Pentax MX Walkthrough/Repair
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 1 ธ.ค. 2021
- The most comprehensive Pentax MX walkthrough out there, with added detail of repairing the mirror issue some older models experience. Bought from the sweaty armpit of ebay's for parts or repair section this beauty was restored to mint condition plus a few bumps at no extra charge.
Repair details: 15:49
Many photo walks are in this camera's future.
Email for questions, comments or concerns:
rompingbroncorepairs@gmail.com
Website for more info:
www.rompingbroncorepairs.com
Instagram:
@rompingbronco
@rompingbroncorepairs
I picked up one of these about a year ago for $25 at a thrift store. Came with a few lenses. The light meter is very finicky on these. But I absolutely love the look and feel of this camera! It’s compact body is great. I believe it’s the smallest full mechanical 35mm SLR ever made.
Hey man, I think your videos are fantastic. We use the same repair mat in our videos as well, though mechanical cameras are nothing like the phones I'm repairing! Just wanted to say thanks for your videos on the ME Super, it helped me restore mine back to a working state. Despite my electronics experience I'm still unable to get the meter to function, perhaps a project for later. In any case I just wanted to stop by and say thank you, I love your content and can't wait to see more!
Many thanks my good sir! I appreciate you watching and I know the mat is probably more designed for phones and complex electronics it just works really well! There may be a pretty quick fix for that meter issue, if it isn't disconnected at the battery compartment there's a spot that you can short circuit the system and essentially jumpstart it. I may not have covered it yet but I'd be happy to show you a quick demonstration.
@@RompingBronco I removed the top cover again and found that the contacts for the mode dial were bent. Fixed that, then shorted the battery briefly and now my meter works consistently! For a while it would just constantly cycle through shutter speeds but it eventually started working normally. Wouldn't have been able to figure it out without you though! Thanks again, looking forward to more videos!
@@TapticDigital Yeah those mode dial contacts are the culprits a lot of the time (bent and/or just gunky). I think a lot of these would be far more popular if more people realized how easy they often are to bring back to life.
Hey I know it’s a long shot. But do you repair Pentax 6x7s? If so, do you know if the shutter retainer screw for the ttl meter is the same size as the one on the k1000? It’s the tiny one with two holes. Also what tool do I use to take it off and put it back on?
I just bought an MX and I’m having a similar issue (timing gears for the slower speeds gummed up etc.) and just wanted to know what kind of oil you use to lubricate the gears. Thanks
Great video. I have a Pentax MX but it has a problem with the curtain, the spring doesn't keep the tension when going past 1/250. Will I have to replace the spring? Thanks
Love your vids, some great tips in getting these old Pentax cameras going again. Unfortunately my MX is not shooting above 1/60. Something to do with a different timing mechanism. Any way this is an easy fix?
Hi, thanks for the vid. Just picked up one with intermittent sticky mirror and running film though it looks like shutter isn’t completing its cycle sometimes. So when you say you flood with alcohol, do you literally squirt it around all the gears and let it drip out, then dry, then tiny bit of lube on gears?
Flushing things out in situ isn't the way to do it. This video is a shortcut to doing the service properly as most of what is being 'flushed' ends up elsewhere!.
More often than not, MX's not completing curtain closure and resultant mirror remaining up is due to shutter shaft bearings needing stripping out, cleaning and correctly lubricating and then reassembly and tensioning the curtains. Tensioning cannot be done without a proper shutter tester as they need to be set to speeds accurate to milliseconds.
I love your videos, very helpful, I just wish they were framed so when you're talking we can see what you're doing at all times. Maybe a wider lens or...? Thank you, looking forward to the next one!
Thank you for watching and I really appreciate the feedback, right now my workspace is a little overcrowded but eventually I'd like to implement a second camera angle and just be more mindful of where I am in frame. I try to make sure to double check in the edit as well but if there was anything I missed let me know and I can re record it!
Hi, what do you use to lubricate it after cleaning the gears with alcohol? Thanks
I applied some Isopropyl alcohol to roughly the same spot indicated regarding the mirror, and now it fires. My question is this - how do I apply lube to a camera like this? I'm assuming I don't just pour some down there and hope for the best. Again, my Pentax MX is now firing each time after working the lever and applying some lube, but my concern is that it will dry up parts that need to be lubricated. Thoughts?
Awesome videos and really helpful thanks!!!
whoa! I have been shooting on my MX for about a year now and always felt like it was missing the dof preview... Now I feel like a moron... Thx for the info! Also I really love the advance of the MX because you can always squeeeeeeze out one or two more pictures out of your roll :D
Hola: he seguido tu reparación y quería hacerte una pregunta; resulta que tengo una MX que en las velocidades de obturación mas lentas, como 1/2" s y en 1" s. pues no se cierra la cortinilla. Mi pregunta es si limpiando de igual manera puedo solucionar el problema. Muchas gracias y un saludo desde España.
Thank you so much for this walkthrough! I have an MX that is in great shape, was CLA’d last year, but now the exposure counter took a crap on me out of nowhere. Any experience with that mechanism?
