How about a bean bag?
Use it to rest the camera for long exposures, using the self timer.

Sorry to hear of your disappointment. As John points out, it's an age thing. Sounds like a CLA (clean, lube and adjust) service Is required. It's usually the foam mirror damper that causes the problem. The foam degrades and gets sticky and the mirror sticks to it. If it is a problem, it is usually worth getting the CLA done and you will then find it is reliable.

The LX is a very good system camera with interchangeable viewfinders, focusing screens and a whole array of other accessories . It is also a very robust design with possibly one of the best light meters found in cameras at the time.

I have two of them, one I had serviced when I got it and the other was of more recent manufacture and has not required servicing yet. Both are reliable and give me no problems.

It was raining cats and dogs when this was taken. Rings in the puddles.




barge enlarged to see the rain falling.




The WR doesn't just stop rain. Wind driven snow can also be a problem.






And sometimes the snow is just falling.



So the WR does get used.

And that must be very satisfying.

The fear of breaking my camera used to keep it in the bag. Now I have weather sealing and am confident that I can get the picture with no damage to my tools!

The cloudless sky makes boring landscape picture. The changing light before and after rain is often the stuff that makes for interesting pictures. Memories are not just made on dry days.

One of my LX had a missing rubber mirror bumper when I got it. This caused the focusing to be off but was replaced when I got it serviced.
I had allowed for a service when I bought the camera so I wasn't too worried but it should be right if it has been serviced properly recently.

Definitely a difficult choice there.

The DA70mm is a lovely lens for landscape. Small, sharp, fast focus, contrast and build quality are great, but you knew that already. Things that you will find useful are the small light compact package. I find the retracting hood really helpful. Close focus is 70cm so not so good for close ups on flowers and the like. The DA70 is an APS lens.

The D-FA100mm is a lovely lens for landscape. Sharp, fairly light in non WR form, smaller and a bit heavier in WR form but more compact. You do get a macro lens as well as a very good telephoto, this will give you a closer focusing lens (30cm and greater magnification) The D-FA is also a full frame lens.

Would be a really hard choice for me as I like to do a bit of the macro stuff but I love the 70mm as well.
The 100mm was the first prime I bought, when I got back into photography a few years ago and that was right for me as I wanted the macro capability.
The DA70 is special and I suspect may be the one for you to get as it will add a lot to your present lineup, with minimum weight and bulk.

The DA16-85 is an aps-c lens, does not cover 35mm film.
Tried it on the lx and the image circle edge is clearly seen in the viewfinder.

I'm quite impressed with my da16-85. Having seen the reviews, I decided to buy it as an upgrade from my 18-135. I'm rather glad it is not like the 16-50 as I require it to be compact and weatherproof as I will be carrying it up and over the mountains where every gram counts! The compact design means you do have an extending front element, the 16-50 has internal focusing so is a much bigger lens. When you carry it in a holster for 8-9hours and climb a 1200m mountain or two, A 16-50 is not an option, let alone a 70-200!

I have the 16-135 and it has been my most used lens since I got it. It is light, compact, weatherproof but it is not the best lens optically. Having said that it does have its own merits in terms of the pictures it can produce, especially for landscapes. After seeing some reviews of the 16-85 I thought it may be a step up optically from the 16-135 and I haven't been disappointed. The image quality is definitely better and the extra 2mm at the wide end is very useful. The 85-135 end of the old lens was not used too much as it is probably its weekest area anyway.
The front element has very little resess so the lens hood is a must for protection. Unfortunately, the supplied hood is rather large and I shall be looking for a smaller hood if possible.
The new coatings are really good. I was taking some pictures the other day in bright sunshine and hadn't put the lens hood on. I suddenly realised there was no flare or internal reflections and I was almost pointing the lens at the sun. Looking through the viewfinder I tried shading the lens with my hand and it didn't make any difference, the view was fine! Another plus is the close focus, ideal for flowers and such like.
The lens is bit bigger and heavier than the 18-135. For this reason I will not be able to part with the old lens as it is the ultra light option but for most use the 16-85 is the go to zoom now. The optical performance is a definate step up and its is still compact, light,weatherproof and near silent, fast focus.

The 16-85 has different uses than the 16-50, 17-70 and does them well. It obviously has the limitation of a smaller and variable minimum aperture but that's the price you pay for its other attributes. For me this lens I will take, a bigger lens would be left behind. Someone else will chose differently from the Pentax offer but at least we have that choice.

Woody was a little damp!
Had just stopped raining when I took the picture.