Pentax MV1

Hi all,

I have a Pentax MV1, my first real camera bought many years ago when my granddaughter was born, she's now 27!!. This little camera has served me well in all these years, memorable family moments and fantastic foreign holidays all recorded without fail and is still in great condition. How ever due to careless cleaning I have made scratch marks on the glass that is under the viewfinder (when lens is off) you can see them when you look through the view finder.
My question is can you buy replacement glass,mine has a round prisom in the centre and also are they difficult to fit?

Regards Dave.

The ground glass (actually plastic these days) screen is very soft and you will no doubt have ruined it by cleaning. Never touch the screen or the mirror on any SLR or digital SLR.

The MV1 is not expensive second hand, so the best option will be to look out for a good one on eBay. That will hopefully cost you less than £20, maybe only £10, and will be considerably cheaper than sending your to have a screen replacement. It's not a DIY job.

You can't replace the focus screen, not without stripping the top of the camera down.

If you can still focus with the damage to the screen why worry?

I have several cameras in my collection with dirty/scratched screens, after all the image isn't affected.

If you have a sentimental attachment to that MV1 and really want a nice clean screen, try sending it to either Harrow Technical or Asahi Photo (both come up with a google search). It'll cost you more than the camera is worth commercially but sometimes commercial worth is not the only thing by which we judge value. You'll get a nice CLA (clean, lube and adjust) at the same time, and the camera will serve you well as a result for many more years to come.

K.

For sentimental reason alone, I'll get a replacement and a complete service, Regards

Oso

Many thanks for all your comments and advice.

Regards Dave.