[gregmsull]

Hello folks: I have a Pentax KX vintage film slr. This is an all manual, mechanical camera, which only needs batteries for the light meter. The problem: shutter speeds 1/2, 1/4 & 1/8 second don't seem to fire right (sounds too fast, about 1/60 or 1/125 sec?). How is this possible with a mechanical camera? Any solution? Thanks!

[ctrout]

I had one with the same problem. I sent it to Eric and he sent it back as repaired. It wasn't. I sent it to him again to fix under warranty. He returned it again as repaired. Again, it wasn't. When I contacted him about the issue, he said that it wasn't repairable. I never heard from him again about it. I decided to give up on it, so I sold it on Ebay with full disclosure three weeks ago for $22, after investing over $100 in it just in repairs and postage back and forth to Eric. If you recently acquired the camera on ebay from seller billyp732 in Florida, and it has a serial number 8161258, you need to get your miney back because he knew that it had been deemed as unrepairable.

[pentaxus]

Slow shutter speeds are governed by a different mechanism. The slow speed gear train is used little so sometimes stiffens up. Generally re-lubricating the slow speed governor works. Sometimes a tiny corrosion isn't obvious and becomes and issue with use. New gear trains are not available, so you end up swapping one out of another used camera without knowledge of its history. Sadly there is not a quick fix that is guaranteed.

[ChrisPlatt]

35mm cameras were designed primarily for and excel at shooting handheld.
Some camera models don't include shutter speeds slower than 1/30 second.

Slower speeds are nice to have but require use of a solid support.
They are rarely used in everyday photography.

I would never miss those speeds; lacking them wouldn't deter me from keeping it.

Chris

[gregmsull]

Thanks for all the thoughtful input, folks -- very helpful. Thankfully, my KX is not the return - resell on eBay. While verifying the serial number, I thought I'd go thru the shutter speeds again. They seem to be okay, which leads me to believe the camera just needs proper "exercise." And I agree, Chris -- lacking the slowest shutter speeds would not make me ditch the camera. Especially since I have a Spotmatic SP-II, K-1000, K2, ME Super and P3. Guess I've got enough Pentax 35mm film cameras -- for now!

[monochrome]

Thanks for all the thoughtful input, folks -- very helpful. Thankfully, my KX is not the return - resell on eBay. While verifying the serial number, I thought I'd go thru the shutter speeds again. They seem to be okay, which leads me to believe the camera just needs proper "exercise." And I agree, Chris -- lacking the slowest shutter speeds would not make me ditch the camera. Especially since I have a Spotmatic SP-II, K-1000, K2, ME Super and P3. Guess I've got enough Pentax 35mm film cameras -- for now!

You’re not even close

.:

[gregmsull]

LX was the Pentax Professional film slr. Those are getting pretty expensive. Unfortunately for me, I got this "bug" for vintage film cameras within the last year, not 5-10 yrs ago, at the advent of digital photography, when the bottom dropped out for used film camera prices. Film is coming back strong, and with it, the prices on the good stuff. Still, I've managed to lay my hands on some cameras I never could've touched as a younger lad...

[Xmas]

You’re not even close

.:

Confirmed!