K10D / D-FA100 / f4 / 1-20sec / ISO400

Hi Ian, I'm glad I've been some inspiration to you!

If you're going to be replacing light seals then can I recommend using Interslice foam? (link to ebay shop: http://search.ebay.co.uk/_W0QQsassZinterslice ) The guy who sells it is incredibly helpful and the kits offer exceptional value compared to any other light seal materials I've stumbled across. He sells two sizes of kit and the smaller one has easily enough material for 2-3 cameras, but the larger one is better value still and comes with a handy booklet covering many types of camera - neither are exactly expensive!

Being a more modern design of foam it shouldn't deteriorate into the black sticky goo that the OEM foam does, meaning a future CLA in 20 years time shouldn't be such a messy procedure!

If you're intending lubricating anything then do so *very* sparingly and use a good quality watch oil (I used Moebius 8000) which you can get from several places online (Google it) or probably from your local jewellers on special order. Watch oil is very expensive (around £5 for just 4ml) but even a tiny amount should be sufficient for several cameras.

Take your time and you should find it a very rewarding experience! Good luck and don't forget to post some results.

Thanks Clarky - I am feeling quite pleased with myself right now, but I won't be selling the digital kit anytime soon. The costs and hassle of getting films developed means the K10D will still get the lion's share of use, but it's nice to have a good film body to use my FA Limiteds on from time-to-time.

As for making a second body; there are enough good parts there to build one but I'll be honest and say that after doing one (many, many hours work) I've lost the inclination to make another. So now I need to decide whether to keep all the bits as spares (enough to keep MX#1 alive and running for beyond my lifetime) or whether to sell them on and let someone else have a go at putting a body together. Decisions, decisions...

Cheers fella! I was only there for a couple of hours but there were a lot of really nice motors down there - very photogenic subjects

The first usable results from the MX are here at last!!

There was a "Vintage Vehicle Rally" up at Aylesbury Rugby Club yesterday afternoon and I could think of no better test for a vintage camera than to take some shots of vintage cars (and trucks, busses, steam engines, etc). I think I may have been the only person there with a film camera and I did get some strange looks and double-takes from people lugging their heavy Canon and Nikon DSLRs around with them. Didn't see any other Pentaxes of any stripe all day unfortunately...

Once again I relied entirely on the camera's meter to guide me and it performed flawlessly; I finished the film and ran it down to Snappy Snaps this morning for development - I'm really pleased with the results but see what you think (all put on CD at time of development, no cropping or *any* modifications except reduction in file size for web use):

Started by getting my self-portrait in the paintwork of a Rover P5 (M50/1.7)




Then tried to fool the meter with an expanse of white Daimler bonnet (FA43)




Then went the other way by shooting a dark interior through the open window (FA77)




Tried some "scene" shots to assess the levels of sharpness/detail (doesn't really show on here but trust me, the print is as good as anything I've ever taken with 35mm in terms of detail resolved!) (FA43)




Will the meter be fooled by lots of highly reflective surfaces running across the picture? Apparently not! (FA77)




And finally, another white subject sat in direct sunlight - will it under-expose? No! (FA77)




The other 30 pictures tell a similar story, only one from the whole batch was poor (operator error though) so I am truly delighted with my efforts. So much so I've used one of the pictures in this week's competition.

I will write up the rebuild when I get time (there's a lot to write!) but in the meantime I've just bought another roll of Reala and I'm looking forward to getting many more developed over the next few years.

A quick update: The photos came back from the lab in yesterday's post and I'm happy to confirm that exposure and focus seem to be spot on. All speeds worked as they should and I'm hereby declaring this rebuild a success!

Unfortunately, the film that I used appears to have lost all its "blue-ness", here's a couple of examples:







The first should have some nice rich greens rather than the rather wishy-washy shades here, and the second was taken against a beautiful bright blue sky - not this pale grey one that you see before you.

Oh well, that'll teach me to buy cheap short-dated film huh? I'm now running a roll of (full priced brand new) Fuji Reala 100 through her to see if I can get some pictures that are actually worth showing...

Actually, the battery cover is the one thing that seems quite plentiful - you can buy them here: http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/2-X-Battery-Cover-Pentax-MX-ME-Super-x1000_W0QQitemZ200221769394QQihZ010QQcategoryZ30038QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

Failing that send me a PM and I'll send you one of my spares (I received 3 in total - 1 nice one which I'm keeping, and 2 scruffy/scratched but useable ones).

Thanks for the kind words, I'm just hoping I haven't built a good-looking paperweight!

It is a shame you binned yours, once you clean all the gunk out of them (the light seals disintergrate and just deposit black mush everywhere) they're pretty much bullet proof - the insides actually remind me of a Swiss watch (I'll post some pics of bodies in various states of undress when I do the write up at the end of the project) in their intricacy. I'm totally smitten by camera from the way it feels in the hand to the way it sounds when the timer's running down! Probably the best mechanical camera I've ever had the pleasure of owning - and there's been a few...

The trick with MX's seems to be finding one with an undamaged top-plate (borne out by looking at a few at the camera fair - not a single un-dented example in sight), everything else on them appears fixable. Unfortunately, all 4 of the top plates I received had some damage so I've used the one with a tiny dent behind the rewind lever (doesn't show in the photo above or in real life unless you look for it). If anyone has a non-functioning MX with immaculate cosmetics then I may well be interested.

Roll #1 is now finished and winging its way to the Fuji Lab in Warwick via 1st class post as I type. Although it was process paid I've ticked the box and paid the extra to have them put on a CD - makes it easier to show y'all the fruits of my labours...

Since going digital back in 2000 not one of my film cameras has had more than a single roll run through them, I get the feeling that this MX may well break that habit so I better start looking out for a scanner. Who said film was cheap?

Cheers Clarky, I don't have any video unfortunately but I've still got enough bits left over to build another MX so I'll hold that thought...

Off out in a bit and the MX will be taking the place of the K10D riding shotgun with me, so I'm hoping to finish the first roll of film today. I'll be like a kid at Christmas waiting for it to come back from the lab...