I'm pretty sure the cocking/firing is mechanical (it was on the ME that the MV is based on).

I make sure everything is in focus

Focus won't make a difference - the MV doesn't have any autofocus mechanism. The only automatic feature on the MV is the shutter speed control - it meters the light coming through the lens and sets the speed according to the film speed setting. Does the camera still show yellow with the lens cap on? That should get you red for sure. [CORRECTION - Red is only for overexposure on the MV. On the ME, red is used to indicate over and under.] I wouldn't be surprised to get yellow speeds indoors with average film unless the lens is very fast and the light is very bright - back in my film days with the ME/ME Super, I had to use a fast 50 and 800 speed film for any kind of indoor shooting - and I would still dip into "yellow" shutter speeds very often.

[lakingsfan82]

I’m using the basic small lense that was on the body when I got it but I try the big macro lense but that gets the yellow light too , I use a iso 200 film ,

[THoog]

Is the film speed dial on the camera (on the opposite side from the shutter button) set to ASA 200?

The small lens is probably a 50mm f/2 or f/2.8, and the macro lens is probably not faster than f/2.8, either. With an f/2.8 lens and ISO 200, it would be difficult to get 1/30 second shutter speed with typical indoor light. Anything less than 1/30 is going to show as yellow in the viewfinder.

[lakingsfan82]

The speed dial is set to asa 200 have never taken it off that and the small lense says it’s 0.45m to 15m it’s always shown green before when I used this lense & asa etc when I used it quite a few years back for college 🤔

[scc]

Try turning the ISO dial to ISO 800, select f/2 on the lens aperture ring and aim at a bright sky. Then, turn the aperture ring to lower f/stops (--> f/22) and check the reaction of the meter (lights).