LX LEDs hard to make out

Gashlycrumb · 12-14-2019, 08:36 PM

Hi there,

I'm a newbie to the LX and Pentax world. I come from a Nikon film and Fuji digital background. I recently acquired an LX and I love it. Not having much experience with it, I had it out today and it was pretty sunny out. The viewfinder LEDs are super small and pretty hard to read on a sunny day. At one point, I gave up and just put it into Automatic mode and hoped for the best. Are they supposed to flicker quickly? They react correctly to the light it looks like. It made me miss a needle exposure reading.

Thanks in advance. Happy to be here!

**Derek** · 12-14-2019, 08:46 PM

Originally posted by Gashlycrumb

Hi there,

I'm a newbie to the LX and Pentax world. I come from a Nikon film and Fuji digital background. I recently acquired an LX and I love it. Not having much experience with it, I had it out today and it was pretty sunny out. The viewfinder LEDs are super small and pretty hard to read on a sunny day. At one point, I gave up and just put it into Automatic mode and hoped for the best. Are they supposed to flicker quickly? They react correctly to the light it looks like. It made me miss a needle exposure reading.

Thanks in advance. Happy to be here!

Welcome and congrats on your LX.

LED flickering is possibly due to low batteries. The camera will still keep working until those lights go out completely.

stevebrot · 12-14-2019, 08:50 PM

Low battery? Flickering LED is how the camera signals the user they are low.

Steve

Gashlycrumb · 12-14-2019, 09:14 PM

Originally posted by stevebrot

Low battery? Flickering LED is how the camera signals the user they are low.

Steve

Thank you. I swapped in some other batteries that weren't quite brand new (but still good) and the flickering slowed down, especially for the green LEDs, but it was still prominent with the yellow ones. When I put in brand-new ones, all the LEDs improved. So, that must be it.

Sorry for the silly question.

LesDMess · 12-14-2019, 09:57 PM

Originally posted by Gashlycrumb

Thank you. I swapped in some other batteries that weren't quite brand new (but still good) and the flickering slowed down, especially for the green LEDs, but it was still prominent with the yellow ones. When I put in brand-new ones, all the LEDs improved. So, that must be it.

Sorry for the silly question.

Not silly at all.
BTW - if you don't already have one, a manual can be found at Butkus Camera Manual Library - Pentax LX. In it you will find in page 5 about the low voltage warning.

Also, welcome aboard. What was your Nikon film camera? Was it a manual camera?

**ismaelg** · 12-14-2019, 10:41 PM

There are no silly questions. What is silly is having a question and not ask.
Thanks to your question now I know a bit more about the LX which is on my want list....

Gashlycrumb · 12-16-2019, 10:43 AM

Originally posted by LesDMess

Not silly at all.
BTW - if you don't already have one, a manual can be found at Butkus Camera Manual Library - Pentax LX. In it you will find in page 5 about the low voltage warning.

Also, welcome aboard. What was your Nikon film camera? Was it a manual camera?

Thanks for the resource. I completely missed it in the manual, and of course, it was right in front of my face.

As for Nikons, I have the FM, FE, FM3A, and the F3. Of them all, the FM3A is my favorite.

LesDMess · 12-16-2019, 05:30 PM

Originally posted by Gashlycrumb

Thanks for the resource. I completely missed it in the manual, and of course, it was right in front of my face.

As for Nikons, I have the FM, FE, FM3A, and the F3. Of them all, the FM3A is my favorite.

I also prefer the FM3A amongst my Nikon SLRs. Be good to hear your impressions of the LX after you give it some good work.

Gashlycrumb · 12-18-2019, 03:02 PM

Originally posted by LesDMess

I also prefer the FM3A amongst my Nikon SLRs. Be good to hear your impressions of the LX after you give it some good work.

Thanks! It's amazing how the size of the LX is close to the FM3A, but the build quality feels like the F3. It's really impressive. I'm still getting a hang of the metering as I'm used to locking exposure with the Nikon.

12-14-2019, 08:36 PM	#1
Gashlycrumb New Member Join Date: Nov 2019 Posts: 7	LX LEDs hard to make out Hi there, I'm a newbie to the LX and Pentax world. I come from a Nikon film and Fuji digital background. I recently acquired an LX and I love it. Not having much experience with it, I had it out today and it was pretty sunny out. The viewfinder LEDs are super small and pretty hard to read on a sunny day. At one point, I gave up and just put it into Automatic mode and hoped for the best. Are they supposed to flicker quickly? They react correctly to the light it looks like. It made me miss a needle exposure reading. Thanks in advance. Happy to be here!

