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Post by nickr on Dec 20, 2022 23:04:48 GMT
Earlier in the year, I posted in AP about my search for a manual exposure mechanical film camera. I've tried several of the suggestions, but nothing totally ticks all the boxes.
In terms of usage, I've settled on several systems:
my L series Prakticas, because I love the lenses and quite enjoy the cameras. LB2 for selenium-cell sillyness; EE2 for a bit of aperture priority; and above all, the VLCs for their viewfinders. A lot of fun.
Contax 139, 137MA, 167, RX, plus the Yashica FX3 blahdiblahdiblah as the mechanical effort - the lenses, again.
Rollei SL35 and 3003 - might add an SL35M at some point - again, lenses.
Canon F1 all 3 types, FTb, EF, A series etc - because I do love these.
And - and the point of this thread - Pentax. I've long had a soft spot for Pentax, have enjoyed a fair few of their cameras in various formats over the years, and am a big fan of Spotmatics - but in the end, I think I decided that my favourite manual, mechanical SLR is probably the dear old Pentax MX - great little camera. Using that, the LX, my lovely old K2 - that's a lot of fun, and a lot of capability. But I really wanted a slightly larger alternative body for a change, which meant looking at the K range.
Just about everyone is familiar with the K1000, the long-running model that was basically a K mount Spotmatic, but there are a few things I don't like about it:
1 It's not got a DOF preview function
2 No viewfinder information
3 There are lots of different versions out there, from the original to what are effectively cheap Chinese copies - that were actually sold as the real thing.
So KM or KX? Well the KX is the full experience, I thought...
So I started looking for one, and a couple of weeks ago, I managed to lay my hands on a reasonable, fully-functional chrome model, complete with 50mm f1.4 SMC-M. Then somehow, I acquired a black one with the K series 55mm f1.8 SMC lens. Pics to follow in a later post...
So what's it like? Well it's bigger and heavier than the MX, but not absurdly huge and heavy. Noisy shutter, but I like the noise it makes. Ticks a fair few of the boxes I was looking for - decent meter, shutter speed and aperture in the viewfinder, DOF preview, mirror lock-up, access to decent lenses. Detailed description to follow.
First impressions: I like it. Them. Whichever...
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Post by zou on Dec 21, 2022 6:22:28 GMT
K2 with a more sensible film speed selection design and another stop on the fast end of the shutter speeds would probably be my ideal. The KX is I think just up to 1/1000 isn't it? But how does the film speed selection work, is it around the rewind or lens mount like the K2?
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Post by nickr on Dec 21, 2022 10:18:20 GMT
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Post by nickr on Dec 21, 2022 11:08:51 GMT
So a quick recap on the Pentax story as it relates to these cameras...
Pentax had the hugely successful Spotmatic range in the late 60s/early 70s, but the use of the Pentacon Screw mount (sorry, I'll never call it Pentax Screw) was looking very dated. Zeiss had investigated a partnership with Asahi to make Contax cameras (remember that "Pentax" is a contraction of "pentaprism Contax, exactly as Pentacon is) but in the end, Pentax's lack of electronics experience led Zeiss to move on to Yashica. But there were 3 legacies of this unfulfilled partnership: the design of the 28mm f2 lens, the K mount, and the SMC coating system which was basically Zeiss' T* coatings. So Asahi were ready to move on, and launched the K series in 1975.
The KM was basically a K mount Spotmatic F. Decent enough, but not exactly a cutting edge design. The irony is it was replaced by the somewhat lower-end K1000, which went on for decades...
The KX and K2 were somewhat higher end, with an improved silicon photo diode meter cell instead of a CdS one, and various other features - including aperture priority on the K2.
But the KX is what we're talking about here. It had an improved, brighter screen, and here's the big difference between my two models: the older one (the black body) has a small but effective split image rangefinder in the centre, and a fairly large ground glass ring around it, whereas the newer one has a microprism spot the size of the split image circle. Both work pretty well, although my personal preference is always for microprisms, which I know makes me a bit unusual. Also in the viewfinder is a Judas window at the top, displaying the set aperture, and on the right, the shutter speed range, with two needles - one (transparent blue) shows the set shutter speed, the other is the meter needle. To get "correct" exposure, you simply need to match the two needles. Very simple, but having the aperture and shutter speed displayed, you're not likely to become a slave to the needle.
