[PhilRich]

I live west of Olympia WA. Thanks for the responses! It looks like a CLA will take care of the sticky mirror issue. Sending it off for a estimate is the best approach other than replacement. I do like the compact size of the MX.

[goddo31]

I live west of Olympia WA. Thanks for the responses! It looks like a CLA will take care of the sticky mirror issue. Sending it off for a estimate is the best approach other than replacement. I do like the compact size of the MX.

In terms of camera value, it seems that prices are going up for most of the well regarded models. So your MX may be worth the repair, as long as the cost is within reason - IMO Stevebrot gave a good ballpark figure.
Once fixed or serviced they are generally pretty reliable too. I've had mine for 10 years now, finally got it serviced last year because the light meter was dodgy.

[Vendee]

Thats often the case with vintage gear but you do it for love 💕 not for £££££



If your in the UK Miles Whitehead could probably get it fixed for you and he is very reasonable on charges.

Agree with the "Do it for the love" attitude.

I just got my ME Super back from Miles Whitehead and I'm very happy. It now meters correctly and he is cheaper than Harrow Technical used to be. Anyway, I think the OP is in the USA so no good to him.

[stevebrot]

Thats often the case with vintage gear but you do it for love 💕 not for £££££

In the other room is a Minolta Autocord TLR. It is in Ex- condition, but needs a CLA to lube the focus mechanism (essential on those cameras) and put the shutter in top shape. The combination of purchase price + CLA will result in my outlay being close to what the camera is worth for resale as recently serviced. That seems fair enough and much less risky than purchasing for prime money on the promise of not needing service.


Steve

[Astro-Baby]

Miles does good stuff...he is servicing one of my Nikons at the moment.

[boriscleto]

Pentax Repair Facilities (Wordwide listing) - PentaxForums.com

Garry's is one of the less expensive at $50 plus $8 shipping. I've heard both good and bad things...

[ChrisPlatt]

Since you are in USA I too recommend Eric Hendrickson.
He's been servicing all my Pentax film gear for 20 years.

He's Pentax factory trained; his work is excellent; his rates reasonable; his turnaround time is fast.

https://www.pentaxs.com/

Chris

[PhilRich]

I emailed Eric several days ago, but haven't received a response. Is he still repairing cameras? I'm not comfortable just sending the camera without knowing he is still in business.

Email Eric at pentaxrepairs@aol.com

[monochrome]

I emailed Eric several days ago, but haven't received a response. Is he still repairing cameras? I'm not comfortable just sending the camera without knowing he is still in business.

Email Eric at pentaxrepairs@aol.com

AFAIK he’s still working a/o a couple weeks ago. It is fair to say his email Inquiry responses are spotty at best but he does immediately send an estimate.

Also, @stevebrot made a post above about a repair tech in Portland, OR. I’ve used Advance Camera there for my 645. They’re a bit pricier than Eric but maybe you would be a bit more comfortable trying to contact them. Maybe that’s the store Steve posted about.

In my city (Portland, Oregon metro area) a CLA'd MX in vGood condition is about $250 on the shelf of the shop that did the service.

A CLA from the same shop is $150 USD. At least that is what they charged me to do my Spotmatic F that had a similar mirror (stuck up) issue at slow shutter speeds.


Steve

[stevebrot]

Maybe that’s the store Steve posted about.

Mike Knight (doing business through Bluemoon Camera and Machine) did the CLA on my SP F. I have done business with Mike for about 20 years.

Blue Moon Camera and Machine

Advance Camera are also good people, but I had Mike do it because he is a half-hour's drive closer to me.


Steve

[stevebrot]

I live west of Olympia WA. Thanks for the responses! It looks like a CLA will take care of the sticky mirror issue. Sending it off for a estimate is the best approach other than replacement. I do like the compact size of the MX.

Do you know forum member @Eyewanders ? He shoots with vintage film gear and and also lives in the Olympia area and may know of a local shop that can service your camera.


Steve

[Eyewanders]

I emailed Eric several days ago, but haven't received a response. Is he still repairing cameras? I'm not comfortable just sending the camera without knowing he is still in business.

Do you know forum member @Eyewanders ? He shoots with vintage film gear and and also lives in the Olympia area and may know of a local shop that can service your camera.

Heya fellas. (I haven't been on the forums much past few months - life etc)
I have three MX cameras presently (being my favorite everyday 35mm camera, or at least tied with two other for that spot), and incidentally my oldest began exhibiting sporadic mirror return late last year, though I've yet to send it in to Eric. He's done the (excellent) work on most of my Pentaxes, including the CLA of the one giving me issues right now. I've no doubt a CLA will address it. In my case, as far as this one goes, it has been heavily used for the past 7 years since that CLA until about a year or two ago when I began shooting Konicas daily for 35mm. But that black MX was left in it's case in the back of my car for several months that spanned late summer heat and into mid-winter sub-freezing temps; it's no surprise that it's angry. I mentioned this because if you bought the MX off Ebay in who-knows condition, then shelved it for an additional two years... Yeah, it just needs some internal attention.

To my knowledge there isn't a local Olympia option (there's not even a local Oly film processing option, surprisingly). My suggestions have already all been mentioned (Advance Camera in PDX, and Eric H of course. There's also the Shot on Film store in the Lake City area of Seattle - I'm not sure if they do repairs regularly but he'll certainly have sources. (Unfortunately my favorite repair tech in Seattle closed his doors finally a couple years ago.)

Also, FWIW, the last MX (a later model silver one) that I sent to Eric was in late 2016 for a full CLA: includes all light seals, mirror bumper, clean/lube advance/transport/shutter, finder cleaning, focus check/adjust, speed & metering calibration. The total was $85 USD. His prices may have gone up but I doubt by much.

I've two cameras in my personal queue to send him. I should get on it.

---------- Post added 06-21-20 at 05:45 PM ----------

Oh, and I should add, depending on his workload and schedule, Eric can be delayed in email replies (which are always courteous but brief and to the point)... Sometimes he gets back to me within a day, and sometimes it can be a week or even longer. You might send a reminder note if it's been more than a couple weeks, but he works through his queue as he can.

Final edit: I too can vouch for Blue Moon. I've never had a repair done there but they're great people through and through at that store and have had many dealings otherwise.