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12-14-2019, 08:46 PM	#2
Derek Site Supporter Join Date: Jun 2008 Location: Terrace, BC, Canada Photos: Albums Posts: 122	Originally posted by Gashlycrumb Hi there, I'm a newbie to the LX and Pentax world. I come from a Nikon film and Fuji digital background. I recently acquired an LX and I love it. Not having much experience with it, I had it out today and it was pretty sunny out. The viewfinder LEDs are super small and pretty hard to read on a sunny day. At one point, I gave up and just put it into Automatic mode and hoped for the best. Are they supposed to flicker quickly? They react correctly to the light it looks like. It made me miss a needle exposure reading. Thanks in advance. Happy to be here! Welcome and congrats on your LX. LED flickering is possibly due to low batteries. The camera will still keep working until those lights go out completely.

12-14-2019, 08:50 PM	#3
stevebrot Otis Memorial Pentaxian Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Vancouver (USA) Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 42,007	Low battery? Flickering LED is how the camera signals the user they are low. Steve

12-14-2019, 09:14 PM	#4
Gashlycrumb New Member Join Date: Nov 2019 Posts: 7 Original Poster	Originally posted by stevebrot Low battery? Flickering LED is how the camera signals the user they are low. Steve Thank you. I swapped in some other batteries that weren't quite brand new (but still good) and the flickering slowed down, especially for the green LEDs, but it was still prominent with the yellow ones. When I put in brand-new ones, all the LEDs improved. So, that must be it. Sorry for the silly question.

12-14-2019, 09:57 PM	#5
LesDMess Pentaxian Join Date: May 2011 Location: Santa Cruz, CA Photos: Albums Posts: 3,235	Originally posted by Gashlycrumb Thank you. I swapped in some other batteries that weren't quite brand new (but still good) and the flickering slowed down, especially for the green LEDs, but it was still prominent with the yellow ones. When I put in brand-new ones, all the LEDs improved. So, that must be it. Sorry for the silly question. Not silly at all. BTW - if you don't already have one, a manual can be found at Butkus Camera Manual Library - Pentax LX. In it you will find in page 5 about the low voltage warning. Also, welcome aboard. What was your Nikon film camera? Was it a manual camera?

12-14-2019, 10:41 PM	#6
ismaelg Loyal Site Supporter Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: Puerto Rico Photos: Gallery Posts: 2,681	There are no silly questions. What is silly is having a question and not ask. Thanks to your question now I know a bit more about the LX which is on my want list....

12-16-2019, 10:43 AM	#7
Gashlycrumb New Member Join Date: Nov 2019 Posts: 7 Original Poster	Originally posted by LesDMess Not silly at all. BTW - if you don't already have one, a manual can be found at Butkus Camera Manual Library - Pentax LX. In it you will find in page 5 about the low voltage warning. Also, welcome aboard. What was your Nikon film camera? Was it a manual camera? Thanks for the resource. I completely missed it in the manual, and of course, it was right in front of my face. As for Nikons, I have the FM, FE, FM3A, and the F3. Of them all, the FM3A is my favorite.

12-16-2019, 05:30 PM	#8
LesDMess Pentaxian Join Date: May 2011 Location: Santa Cruz, CA Photos: Albums Posts: 3,235	Originally posted by Gashlycrumb Thanks for the resource. I completely missed it in the manual, and of course, it was right in front of my face. As for Nikons, I have the FM, FE, FM3A, and the F3. Of them all, the FM3A is my favorite. I also prefer the FM3A amongst my Nikon SLRs. Be good to hear your impressions of the LX after you give it some good work.

12-18-2019, 03:02 PM	#9
Gashlycrumb New Member Join Date: Nov 2019 Posts: 7 Original Poster	Originally posted by LesDMess I also prefer the FM3A amongst my Nikon SLRs. Be good to hear your impressions of the LX after you give it some good work. Thanks! It's amazing how the size of the LX is close to the FM3A, but the build quality feels like the F3. It's really impressive. I'm still getting a hang of the metering as I'm used to locking exposure with the Nikon.