Only 200,000 Pentax KX Cameras Ever Made from 1975-77

[Deleted]

 


 A pair of Asahi Pentax KX cameras, chrome body with SMC Pentax-M 50mm f2 lens with polarized filter and rubber lens hood and black body with SMC Pentax-M 100mm f2.8 lens with polarized filter and OEM metal lens hood.

[Chester PB]

All you need now for the perfect 'retro experience' is some Kodachrome 64 and a lab to process it.
The black body look great - I had an ordinary MX for 27 years, and always lusted after a black one.

[Deleted]

Thank you, Chester PB for the kind comment.


Whoever the previous owner was, they took extremely good care of these pair of cameras. All I really had to do was to clean both bodies using an alcohol wipe to remove the old caked on dust, next I used the Jumbo Hurricane blower to clean the mirror, to my astonishment there were no cleaning marks inside the camera. I loaded each of the Pentaxes with one roll of Tri-X 400 36 exposure film, for a photo-walk around Granville Island yesterday afternoon. I love the bright viewfinder, that Pentax was known for. This was the first Pentax 35mm film camera that felt more like a Nikon F2, albeit the similar depth-of-field button with mirror lock-up switch and the light meter that came right out of the Nikkormat EL, minus the awkward battery compartment that is located underneath the mirror housing. The KX was the first camera in the Pentax family to show aperture read-out inside the viewfinder.

Verdict:

This should have been the only 35mm camera that was all I needed.

[Deleted]

I had to switch the lenses to their respective camera bodies.

The Pentax KX chrome body has a Cross-Microprism focusing screen, that is ideally suited for my 100mm f2.8 lens. Whereas, the black body features a center split-image spot surrounded by a microprism collar on a matte background, this is better suited for the 50mm f2 lens, also explains why I had difficulty getting my subject in focus on my photo-walk.

[Chester PB]

Oct 9, 2023 5:19:44 GMT @simon1970 said:

I had to switch the lenses to their respective camera bodies.

The Pentax KX chrome body has a Cross-Microprism focusing screen, that is ideally suited for my 100mm f2.8 lens. Whereas, the black body features a center split-image spot surrounded by a microprism collar on a matte background, this is better suited for the 50mm f2 lens, also explains why I had difficulty getting my subject in focus on my photo-walk.

My MX had the centre split-image focus with the matte surround. The longest lens I ever used with it was a Tamron 28-200 'Adaptall' lens, and the small aperture at the 200 mm end of the zoom meant that the split-image focus aid was often completely black and I had to use the matte area to focus on the subject. I know that Pentax offered a variety of (allegedly) user-changeable focussing screens, so if you could find one of the 'all matte' ones it might ideal for one of your bodies and you could always use that one with longer lenses.

The 28-200 weighed about the same as the MX body, so there was a good balance between body and lens when used together.

Re. 'This should have been the only 35mm camera that was all I needed'. This was my opinion of the MX, which explains why, after buying it in 1980, I never considered replacing it until buying a Pentax K-10 in 2007. The K-10 was later replaced with a K-5, which has now become the only digital camera I am likely to ever need. If only it was a small and light as the MX - at least the equivalent lenses are smaller because it's an APS-C body.

[zou]

I wanted a MX as my portable go anywhere camera but for some reason it just didn't feel right and I ended up with a Rollei B35 which is truly pocketable.

[Ivor E Tower]

The MX had interchangeable focusing screens.... does the KX have the same? If so, you could swap the screens to suit your preference.
If you look into the mirror box and upwards into the pentaprism, if the frame that surrounds the screen has a sort of small tab on its leading edge, this is where tweezers can be used to gently flip it down to give access to change the focussing screen, Wear gloves, as the slightest grease from fingerprints can ruin the screen

[Deleted]

No, the KX doesn't have interchangeable focusing screens, with that being said the camera does have 6400 ASA and mirror lock-up.

[John Farrell]

There's a KX for sale on the local auction site - it's not getting much interest at $120. If it was a bit less I might be interested, to complete the set (I have a K1000, K2 and KM.)

[nickr]

I'm very fond indeed of the KX, one of the nicest all-manual SLRs I've found. I slightly prefer the MX, but when I want to carry a slightly bigger camera, the KX is the one. Much prefer it to the Nikon F2.

I've chrome and black versions of both KX and MX, and like you, Simon, I've the two different focusing screens. Personally, I prefer microprisms, they just seem more like a bit of magic to me. I find both work fine with my lenses from f1.4 to f3.5, not so well with the slower zooms.

[Deleted]

I am now a Pentaxian:

Over past few weeks both of my cameras have gone in for full CLA with each camera bodies receiving a top and bottom plate restoration with matching micro-prism focusing screens.
Gone are the SMC Pentax-M 100mm f2.8 along with the SMC Pentax-M 50mm f2 lenses, has now been replaced by a pair of period correct SMC Pentax 50mm f1.4 lenses and a pair of OEM factory 49mm Pentax round metal lens hood for each lens.

[zou]

Oct 27, 2023 6:06:13 GMT @simon1970 said:

I am now a Pentaxian:

Over past few weeks both of my cameras have gone in for full CLA with each camera bodies receiving a top and bottom plate restoration with matching micro-prism focusing screens.
Gone are the SMC Pentax-M 100mm f2.8 along with the SMC Pentax-M 50mm f2 lenses, has now been replaced by a pair of period correct SMC Pentax 50mm f1.4 lenses and a pair of OEM factory 49mm Pentax round metal lens hood for each lens.

Where did you source the hoods?

Edit to add, the M series were 49mm but I thought the others were 52mm? Certainly mine are.

[Deleted]

I got the OEM lens hoods from the repair shop.

[Deleted]

I was so used to SMC Pentax lenses being 49mm, that I didn't realize that the early K versions had used 52mm filter size. Thank you, Zhou for correcting me as I get a refund in the morning.

Cheers,
Simon.

[Deleted]

I got the refund for the wrong size lens hoods, the repair depot gave me one pair of free 52mm rubber lens hoods for each lens. I was then told that both of my cameras won't be ready until December as one of the mico-rprism focusing screen was on back order from Japan, I asked the lady manager if I could pay in full and she was more then happy to settle my bill.