On the top plate, starting from the left (as you look from behind) is the rewind crank/back opener, with the film speed dial around it. Press a little silver tab and you can rotate the dial to choose a value between ASA 8 and 6400, and enormous range for the time and still more than good enough today. It's marked in ASA only, no DIN, but that shouldn't be an issue to anyone these days. The only other control on that side of the prism is the battery check button - press it, and the meter needle should move to "125" if the batteries are OK. The serial number is also engraved on this side of the prism. The prism itself is crowned with a standard hotshoe, labelled with a red "X" just to make sure you know it's synched for electronic flash. The front upper surface of the prism has the Asahi Optical Co logo, the front face is labelled "ASAHI PENTAX".
Immediately to the right of the prism is the shutter speed dial, 1-1000 plus B, with 1/60 marked with a red X to indicate max flash synch speed. Next is the shutter button with release lock around it - there's a pleasant enough action to it, although it's slightly stiff. On the far right is the wind-on lever, with exposure counter built in. The lever has a slightly plasticky feel - the end tip - but is smooth in action on both my cameras, it can be inched, and moving it to it's stand-off position switches the meter on. Between the windon lever and the shutter release is a tiny window that shows orange/red when the camera is wound on - handy little reminder.
Nothing of great interest on the back of the camera, just a film reminder holder and the maker's name "Asahi Optical Co, Japan" stamped on the back of the top plate.
Looked at from the front, on the left is the self-timer lever, above it a combined depth-of-field preview button and mirror-up lever, and around the lens throat the lens release button. On the other side are two PC synch sockets, the lower one for electronic flash - once more marked with a red X - and the upper one for Focal Plane bulbs, already something on an anachronism at launch.
The base has the rewind button, a tripod mount in line with the lens axis, and a battery compartment door - the camera takes 2 LR44 or equivalent batteries, simple enough to source.
Inside, you can see the horizontally-travelling cloth shutter - hence that 1/60 flash synch speed - and a film take-up spool with no fancy easy-loading assistance.
And that's really about it. There aren't many fancy features, no winders, no replaceable screens or finders, just a solid usable spec with the fancy bits - SPD meter, DOF preview, mirror lock-up and shutter speed and aperture displayed in the finder - exactly what I would want.
So it's a lovely camera - heavier than the MX, but not stupidly so, and has just about everything I want from this sort of camera.
A word about the lenses - I've wanted an f1.4 M series for a while - not many 50mm f1.4 lenses have a 49mm filter thread, but this one does. Nice enough lens. But at this stage, I actually prefer the K series 55mm f1.8, it just seems to suit these cameras perfectly and is insanely smooth to focus with perfect damping. Optically, too early to say, but I always liked the M42 version.
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Post by nickr on Dec 21, 2022 11:12:31 GMT
K2 with a more sensible film speed selection design and another stop on the fast end of the shutter speeds would probably be my ideal. The KX is I think just up to 1/1000 isn't it? But how does the film speed selection work, is it around the rewind or lens mount like the K2? Yes, 1/1000 max. Film speed around the rewind. Have you thought about a Super A? That goes to 1/2000. For me, it's an ME Super Super, hope to get my hands on one soon (free this time!) for a proper play. Not the charm of a K2, but my initial thought when I played with it was that it was like a baby LX. |
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pentaxpete
Junior Member
Old FILM Bloke but 'Gone a Bit Digital ' sometimes
Posts: 83
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Post by pentaxpete on Jan 19, 2023 10:24:18 GMT
a Fellow Camera Club member was sending all his Film gear to Ffordes to sell -- he got a reply on the Asahi Pentax KX body -- " Not Working , un-sellable" so he asked if I would like it -- so of course YES -- so I smuggled it in past The Wife and had a look -- with a lens on it did not stop down -- the lens aperture activating Ring in mount was 'stuck' -- so I let a minute amount of Sewing Machine Oil creep in by Capillary Action - pulled gently and it MOVED and has been working well ever since ! Ha Ha ! a FREE KX !!  Asahi Pentax KX by Peter Elgar, on Flickr |
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Post by nickr on Jan 19, 2023 10:33:53 GMT
Very nice, Pete.
