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06-14-2021, 06:09 PM   #1
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Question about Pentax MX

I just recently purchased a Pentax MX, and it is an impressive camera; however I have encountered a problem. Everything on camera works, however unless I'm in a shady spot I can't see the light meter, and even is a shady area when I point the camera at a sunlit area the led lights go out. Could the led lights be getting dim from old age? Other than the light meter problem it's a great camera.

06-14-2021, 06:39 PM   #2
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Hmmm. Perhaps that is the problem.

But, this behaviour could also be due to a handful of things.

1) The batteries might need to be changed. My MX prefers silver oxide batteries rather than alkaline batteries. (Ag13 rather than LR44). Not sure why the AG13's work better, but they do.

2) The light meter may need to be activated with a half press of the shutter release after timing out.

Other than that, I'm not sure what else to recommend trying.

Good luck!
06-14-2021, 07:54 PM   #3
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Probably battery related; clean contacts and add fresh batteries.
I believe LEDs are either on or off; don't dim with age. My 30+ year old MX is still fine with fresh batteries.
06-14-2021, 07:57 PM   #4
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Thanks for the reply! It's not the batteries, I've got 2 new 357 batteries in it and they say they are the equivalent to SR44's. I've tried with number 2, and the lights still blanked out in sunny conditions like I described.

---------- Post added 06-14-21 at 08:00 PM ----------

QuoteOriginally posted by DonV Quote
Probably battery related; clean contacts and add fresh batteries.
I believe LEDs are either on or off; don't dim with age. My 30+ year old MX is still fine with fresh batteries.
I'll try cleaning the contacts, they appeared clean, but since I haven't tried that I'll give it a try.

Thanks!

06-14-2021, 08:18 PM   #5
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Sunshine or shade or dark should have no effect on the lights at all.
You are seeing the christmas tree of red-yellow-green-yellow-red , correct?
06-14-2021, 08:30 PM   #6
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When I had my MX CLA'd/repaired by Eric Hendrickson he replaced the light meter, said it was bad( didn't go into any more detail than that). I'd had the same problem as you. Works fine ever since.
06-14-2021, 08:33 PM   #7
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QuoteOriginally posted by DonV Quote
Sunshine or shade or dark should have no effect on the lights at all.
You are seeing the christmas tree of red-yellow-green-yellow-red , correct?
Correct, as long as I'm in the shade, or indoors, I can see all 5 lights. The minute I get into the sunlight though the "christmas tree" goes black. I know it's a strange problem.

---------- Post added 06-14-21 at 08:35 PM ----------

QuoteOriginally posted by joelbolden Quote
When I had my MX CLA'd/repaired by Eric Hendrickson he replaced the light meter, said it was bad( didn't go into any more detail than that). I'd had the same problem as you. Works fine ever since.
Yes, I've been considering getting in touch with him as the only thing I could think of was the led lights were just getting old and dimming.

06-14-2021, 11:05 PM - 1 Like   #8
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The MX was produced between 1976 and 1985. One should expect any camera of this vintage to be in need of a service or a CLA. Of course you could be lucky and find a perfectly functional specimen, but I guess these are becoming more difficult to find year by year. Send the camera to Mr. Hendrickson!
06-15-2021, 07:11 AM   #9
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QuoteOriginally posted by DonV Quote
Probably battery related; clean contacts and add fresh batteries.
I believe LEDs are either on or off; don't dim with age. My 30+ year old MX is still fine with fresh batteries.
I agree that the issue is probably not with the LEDs themselves. LEDs do degrade with time, but we're talking many thousands of hours to see noticeable reduction in output. I doubt that is the issue. Light entering the eyepiece can make the LEDs appear dim. A good rubber eyecup will help with this.
06-15-2021, 08:50 AM   #10
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The LEDs just are not bright with this camera. I've checked a few and they are only easy to see in dim/shaded light.
This actually is a problem with many cameras that use this kind of exposure display - but the MX is one of the hardest to see.
My Minolta XK with the AE-S head is also very bad, and even the mighty LX isn't great in sunlight.
06-15-2021, 11:26 AM   #11
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I agree with Huss. Mine is very good indoors but more difficult to read in bright light. The red LED's are worse but you can still see them. The green LED is pretty good even outdoors.
06-15-2021, 02:44 PM   #12
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I thought my MX had this problem. But I think it was the bright sunlight that tricked me to not seeing them as I only needed to shade the viewfinder with my hand when looking. Not saying that it's what you're seeing of course.

