Told you yesterday that the Pentax MX’s light meter was acting up.
Well I opened the bottom plate this morning and poked around under it a bit.
There on the far right, below the big round thingamajick sits a double copper switch. This switch responds to three things.
First the shutter lock around the shutter button switches the meter off. Then the shutter button itself turns it on. And third, the wind lever, in it’s extended position, switches the meter on too.
So there’s several states!
Shutter switch off – everything is off!
Shutter switch on and wind lever in it’s rest position – the meter does it’s thing as long as the shutter is half depressed!
Shutter switch on and wind lever in it’s extended position – the meter is always on!
So what was the problem with my MX? Simply the little copper switch was bent a bit so it made continuous contact, whatever the other settings were.
Just a bit of prodding with a small screwdriver solved it nicely.
On to the light seals now and a bit of cleaning and here we go for a test roll…. in a few days.
Thanks for passing by!
Frank Lehnen Photography 
Well done you.
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Right, I’m sending my cameras to you for C.L.A. from now on… Low rates I hope!?
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Might break them as soon as repair them! Your choice 😉
I just got lucky
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Saved yourself a lot of money to.
Before I purchased the Nikon FE back in 2010, I did look at the MX as an alternative to the Pentax LX which I like very much still but carries a very high price tag.
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The LX seems to be quite a beast. Well now that my MX works it’s a question of investing in a set of Pentax K lenses (already got a 50 1.7) or perhaps selling it and go on with my Spotmatic and the Takumars!
Tending to the Takumar side for the moment. The test roll will tell…
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Do you think you’ll make your money back by selling the MX. If it was me I’d stick to the Spotmatic having payed out for C.L.A.
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Guess I’ll make the money back. The guy I bought it from, a pro dealer, gave me a partial refund of 50€ when I mailed him about the meter problem… I did not even have to ask or insist. So the MX cost me just 45€ plus postage with a crappy 55mm Riconar 55mm f:2.2 lens (really crap that one!j.
Guess a good MX with working meter and good light seals goes for over 100€ nowadays…. even 150.
So the Spotmatic seems like the better alternative. Feels a bit better in the hand too. Hope to get it back from the CLA in the next days
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Put in the seals, then one roll of film to check it, post it on ebay.
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Guess I’ll do that
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Just been looking up that Ricoh Rikenon P 50mm f/1.7 that come with the MX, turns out to be not a bad at all, it’s quite a sharp little lens.
https://www.pentaxforums.com/userreviews/rikoh-rikenon-p-50mm-f1-7.html
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In fact it’s not a Rikenon, it’s a Riconar 55mm f:2.2. Really not good that one! But then I could sell it with the excellent Pentax SMC A 50mm 1.7…
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Warning, man multitasking…
While developing two films, I’ve just been looking up about that Ricoh Rikenon P 50mm f/1.7 that come with your MX, turns out to be not a bad at all it’s quite a sharp little lens.
https://www.pentaxforums.com/userreviews/rikoh-rikenon-p-50mm-f1-7.html
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My internet connection, grrrr it’s posted twice!
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Twice as nice…
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I like the way it left part off the first post and not the second.
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England’s internet… third world country’s have better connection than me. 😦
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Riconar 55mm f:2.2 review on Pentax forums, someone posted ‘can’t be worse’ and ‘mediocre optics, front element rotates, poor build quality’
Think I take your point on this lens.
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I confirm that verdict. Crappy plastic lens!
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Use it as a paper weight?
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Great idea! Cheaper than a Summicron paperweight 😂
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Well got to have some class you know!
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I’m such a cheapskate
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LOL
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you should open old camera repair shop
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Better not. I mostly mess them up… got lucky hete
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Well done on the DIY service Frank. Don’t be too hasty to draw conclusions with the MX. You talking above reminds me of myself a while back where I was so keen to move on to the next camera I would dismiss some too readily, then later actually bought another example to try them again!
The MX for many is the best K mount camera ever made, give it a fair chance.
(Ultimately I didn’t keep mine, but am happy I used it enough to realise it wasn’t ever going to be the love affair I had hoped for. Your experience might well be different.)
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Took a walk with it today, well two walks in fact. One in the morning and one at noon. One thing I noticed is that it’s so small that I have no place to put my pinky finger… Makes the business of holding it a bit more cumbersome. Might need a wrist strap
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Ha ha, you’ve just found the first reason I didn’t get on with mine, even though I have fairly small hands… Go and pick up an ME/ME Super/Super A etc. The extra few mm in height for me made all the difference.
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….or stick with by beautiful Spotmatic 😉
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Yep. That’s what I did! Although any of the standard M series are pretty great too (ME, ME Super, MG, MV etc).
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No question, it’s an incredible camera. Has everything it must have in such a compact body. Marvel of engineering!
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Good save Frank. One of my two is locked up, maybe I’ll poke around a bit…..
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Poke away! 😉
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eh eh, sooner or later, be you a pro or a simple dude, everybody likes tinkering with these old gears with no doubt more fascinating and durable than the aseptic nowadays cameras
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True!
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