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New (to me) Pentax MX - damaged??

Jonathan-Mac
Posted 08/01/2012 - 23:04 Link
I just bought an MX from an advert on Gumtree. I paid £45 for it, which seems to be well below the going rate for these. The cosmetic condition is very good, the light meter appears to work (LEDS light up, no idea yet if it's accurate), the shutter fires ok.

However, as this is the first film SLR I've ever had I don't know how things should be otherwise. I'm aware that light seals may need changed & that a cleaning/lubrication might be good, but I plan to run a cheap roll of film through it first of all to check for any potential problems.

What I noticed when I got home, is that I think it's missing a foam buffer at the top to protect the mirror when it flips up. Below are two pics - one of the camera & lens that came with it, the other of the upper inside of the mount where I believe the foam has degraded & disappeared. Can someone confirm if this is the case? If so, can I replace this myself or will it have to be done by a qualified professional? Any idea how much it's likely to cost?

Many thanks for any advice. I hope that I'll have some fun with film alongside my K200D.

BTW, I will be selling the lens pictured below as I plan to use my Pentax M & K primes. I'll post separately about that, or PM me.

Comment Image


Comment Image
Pentax hybrid user - Digital K3, film 645 and 35mm SLR and Pentax (&other) lenses adapted to Fuji X and Panasonic L digital
Fan of DA limited and old manual lenses
Edited by Jonathan-Mac: 08/01/2012 - 23:27
johnriley
Posted 08/01/2012 - 23:16 Link
It looks in nice condition apart from the foams needing replacing, which is normal for cameras of this age.

Why not have an overhaul and foam replacement done by Asahi Photo or Harrow Technical, they are both excellent. I suggest the foam is important because when it really goes it could end up as fragments of dry debris to get onto your camera and in it, or even a black sludge.
Best regards, John
Pentaxophile
Posted 08/01/2012 - 23:27 Link
Funnily enough I've bought an MX in very similar condition and am attempting to replace the lightseals and mirror bumper myself.

The lightseals are straightforward, and kits are available. I've removed the remnants of the old material already - a fun hour with cotton buds moistened with alcohol and wooden skewers. 1.5mm foam strips are on their way for installation!

The mirror buffer on mine was half hanging off. (Yours is totally absent by the look of it). I can see that the foam is meant to sit in a sort of groove behind that black plate with the two screw threads. I will extremely carefully remove it with tweezers (looks like it will come away easily in one go - haha famous last words) and install new foam in its place. I will not be putting alcohol anywhere near this part of the camera, or going at it with wooden skewers or anything like that. I will keep you posted as to my success (or otherwise :shock

There's a tutorial I was looking at somewhere, I'll try and dig it out....

As far as the metering goes, test it against your DSLR... mine seems spot on!

Of course if you're planning a CLA, you might as well get the seals & buffer done professionally at the same time...
[link=https://500px.com/will_brealey/[/link]
Edited by Pentaxophile: 08/01/2012 - 23:49
Pentaxophile
Posted 08/01/2012 - 23:33 Link
[link=https://500px.com/will_brealey/[/link]
giofi
Posted 08/01/2012 - 23:34 Link
It is such a nice looking camera that I would have it CLA'd as John suggests...
Jonathan-Mac
Posted 09/01/2012 - 00:22 Link
Wow, some quick responses, thanks guys.

I've opened up the back & the light seals, while still there (unlike the mirror bumper), are not in a healthy state.

I've inquired at the only local (Edinburgh) camera repair place I know of (Cameratiks) and they have quoted me £29 to replace the light seals & £50 to £70 for a clean out (CLA, I suppose). They take a week unless it's needed faster. I'm going back to Spain on Friday so would need it back by then. Any opinions on whether this is a good price? I imagine I could replace the seals myself but I can't CLA it.

Does a CLA ensure that the shutter speeds are accurate? I know that these can change with age and lose precision.

I can't find Interslice on eekbay, but there are plenty of other sellers of light seals. Any chance I could pick some up locally?

Obviously it's a big increase on what I paid for the camera, but there's no point in using a camera that's not in a fit state to take photos.
Pentax hybrid user - Digital K3, film 645 and 35mm SLR and Pentax (&other) lenses adapted to Fuji X and Panasonic L digital
Fan of DA limited and old manual lenses
Edited by Jonathan-Mac: 09/01/2012 - 00:38
smc
Posted 09/01/2012 - 05:37 Link
Interslice are no longer on ebay but do still sell kits on the internet. A search should show up interslice or jon goodman's email address.
Edited by smc: 09/01/2012 - 05:38
womble
Posted 09/01/2012 - 12:21 Link
Harrow Technnical charge £66.50 for a full CLA including seals. Doing the seals is easy if tedious. The gunk in the channels around the door takes forever to clean out completely.

K.
Kris Lockyear
It is an illusion that photos are made with the camera… they are made with the eye, heart and head. Henri Cartier-Bresson
Lots of film bodies, a couple of digital ones, too many lenses (mainly older glass) and a Horseman LE 5x4.

My website
Jonathan-Mac
Posted 09/01/2012 - 22:43 Link
Thanks everyone for the advice. The camera is currently having it's light seals & mirror bumper renewed in Cameratiks, because I hate e-bay (& paypal) and there doesn't seem to be another source for the materials. They've said they'll check it out for anything else too, but I'm heading back to Spain on Friday so there'll be no time for further repairs anyway.

I'd have sent it to Harrow Technical for the full CLA if there'd been time before I head off.

Now I miss having it to look at, it's such a beautiful machine, DSLRs just can't compare.
Pentax hybrid user - Digital K3, film 645 and 35mm SLR and Pentax (&other) lenses adapted to Fuji X and Panasonic L digital
Fan of DA limited and old manual lenses
Pentaxophile
Posted 09/01/2012 - 23:16 Link
I definitely agree! There's certainly a lot of inspiration Pentax ought to draw from the MX when they come to design their APSC/FF CSC camera - in elegance of design and simplicity of operation.
[link=https://500px.com/will_brealey/[/link]
Alx357
Posted 29/01/2012 - 17:56 Link
These foam seals are a problem everywhere, in all older cameras. Leica i believe, uses a padded cloth wound material for seals, which can last much longer. Isn't there any material that could be used which doesn't break down over time with air exposure. I guess ozone, and other pollutants are to blame.
Pentaxophile
Posted 29/01/2012 - 18:06 Link
Black wool was mentioned on another thread.

I ordered new foam seals, ready cut and self adhesive, from ebay. God they were awkward to fit. I've just run a film through the camera to see if the job worked.
[link=https://500px.com/will_brealey/[/link]

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