[womble]

I am glad I found this forum, I am quite taken by a system camera and the market seems to bl flooded with the "N" word and little around the Pentax and especially the LX. Are there any pitfalls I should look out for when looking for one? Many thanks!

Try to find one that has been recently serviced by someone reliable. The are various seals etc. that'll need changing on older models and there are very people with the spares to do that now.

K.

[j0n4hpk]

Thanks for info.

[ChrisPlatt]

Though mentioned earlier in this thread I did not see a link to the mir.com Pentax LX pages so here it is:

http://www.mir.com.my/rb/photography/hardwares/classics/pentaxlx/index.htm

Chris

[aslyfox]

Though mentioned earlier in this thread I did not see a link to the mir.com Pentax LX pages so here it is:

http://www.mir.com.my/rb/photography/hardwares/classics/pentaxlx/index.htm

Chris

thanks

it is in the first post under this

Pentax LX - The Camera Body

but no harm in posting the link again

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Last edited by aslyfox; 11-08-2022 at 05:50 AM.

[arnold]

An interesting fact about the LX Auto feature: Since the auto exposure circuitry works off the light reflected off the film (or pressure plate), it won't work with the back door open. Something else I noticed that may be related to this, is that it takes time for the auto feature to function after the lens cap is removed. It is as if a charge (capacitor?) needs to build up from light coming through the lens, and reflecting off the pressure plate, before the circuitry can function. After that it is perfect in its long exposures. Having the cap off for a brief time in light, seems to do this if the camera has been sitting in the dark for some time. Once the "charge" is there, the timer works as it should, otherwise it just fires instantly. Mind you, the pressure plate has a different reflection value to film one needs to consider.
I would be interested to hear what your LX does in the dark if it has had the cap on for a few days.

A quick edit to #52 post. The shutter auto timing problem was cured by rotating both the ASA dial and the speed selector several times to clear oxidation from the contacts. The only other problem I encountered was after using mirror lock-up. Mirror lock_up worked fine initially then, after de-selecting lock-up and firing the shutter, the mirror stayed up. It could be released by using (opening) the shutter advance, but the problem of mirror locking up after each shot, persisted. I then switched the control lever over to Timer and eventually whatever was in this complicated mechanism reset. The depth of field operation has no issues regardless and is safe to use. After trying a couple more "lock-ups of the mirror" and the problem persisting, I decided never to use this feature again; the mechanism seems rather frail. The rugged Spotmatic and K series plus MX seem to me to be the most trustworthy film Pentax's

[builttospill]

Who currently services the LX? I thought this would be beneficial to add to this thread.

From reading through several other discussions, I've found:

• Harrow Technical in the UK
• Rene at Service Camera Pro in Montreal, Canada (six month warranty)
• Ryan at Pro Camera in Charlottesville, VA

[chiron]

Who currently services the LX? I thought this would be beneficial to add to this thread.

From reading through several other discussions, I've found:

• Harrow Technical in the UK
• Rene at Service Camera Pro in Montreal, Canada (six month warranty)
• Ryan at Pro Camera in Charlottesville, VA

In this other thread ( Where to send an LX for repair? - PentaxForums.com ) Forum user gr8tdane24 had his serviced sometime around April 2022 at ICT (https://ictcamera.com/ ) by Jim holman. I just sent mine out this past weekend to them for evaluation and CLA. The previous thread said it cost them about $250 USD with an estimated 2 week turnaround. I'll follow up and let you know how it goes for me.

Also, Garry's Camera (Garry's Camera Repair ) doesn't have it listed on their site, but when I emailed them they said they worked on them and that the estimate was $88. Something tells me that doesn't include changing seals though. Regardless of reason it seemed a little low to me. But maybe I'm just used to over paying.

[wkraus]

For those of you inside the EU, Dirk Lorenzen of Kamerazeit, the official repair service provider for analog Pentax in Germany, will work on LXes but with limited availability of parts. He’s a very kind person and will explain what he can and cannot do at length on the phone if you call him. His website is here: Reparatur PENTAX Kameras - KAMERAZEIT ist offizieller PENTAX Servicepartner.

[chiron]

So as a quick update, ICT Camera (Jim Holman) sent me my estimate using their pretty nice web interface for tickets and invoicing. I paid $50 inspection fee up front (refunded if you accept the estimate and move forward). The inspection was done within 3-4 business days and the estimate came back with the following:

Labor $260 Desc: Overhaul to good working order
Parts $20 Desc: Parts needed for repair up to this amount
Shipping $25 Desc: Shipping & Handling
(none) -$50 Desc: Diagnostic feed pre-paid

Total: $255 + $1.55 tax

Work estimate: Estimate to replace mirror friction parts, bumper, and realign mirror focus.

After receiving the estimate and approving the work through their site, I asked and got confirmation that a general CLA was included with the labor. Jim's response (verbatim): "I always perform a complete CLA on every camera." So $256 total for a complete CLA and mirror work on my LX.

FYI the reason I sent it for CLA was that there was sometimes slight mirror hesitation when triggering the shutter. Other times it would be normal and slow to reset. I believe the average estimated repair time is about two weeks or so.

I do want to point out that I asked my question about CLA through their ticket system on this past Saturday evening thinking I would get a response Monday afternoon or Tuesday morning. Jim responded to me on sunday afternoon. Which was much quicker than expected. I don't expect this or think anyone should expect this as the norm. BUT, it was a nice bonus. I'll keep updating until I get the camera back.

[chiron]

It appears that Jim, the primary camera technician is having surgery and there will be an estimated turn around time of 7-8 weeks. So I'll come back after I have received it to give a final status of ICT services for LX camera.

[builttospill]

Thanks for the update.

[builttospill]

It appears that Jim, the primary camera technician is having surgery and there will be an estimated turn around time of 7-8 weeks. So I'll come back after I have received it to give a final status of ICT services for LX camera.

Have you received an update from ICT? I'm hoping Jim has recovered well and is back now.

[chiron]

Have you received an update from ICT? I'm hoping Jim has recovered well and is back now.

I actually received an email from Eva at ICT just the other day. Evidently both her and Jim got COVID after his surgery, but they both appear to have recovered and are doing well.

That set him back an extra week or so, but I did get the bill back and he finished it. The total after deducting the $50 diagnostic was $256 dollars. I've paid that and it should be in my hands within the next 3 days. Once I've got it back I'll do a once over and post some pics.

I will say that so far they have been excellent with communications and the website they use to keep track of work tickets is simple and powerful.

[aslyfox]

I want to thank all members who have decided to share, for the benefit of others, their experiences, thoughts and knowledge about the Pentax LX

this thread has attracted over 10,000 " looks " since it was started in January of 2001

Please continue to add to it as you can

[builttospill]

I had a friend receive a message from Eva at ICT Camera today saying they "do not work on this model" in response to his question about servicing his LX.

@chiron, how did you get them to work on your LX?