[GaBaum]

Hey guys,


I've just bought a Pentax LX a few days ago in pretty good conditions and from a later batch (SN beginning with 53), but noticed, that shutter speeds 1/30 and 1/60 cause really weird problems and are nearly unusable.


When I'm shooting on them in manual mode, the mirror and shutter get stuck and keep open until I'm slightly rotating the shutter wheel again. In automatic mode they are closed again, but it still seems, that they keep on opening way to long, like a 1/8.


Do you have any ideas how to fix this and is it part of the commonly known mirror stuck problem of the LX or something different?

I would really like to keep my configuartion of the LX, so I hope its fixable.


Thanks a lot for your help!

Gabor

[Aaron28]

likely a lube issue

[Dipsoid]

My LX does that when the batteries are low, everything less than 1/90 is electronically timed. Are you using new batteries? If you're using new batteries, I would worry that it could be an electronic issue, but it could also just need to be CLAd. It also could be the sticky mirror syndrome which is an expensive fix. The mirror bumpers get sticky and the mirror sticks. This requires the mirror bumpers to be replaced and requires the mirror to be recalibrated.

[GaBaum]

I've tried it with two types of batteries now, both of them brand new (Cr1/3 N and 2x LR44). The camera also doesn't indicate any low battery, light meter is working fine and all electronic shutters below 1/30 are working as well. It's just the two shutters 1/60 and 1/30. At 1/60 I sometimes works, but very irregular and on 1/30 the mirror and shutter is always stuck.

[LesDMess]

In manual mode, all the shutter speeds on the LX from X (1/75) to 1/2000 - as well as B, are all mechanically controlled. All speeds 1/60 and below are electronically controlled.
Are you saying that only 1/30 & 1/60 have a problem - while all the other slower shutter speeds are fine?
Is this while in manual selection mode and/or aperture priority?

[GaBaum]

In manual mode, all the shutter speeds on the LX from X (1/75) to 1/2000 - as well as B, are all mechanically controlled. All speeds 1/60 and below are electronically controlled.
Are you saying that only 1/30 & 1/60 have a problem - while all the other slower shutter speeds are fine?
Is this while in manual selection mode and/or aperture priority?

Yes, I know that. It is just the 1/30 and 1/60 in manual selection mode, that aren't working and the mirror and shutter get stuck completely. Everything slower works fine. In Aperture Priority Mode both 1/30 and 1/60 are closing the mirror and shutter, but it feels like the exposure time is way too long for a 1/30, seems to be open more like a 1/8.

[womble]

Sounds like time for a service if you can find anyone willing to service an LX these days

[Eyewanders]

Hey guys,


I've just bought a Pentax LX a few days ago in pretty good conditions and from a later batch (SN beginning with 53), but noticed, that shutter speeds 1/30 and 1/60 cause really weird problems and are nearly unusable.


When I'm shooting on them in manual mode, the mirror and shutter get stuck and keep open until I'm slightly rotating the shutter wheel again. In automatic mode they are closed again, but it still seems, that they keep on opening way to long, like a 1/8.


Do you have any ideas how to fix this and is it part of the commonly known mirror stuck problem of the LX or something different?

I would really like to keep my configuartion of the LX, so I hope its fixable.


Thanks a lot for your help!

Gabor

This is quite similar to the erratic behavior my early model exhibits. I've learned to live with mine but have made it happen with far less frequency. CLA and two (very long) trips to Eric H over the course of two years did not resolve it.
Question: when this happens does the meter read a value that seems correct and is it steady, e.g. does it behave how you'd expect... or does it jump about when you move to those shutter speeds?
If so, does it moving (or even touching/applying pressure to the exposure-comp wheel or shutter wheel make the meter LEDs change in any drastic way? (Just trying to ascertain if your issue is in any way similar to mine).

[andrewd]

I bought a second LX that also had inconsistent manual speeds below 1/60, even after installing new batteries. I contacted a Pentax technician and he indicated that one possible cause was a faulty shutter speed control board. If this part is faulty the only solution is to find a replacement part from a working donor camera, since factory spare parts are no longer available. Obviously the problem can not be correctly diagnosed until the camera is disassembled and tested, which is not a cheap undertaking. I decided to return the camera to avoid an expensive service with no guarantees that the problem can be fixed.

A useful reference here:
https://harrowtechnical.co.uk/camera-faults/

[GaBaum]

I decided to return the camera after a long conversation with a Pentax technician, who suggested an faulty electronic shutter speed control board too.

Thanks to all your advices, I hope to have more luck with my next LX order

[RebelCharlie]

I just bought a late model LX with similar problems, hoping it was a sticky mirror problem, W/O batteries it seems to default to x synch speed only. With batteries, it seems to default to automatic shutter only, and it seems to return correct shutter speeds but it will not engage to manual speeds. I took a chance and it seems I bought a dud. Any suggestions?

---------- Post added 11-30-22 at 04:37 PM ----------

I just bought a late model LX with similar problems, hoping it was a sticky mirror problem, W/O batteries it seems to default to x synch speed only. With batteries, it seems to default to automatic shutter only, and it seems to return correct shutter speeds but it will not engage to manual speeds. I took a chance and it seems I bought a dud. Any suggestions?

Post update; I tried an experiment with one of my Sunpak 544 strobes, open back, no lens attached I fired at a white floor, at speeds 1/2000, 1/1000, 1/500, 1/250, 1/125, x and 1/60, I could see how the slot distance between the curtains was increasing up to X that showed full frame illumination, in the at 1/60 and below, the second curtain took 13 seconds to release. When pointed at a 60-watt light bulb it took 2 seconds. In other words, from x to 1/2000 manual speeds work fine, below that it defaults to auto. Then at 1/2 second speeds go crazy again and seem to default to 125 seconds, approximately.

[grimnicholas]

Did you figure this out?
My new to me LX at anything slower than 1/60 the mirror stays up and speeds are way off

If there’s a magic fix I’m keen to know even if there’s some DIY

Interestingly if I give the baseplate a hard tap while the mirror is stuck it comes back (doing so during a 4 second exposure returns it at the right times)

[niceshot]

Most likely it is a sticky mirror box issue, if you have the nerve to try a very small amount of Zippo lighter fluid might resolve the issue. Do it at your own Peril