[cooltouch]

I bought an LX recently and decided pretty much right off I'd like to have a winder for it. At least partly due to the fact that it was missing one of the winder port covers and I wasn't having any luck at all finding any -- so, hey, may as well get a winder, right?

Well, I found an LX Winder for reasonable and it arrived today. It's in great cosmetic shape -- it has that going for it, at least. After a couple of false starts, I finally got it to work okay -- I guess. Sort of a weird feeling to the shutter release. I hit a hard point that feels it's about half the normal travel -- as if I've set the shutter release to its 'lock' setting -- at which point the shutter fires and the drive advances. But with the drive turned off, the shutter release is back to its normal feel -- that is, it pushes down farther to release the shutter and I don't hit a hard point to release the shutter. It's an odd feel when the winder is on, but I'm getting used to it.

Also, the drive sounds like I'm rattling a bunch of small rocks around inside a box, especially when it's set to "C". Is this sort of noise normal? Honestly I was expecting something a bit more refined sounding than the sound it's making -- especially as expensive as these things are. Got to be the worst winder or motor sound I've ever heard. And I've heard quite a few different drives and winders in my time. A couple of months back, I bought a Minolta Winder D for my newly acquired XD-11, and I gotta say that it is much nicer sounding than this one, and it cost a helluva lot less. Shoot, my old Winder F for my old F-1, which I have often complained about being noisy, is no comparison to this thing.

Something else I've noticed that I definitely don't think is normal -- say I have it set to "S". If I'm holding the camera horizontally, most of the time when I hit the shutter release, the shutter will trip, but the film won't advance. Then if I hit the shutter release again, the film will advance only. I hit it again, the shutter trips, hit it again, the film advances, etc. Sometimes, however, it will behave normally, but most of the time, not. Now, here's where it's a little weird. If I hold the camera vertically, every time I trip the shutter, it will behave normally. The shutter trips and the film advances one frame. And -- if I switch to "C" but lift my finger off the shutter release in time so just one frame is exposed, this same thing happens. That is, it goes back to this two-strokes-for-one-complete-frame situation. And if I hold it vertically while the winder is on "C", it behaves the same as if it is on "S," that is to say, normally. Strange, eh?

I'm gonna have to send my LX in to Eric to have him take care of the sticky mirror, plus the mirror's apparently beginning to sag some, since my 50/1.4 doesn't focus at infinity on this camera -- it's just slightly off, but I need things to be precise when it comes to focus. I'm guessing he's also spent a bit of time working on winders as well, eh? So, I reckon I'll be shipping off the set to him and see what he can do for me.

I've done my own camera repairs and I've even repaired motor drives some -- but it was real hit-or-miss on the drives, so I'm probably better off having Eric look at it, especially when it comes to this timing situation.

So anyway, if there's anything you'd like to comment on or add to this, I'm willing to pay attention. Thanks.

[tlong423]

So anyway, if there's anything you'd like to comment on or add to this, I'm willing to pay attention. Thanks.

None of that sounds "normal" for the LX winder, and you are wise to send it off -- along with your camera body -- to Eric.

[Chuckie]

The shutter and/or film advance at random is not normal. It could be a contact issue between the body and the winder, or a loose wire inside either that sometimes does not make contact when the camera is horizontal.

The winder is noisy, very noisy. It is not refined at all. All of the winders from that era (Winder ME, MEII, MX, LX; Motor Drive A, MX, LX) are very noisy. The 645N winder is also noisy. They only started getting quieter with the built-in winders of the MZ-series.

[ChrisPlatt]

My Winder LX functioned normally but was a disappointment.
IMO the only Pentax winder worth owning is the Winder MX.

Chris

[cooltouch]

Thanks for the responses, guys. I sent Eric an email and got a reply. Eric says he doesn't work on the Winder. But he told me a couple of things he thought might be problems I can possibly look into. He wrote that it sounded like the screw posts hoding the gears are wearing some, but that they should still last a long time, and that they'll start rattling until the gears lock up. Hrm. sounds harsh. I hope he's right about it lasting a long time. He also mentioned that he thought the reason why it's behaving different between horizonal and vertical positions is probably because of battery contact. Hm -- I dunno about this, but it's something to check at least.

I think I might open it up and have a look at these "screw posts" he mentioned. Meanwhile, I'll double check and make sure the battery contacts are good.