And I'm jealous of the opportunity of sending a Pentax to Eric Hendrickson. I see him being referenced a lot and wonder whether he does cameras from outside the U.S. I'm in Denmark and the only place I know that does CLA's told me, that it probably isn't worth it. I got the camera about a month ago. I've since bought another body for parts - which hasn't arrived yet and another one that seems to be in better shape that the first. I'm truly in love with the MX and just want one that fully functions.
06-15-2021, 05:40 PM   #13
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Been using my MX a number of years and have taken many shots with it and metering has never been an issue so I had to try this out just now. I setup a white poster board with direct sun shining on it and the LEDs are clearly visible as it is outlined by a dark strip. This poster board is so bright I had to drop my ISO down to 32 in order to be able to have enough shutter speed control to turn all the LEDs on. I then started to point it towards the sun and the only time the LEDs are no longer visible is when the flare covers it up near direct sun. At that point I can no longer keep an open eye in the viewfinder anyway. I have to say that the LEDs are perfectly bright enough and the dark strip provides enough contrast to clearly see all LEDs from top to bottom. I tried to capture what can be seen through the MX viewfinder but no luck.

If the MX is working as it should, perhaps there is another optical reason that keeps someone else from clearly seeing the LEDs?

---------- Post added 06-15-21 at 08:11 PM ----------

BTW, the shutter has to be partially depressed for the LED meter to come on and stay on. It immediately extinguishes when you release the shutter.
01-20-2022, 08:55 AM   #14
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For the people complaining about dim LEDs, could you please confirm whether you have the early or the late MX model?
MX revisions? - PentaxForums.com
I have an early version with dim LEDs, and a late version with bright LEDs. I want to check if it's simply sample variation (this isn't out of the question - my early MX has been disassembled - the LEDs might very well be slightly misaligned), or if it's a clear difference between early and late versions.
01-20-2022, 10:46 AM   #15
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Agree that the LEDS are not very bright in the MX. In bright conditions it does make it hard to see the difference between the green and orange colour LEDS. I have found it useful to use the bracket marks around the shutter speed indication as a reference point. The green LED is centered between these bracket marks.

For a service technician in Europe I can recommend Robin at Harrow Technical (UK). He has serviced several Pentax cameras for me. Unfortunately due to Brexit there might be some tax/customs issues so best to email Robin first.

I think the MX is my favourite Pentax. It is simple, discreet, robust and reliable. I like to use mine with the 45mm f2.8 pancake lens.

---------- Post added 01-20-22 at 10:53 AM ----------

QuoteOriginally posted by vladimiroltean Quote
For the people complaining about dim LEDs, could you please confirm whether you have the early or the late MX model?
MX revisions? - PentaxForums.com
I have an early version with dim LEDs, and a late version with bright LEDs. I want to check if it's simply sample variation (this isn't out of the question - my early MX has been disassembled - the LEDs might very well be slightly misaligned), or if it's a clear difference between early and late versions.

Mine is a late model and I find the LEDS dim in bright light but still perfectly usable.

I find cameras that use shaped LEDS easier to use compared to the colour coded system in Pentax (I am not colour blind), eg +/o/- in Nikon or triangles in Leica. Nikons and Leicas also have much brighter LEDS that are easier to use in all lighting conditions.
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