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05-26-2022, 07:51 PM   #16
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QuoteOriginally posted by LesDMess Quote
I always say get them all . . .




I have two of each and neither has given me a one problem . . .




If you will not be using the facilities only available to the LX - like changeable viewfinders . . .



. . . then maybe the MX is the better choice.

Need TTL flash, then maybe the LX is the better choice . . .




Maybe the more compact and lighter MX setup with the pancake lens is a better choice?




Maybe you want aperture priority evey now and then in which case the LX is the better choice. For me, that aperture priority mode was the main reason I ever got the LX as it is the only camera ever made - by any company film or digital, that can take as long as it takes to properly expose a scene, all the while monitoring it for changes in light and adjusting accordingly.

Most all aperture priority capable cameras can autoexpose a typical daylight scene. This one using the LX with Lomography 100 film.



Most can even expose a scene seconds long. This one on Fuji RVP50.



However, autoexposure measuring minutes long and you eliminate most cameras. This one >10 minutes on Kodak Portra 800.




For autoexposures longer than 40 minutes, I am not aware of any other camera - beside the LX, that can do this. I don't believe you can even do this using an external meter. This one using Kodak Ektar 100.



For this scene - taken using Kodak Gold 100 with the LX in aperture priority mode, I pressed the shutter button about 9pm and sometime after 3am it finished.



Good luck with your choice!
Oh the MX is really compact compared to the LX I'm gonna get one !

05-26-2022, 09:32 PM - 1 Like   #17
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QuoteOriginally posted by lotech Quote
Oh the MX is really compact compared to the LX I'm gonna get one !
The smallest slr with the biggest viewfinder. Was an eye opening revelation for me when I first looked through it!
05-26-2022, 10:07 PM   #18
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QuoteOriginally posted by LesDMess Quote
The smallest slr with the biggest viewfinder. Was an eye opening revelation for me when I first looked through it!
I was little late and missed the MX while it was in the shop and someone got it before me, so I get the KX instead, quite a different beast with dark viewfinder, if the MX is as bright as the Super A then the KX is 2 stop darker. Since I got the Super A already it would be enough, but it is pure electronic, and I don't like the tiny control dials and buttons. On the other hand the K2 is half electronic can be considered as poor man's LX, but bit old to work properly after over 40yrs., although I like the metallic shutter and the rest of it, so to me there is no better choice than the MX as a mechanical backup.
05-26-2022, 11:26 PM   #19
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QuoteOriginally posted by lotech Quote
.... to me there is no better choice than the MX as a mechanical backup.
Yup.

LX does have a slightly brighter finder, but really not by much. The MX is smaller than the OM series. It's pint sized.
Weirdly though (perhaps not), the very brightest and clearest viewfinder in my collection is the one in my Super Program. That thing is like a window.

05-27-2022, 08:20 AM - 1 Like   #20
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QuoteOriginally posted by Eyewanders Quote
Who'd you send yours to? Mr Hendrickson or someone there in PDX? Recently?
I had a local shop in Portland (Oregon) work on it. Not sure I want to say who since I'm still not sure I would give them repeat business. It was more a customer service issue than repair issue.
05-27-2022, 08:27 AM - 1 Like   #21
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While I would vote for the MX... one thing to consider. If you wanted an MX with a motor drive good luck finding one. The LX motors are cheap and very available. The only problem with either motor is getting a battery or the AA battery grip. The MX and LX can both use the LX nicd battery or AA battery grip M. The battery grip comes up on eBay maybe once a year. The nicd battery is more available but will most likely need a rebuild (about $185). Both cameras have winders but both are getting harder to find and prices are getting higher.

I've wanted an LX for a long time, but prices keep going up and I'd be looking at $400+ for a clean functional one. I can get 2 Nikon F4's for less than that (so I did).

05-27-2022, 09:36 AM - 1 Like   #22
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QuoteOriginally posted by lotech Quote
On the other hand the K2 is half electronic can be considered as poor man's LX
The K2, in particular the K2DMD version, was effectively the LX's predecessor and they were never meant to be alternatives. Both were aimed at the professional market. Compared with the K2DMD the main additions of the LX were the interchangeable viefinders, real-time exposure measurement in Auto (allowing TTL flash), and a range of mechanical back-up speeds instead of only the flash sync speed and 1/1000 of the K2. The LX also "retrograded" to a horizontal run shutter because some pros still insisted on it, and consequently it had a lower flash sync speed than the K2.

05-27-2022, 02:01 PM   #23
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QuoteOriginally posted by tonyzoc Quote
While I would vote for the MX... one thing to consider. If you wanted an MX with a motor drive good luck finding one. The LX motors are cheap and very available. The only problem with either motor is getting a battery or the AA battery grip. The MX and LX can both use the LX nicd battery or AA battery grip M. The battery grip comes up on eBay maybe once a year. The nicd battery is more available but will most likely need a rebuild (about $185). Both cameras have winders but both are getting harder to find and prices are getting higher.