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Post by petrochemist on Jan 19, 2023 11:17:39 GMT
Nice one Pete! It's amazing how often a 'not working' issue is very minor and easily resolved  |
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Post by nimbus on Jan 25, 2023 16:29:37 GMT
a Fellow Camera Club member was sending all his Film gear to Ffordes to sell -- he got a reply on the Asahi Pentax KX body -- " Not Working , un-sellable" so he asked if I would like it -- so of course YES -- so I smuggled it in past The Wife and had a look -- with a lens on it did not stop down -- the lens aperture activating Ring in mount was 'stuck' -- so I let a minute amount of Sewing Machine Oil creep in by Capillary Action - pulled gently and it MOVED and has been working well ever since ! Ha Ha ! a FREE KX !! Asahi Pentax KX by Peter Elgar, on Flickr In my experience the most regular problem with old Pentax cameras is shutter taper. |
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Post by John Farrell on Feb 9, 2023 0:18:38 GMT
I have a Pentax KM which has a non working delayed action. A few days ago this was listed on the local auction site, with a $5 buy now Attachment DeletedIt's rough - pitted chrome, missing paint, corrosion...but the delayed action works. I'll add it to the queue... |
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Post by mark101 on Feb 9, 2023 15:40:54 GMT
The MX just has to be the best camera I've ever had in terms of weight, bright viewfinder and handling. It just felt like an extension of me.
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Post by Chester PB on Feb 9, 2023 16:38:10 GMT
The MX just has to be the best camera I've ever had in terms of weight, bright viewfinder and handling. It just felt like an extension of me. I agree. I owned one from 1980 until 2013, at which time I hadn't used it for 6 years after buying a K10 SLR in 2007. I had kept it 'just in case', but realistically I knew I would never use it again so I eventually part-exchanged it against a second hand lens. I had only 'gone digital' because of the death of Kodachrome, but was easily seduced by the convenience and flexibility (ISO, colour balance, etc.). Also, the last roll of Kodachrome I used cost be about £10 for 36 process-paid slides, and I had to wait about 2 weeks for processing because it had to go to Kodak's only remaining Kodachrome lab, which was in the USA.
However, for me the MX was the perfect film camera. In latter years I used it a lot with a Tamron 'Adaptall' 28-200 and both items weighed about the same and were perfectly balanced for handling and use. I now have a K5, which is great and may outlast me, but I wish it was as small and light as the MX. |
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Post by zou on Feb 9, 2023 21:19:58 GMT
£10 for a roll of E6 and developing seems like a bargain these days.  |
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Post by John Farrell on Feb 10, 2023 0:42:24 GMT
The latest monochrome bulk load I bought will cost me 3.83 pounds per 36 exposure roll. The older film I'm using cost a bit less than that. The processing cost is minimal - I have Rodinal I bought for a pittance at an auction, speedwash and stop bath bought years ago, and fixer which is a few p a film.
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Post by nickr on Feb 10, 2023 8:58:43 GMT
The MX just has to be the best camera I've ever had in terms of weight, bright viewfinder and handling. It just felt like an extension of me. After a long search and a lot of playing round with different cameras, I ended up deciding as previously described that the MX is just about my favourite manual exposure manual focus SLR. The KX is pretty close. Neither are perfect, I don't like the focus direction of Pentax lenses and I would have preferred a metal bladed shutter, but the MX is a lovely little thing, the KX very similar but bigger. And I do like the M series lenses, too. After a month of using (almost) nothing but LOMOs, a month using these two is just delightful in a very different way. |
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