I got my first digital DSLR in 2009, a Pentax K20D. Since then I have had a few Pentax film cameras that I bought in lots for the lenses, some were OK, some beat up. I've decided to watch for a good deal to come along on a nice film camera and finally bought an MX on Mercari. $85 with a K 55/1.8 attached, and a winder MX, with no battery door. That seemed to be a decent price. Of course when you buy on a site like that it is usually somebody selling a camera they inherited in one way or the other, they have no idea if it works, you rely on their photos. Anyway, it seems in pretty good shape, a couple of dents, some debris in the viewfinder, I'm sure the seals are deteriorated, probably needs a good CLA. Mechanically everything seems to work, I've ordered some new batteries to test out the metering, it had
Union Carbide batteries in it, so I don't think it has been used in ages. Once I get the batteries I will either run some film right away, or more likely just send it off to Eric for a CLA.
I don't believe I will try to fix the winder, unless someone is making new doors that would be a hard find. Can a non functional winder be used as a grip? I'm pretty happy with the lenses that came with it as it seems to be in great shape. According to the manual standard lenses kitted with the camera were the SMC 50/1.2, M 50/1.4, M 50/1.7, or M 40/2.8. Of course many camera stores made up their own kits, I can easily see a shop taking a the 55/1.8 lens out of his stock to replace a newer M 50/1.7 that he could sell for a little more.
Feel free to offer any suggestions.