I've wanted an LX for a long time, but prices keep going up and I'd be looking at $400+ for a clean functional one. I can get 2 Nikon F4's for less than that (so I did).
I got the winder for the Super A and I don't use it much, it's quite noisy and I got only 36 frames to waste, I enjoy the "hand cranking" more. But I do want a grip, luckily Super A got a small one, together with a "thumb up" shoe mount bracket I can get a steady grip of this small camera.
05-27-2022, 04:39 PM   #24
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QuoteOriginally posted by tonyzoc Quote
While I would vote for the MX... one thing to consider. If you wanted an MX with a motor drive good luck finding one. The LX motors are cheap and very available. The only problem with either motor is getting a battery or the AA battery grip. The MX and LX can both use the LX nicd battery or AA battery grip M. The battery grip comes up on eBay maybe once a year. The nicd battery is more available but will most likely need a rebuild (about $185). Both cameras have winders but both are getting harder to find and prices are getting higher.

I've wanted an LX for a long time, but prices keep going up and I'd be looking at $400+ for a clean functional one. I can get 2 Nikon F4's for less than that (so I did).
Really the best time to acquire an autofocus camera if you want one. I picked up a Canon EOS-1VHS on local CL from a forensics lab looking practically unused for $50!



This was half the price I paid for my second LX - sans viewfinder, on auction site listed as "from old relative don't know if it works as-is". Fortunately that LX is still 100% functional over 10 years now! I have since gotten rid of all my EOS gear.
05-27-2022, 05:45 PM - 1 Like   #25
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QuoteOriginally posted by LesDMess Quote
Really the best time to acquire an autofocus camera if you want one. I picked up a Canon EOS-1VHS on local CL from a forensics lab looking practically unused for $50!







This was half the price I paid for my second LX - sans viewfinder, on auction site listed as "from old relative don't know if it works as-is". Fortunately that LX is still 100% functional over 10 years now! I have since gotten rid of all my EOS gear.
I've purchased a Nikon F4 and an F4s, an extra WL finder, the Nikon AF-D 20-35/2.8, 35-70/2.8 and 80-200/2.8 and I spent less than $1000 for all that. Condition was excellent on all items...no viewfinder LED bleed, no haze in the lenses. With Pentax I could barely get 1 of the 2.8 zooms for that price...maybe the 28-70. The only film camera Pentax has that comes close to the F4 is the PZ-1p. The PZ-1p is really closer (better maybe) to the Nikon N90s. Pentax really only built one 35mm that could complete with pro nikons, and thats the LX. I prefer the LX to the Nikon F3...but I think the F3 is more rugged...or at least its easier to get fixed.

05-27-2022, 07:29 PM - 2 Likes   #26
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QuoteOriginally posted by Eyewanders Quote
I've written this here before: the LX is my favorite camera. The MX is the one I'd keep if I had to chose between them.
I have 6 LX bodies - two of them I have had to cannibalize for parts to keep the others running. I only have two MX cameras and they both work flawlessly. YMMV

If I had to choose I'd pick the MX.
05-27-2022, 10:57 PM - 1 Like   #27
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After I read the responses to my post, I learned that there are quite a lot of users had problem with the LX, and for most MX is preferred over it, I hope I did not give LX a bad name ! I might give K2 a try if I can find in good shape and price, but MX is surely my first goal.
05-27-2022, 11:07 PM - 2 Likes   #28
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QuoteOriginally posted by lotech Quote
After I read the responses to my post, I learned that there are quite a lot of users had problem with the LX, and for most MX is preferred over it, I hope I did not give LX a bad name ! I might give K2 a try if I can find in good shape and price, but MX is surely my first goal.
You didn't. The LX is simply a much more complicated machine and that has led to both joys and frustrations over time.
The MX (and KX) are less advanced inside - there's just less to break.
05-28-2022, 09:59 AM   #29
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QuoteOriginally posted by lotech Quote
After I read the responses to my post, I learned that there are quite a lot of users had problem with the LX, and for most MX is preferred over it, I hope I did not give LX a bad name ! I might give K2 a try if I can find in good shape and price, but MX is surely my first goal.
I lusted one in my film days. At that time I shot a Nikon F2a and I still had LX envy.
It is a fantastic beast with great features. In the time it was new it was a great choice. Now that it has age on it, most digital cameras offer features that make some of the unique bits of the LX less important and the lack of easy access to repair parts for complex electronic parts and other unique items makes it harder to justify over a much simpler to maintain and use MX. That doesn't detract from the LX - if it is a working copy it is both beautiful and special. But it does remove some temptation to buy given the high price for acquisition and maintenance uncertainties.
05-28-2022, 10:53 AM   #30
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QuoteOriginally posted by lotech Quote
I was little late and missed the MX while it was in the shop and someone got it before me, so I get the KX instead, quite a different beast with dark viewfinder, if the MX is as bright as the Super A then the KX is 2 stop darker.

A two-stop difference in brightness? That's an exaggeration.
If you do go for an MX suggest you keep the KX as well.
IMO in many important respects the KX is a better camera.

Chris
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