[varky]

Hi everyone!

A couple of days ago I got given an old MX by my gf's parents. It's a bit run down, and they told me the lightmeter never really worked (it was bought used).

I've checked the camera out in general, and the mechanical side of it seems to work nicely.

Haven't had a chance to put batteries in and take the bottom plate off to see what might be wrong with the lightmeter, but I'd like to hear if anyone knows what to look out for in regards to the meter.

Also, I see the light seals are crumbling, which is understandable given the age. Are there specific seals I need to buy, or is it a generic material? Any instructions on this are more than welcome!

[RKKS08]

Some general information you may find here:
MX light seals - PentaxForums.com

Light seals (complete sets ready to use) you can find on eBay, but probably not for the MX.

But you could try these, contact them first for shipping to the EU,
USCamera.com Custom Pentax Light Seal

There are some more, I think in the past also one PF member sold them.
You may also look for Jon Goodman, I heard he sells complete sets. Find him at photo.net

And greetings to Zagreb.
I have been there many many times, privately and for work at companies and the University (Fakultet Strojarstva i Brodogradnje)
Sadly, not for the last 10-11 years.

Good luck.

EDIT:
Also have a look at
http://www.uscamera.com/camera_lightseal_instructions.htm
There are useful general hints for replacing light seals.

[Xmas]

Some general information you may find here:
MX light seals - PentaxForums.com

Light seals (complete sets ready to use) you can find on eBay, but probably not for the MX.

But you could try these, contact them first for shipping to the EU,
USCamera.com Custom Pentax Light Seal

There are some more, I think in the past also one PF member sold them.
You may also look for Jon Goodman, I heard he sells complete sets. Fimd him at photo.net

And greetings to Zagreb.
I have been there many many times, privately and for work at companies and the University (Fakultet Strojarstva i Brodogradnje)
Sadly, not for the last 10-11 years.

Good luck.

EDIT:
Also have a look at
General Film Camera Light Seal Foam Removal and Installation Instructions | Film Camera Service Help | uscamera.com
There are useful general hints for replacing light seals.

Favorite Classics / Jon Goodman's Seal Replacement Instructions
I just use scissors double sided pressure sensitive tape and mouse mat!

[Not a Number]

First thing to do is clean the battery contacts and more importantly the battery cap.

[MrB1]

Second thing, before dismantling, then seems clear - put new batteries in, and see whether the meter works.

[varky]

Thanks everyone, this is very helpful!

Hopefully I'll get around to ordering seals next week.

Tried new batteries last night and it seems the lightmeter works! I'm told it used to under or over expose by a stop or two (they're not sure which and how much, anymore), so I'll keep that in mind when I get to testing it.

[pschlute]

Tried new batteries last night and it seems the lightmeter works! I'm told it used to under or over expose by a stop or two

Just bracket your exposures and you will be fine.

[varky]

Finally got a moment to reply properly:

@pschulte: I just might. I thought about just checking the metering against a phone metering app as well as against the meter on my K-50. I assume the MX does spot metering?

@dcshooter: I don't have any external flash that I could use to check it. That being said, I don't expect to ever get a flash for it, but who knows. Is there any risk to the functioning of the camera if the flash ports aren't in order even when they're not being used?

@Xmas and @RKKS08: thank you for the detailed help with the light seals. I will probably order a kit from uscamera, they ship to Croatia for about 25$ total which is acceptable. The GF and I are planning to have fun cleaning and refurbishing it

And finally @RKKS08: Greetings from Zagreb! Or, in this case more accurately Zaprešić, right next to Zagreb. I actually studied at FSB first before switching to a computing polytech. Hopefully you'll get a chance to see Zagreb again soon. It's becoming a tourist city and they've done some nice things recently

[pschlute]

I assume the MX does spot metering?

No, It has one mode only....centre weighted. Spot metering as a feature was 15 years in the future for Pentax when the MX was released. If you are used to the excellent matrix metering on modern DSLR cameras, you will find cenre weighted needs care when shooting with a lot of bright sky in the frame (it underexposes the subject), or when shooting against a dark background ( overexposes)

It is a great camera the MX. It is what I learned on.

[varky]

No, It has one mode only....centre weighted. Spot metering as a feature was 15 years in the future for Pentax when the MX was released. If you are used to the excellent matrix metering on modern DSLR cameras, you will find cenre weighted needs care when shooting with a lot of bright sky in the frame (it underexposes the subject), or when shooting against a dark background ( overexposes)

It is a great camera the MX. It is what I learned on.

Thank you. I did stumble on the fact that it's centre weighted after asking here. But thank you for your tips!

It shouldn't affect any of the other functioning. The two common failures are just the hot shoe, which is an easy repair requiring only to remove the shoe itself, and a failure of the x-sync plus shoe, which requires removing the front of the camera. If the time comes that you decide you need flash, there are multiple threads here on the forum describing how to do each repair.

Thanks! If I get a flash at any point I'll definitely check them out

[Xmas]

Removing old foam is the most time consuming task, can of zippo, qtips, wooden meat skewer, sharp knife to point skewer.

The meter can be use for 99% scenes with c41 or retained silver one stop more light is better than one less.

What you need next is a development tank changing bag, then enlarger and print tube tank.