For over a decade I wanted to have the Pentax LX. Instead I got a MX.. and then another MX.. eventually both of them starting developing problems. Neither of them really do shutter speeds faster than 1/250. Mirror got sticky. One started eating a pair of batteries per day.
I started to feel like I am holding on to these two bodies just for nostalgia, it was time for a new work horse. Looking at the LX prices, it felt like it wasn’t really such a big deal. I wanted a tool for my trade, one that I can rely on. And the LX is probably the most professional camera Pentax ever built.
So I got one on a local auction site. Mirror was slighly misaligned, because the mirror resting pad gets all mushy and eventually crumbles to pieces, and there is supposed to be a millimeter thick pad there.
But found a great guy to do a CLA (Clean, Lube, Adjust) in Stockholm for decent money (shoutout to analogakameror.se, really nice guy!), a couple of weeks later I had a working LX body in my hands and was ready for my yearly big asia trip.
Now I’ve been shooting with it since the beginning of September and felt that the time was ripe for a short review of it:
Sure feels like a well built professional camera. Everything is just so.. built with finesse
The killer feature for me is the built in dioptry adjustment. So nice since I wear glasses!
The automatic shutter speed is just incredible for night time shots. It does automatic adjustments of the time on the fly, so if lighting condiitons change, it will shorten the exposure
Viewfinder bright and clear
Mirror slap and shutter noise is a bit louder than the MX but less loud than a Spotmatic
I liked the metering indicator better on the MX (Green = OK, Yellow = Careful, Red = No go). Now it shoes what speed I should be shooting at based on the aperture setting, or which speed it will shoot at if I have automatic speed
The extra wood grip accessory is great, feels really great in the hand, but then you have the neck strap hooked to just one side so it is resting sideways on your body, not as quick to pick up and take a picture (I can probably pick up/focus/meter/shoot in less than 2s with my MX)
Shutter speeds up to 1/2000! What a difference after years of shooting 1/250 at the most
All in all, it’s a fantastic little camera for the film photographer, and I can highly recommend it. But I can also highly recommend the MX, just find one that works. And please guys, don’t forget to service your cameras!