Thanks for watching!
If my memory serves me correctly it's a similar mechanism to the ME Super which I have messed up and had to fix more than I would care to admit. It potentially could be some light seal foam obstructing the mechanism, what number is the frame counter stuck on?
Many thanks for doing this! Will try my luck on my mx as soon as I get home.
Of course, best of luck to you and if you have any questions feel free to reach out!
@@RompingBronco just wanted to check back and say thank you a million times. I finally came home and applied everything you suggested. And now it works like a charm again! Keep up the good work!
@@conformism1 I'm really stoked to hear that! Thank you for following up!
Hi I have an MX with light meter issues. Do you have a video where you repair the Light Meter?
At about 1:30 you said "you were going to try to reset it" but couldn't see what you did, or maybe you didn't say was done already... I have an MX that I took fully apart to clean and lube. During the process I took out the slow speed governor to check and lube behind. I probably didn't have it set to right speed, or some other mistake and now the winder is locked. It was fine before and I have done this once before and pushed some lever or part and a click happened and released the winder. I know the winder should lock at end of winding cycle... but I can't find the lever or release for the lock. It's stuck now and driving me nuts. I've cleaned almost everything but can't wind any more.
Any ideas? Or can point to where the winder lock is released? Or maybe do a MX video that show how to release winder lock. Love your videos and they've helped me in past with my ME Super. Can't find any resources that show how to release winder. Certainly not in service manual. It's a secret I stumbled upon once by accident...
Hi there. thanks very much for sharing. Your videos are great.
I have the MX camera but the self timer lever is stuck in a way that it hags loose. Do you any video or advice on how to fix this problem.
I actually saw this in an MX last week, try to set the self timer and then fire it, that worked on the one I was servicing and it may help you out too!
Recently acquired an MX that's got a sticky shutter and mirror in bulb mode. I'm experienced in fixing AE-1s and haven't messed much with Pentax except for light seals. What do you think? Just a lubrication issue?
It's probably a lubrication issue, or if you are lucky the mirror bumper could have eroded and the mirror just sticks to that. Have you noticed any inconsistency in the shutter travel?
Hi! Please help me where to look below or above. The problem is this: after falling, the fast wind lever does not return back. I have to return it manually after rewinding the film
How would you fix the lever if it’s not snapping back ??
I have an MX that’s been sent out for repair a few times with the same problem. Mirror sticks up every time I hit 1/60th and slower. Works for a while then locks up again after a month without use. Any chance this would be something I could remedy at home instead of sending it out for the 3rd time in 2 years?
I have issues with my light meters. Is there a calibration method for these bodies? I don't want to cheese it with adjusting the ASA dial, I don't think it is a reliable workaround. I have two MX bodies that function great EXCEPT for the light meter readings.
Ah, thanks for this! Have watched a number of your MX videos and decided on one. I got it in the mail, apparently all working - it's not.
Mirror only returns at 1/1000th reliably. Will flush and clean the gears with ISO alc and see, followed by a drop or two of oil. Any tips?
The mirror returning also makes a "ping" sort of sound. Like a little brass bell ringing. Is that normal do you think?
I know this is from 6 months ago, from what I can tell some of these cameras do and some don't. My silver mx makes more of a ping sound and my black mx doesn't.
I'm really enjoying mine.
Any Pentax LX walkthrough/repairs?
I have a similar issue with my MX - the mirror sticks up about 75% of the time (worse on slow shutter speeds). I flooded with rubbing alcohol with no luck. Any good resources on how to repair? Saw some sources that said it probably is the mirror timing mechanism? Any suggestions?
Thanks for all your vids - love your content!
Thank you for watching! I'd recommend checking out the MX Service manual if you can find it online, that's a great resource. The only issue is that the manual doesn't account for the camera being some 50 years old so it doesn't address aging issues as much. The alcohol is a great place to start but what that is doing is flooding and cleaning out the mechanism and then drying up. A lot of these intricate little cameras require some oil and grease to keep them running (that old grease is usually what ends ups gumming them up) so I'd add a small amount of oil to the timing gears and fire through that a couple times to actuate it. With oil less is definitely more, I hope this helps!
mid-80s hadda a silvertop MESuper I loved. Back then hadda full head o'hair & the Super was current. Can't remember what happened 2 it since BUT I recently found an all-black Super in "working condition", I've just had properly serviced incl new light seals. Then I fell 4 an all-black LX .. with "sticky mirror" & mischievous minions in the viewfinder display. Tech wasn't able 2 repair it citing non-availability of parts .. so I sulks 4 a bit. Then I decide on an MX thinking mechanical reliability/repairability .. the vendor happens 2 b an old-school tech who repairs (uno, strips down & CLAs). He walks me thru prelim testing & we agree it's worth investigating further. (This's where i find out the difference between a REPAIRER & a PARTS REPLACER). We're both skeptical of the popular sticky mirror hacks (the bumper not only disintegrates .. it deforms .. the precision flies out the window). He thinks he might b able 2 strip down the mirror reflex & shutter-box (remember the Minions?). Meanwhile I buy his serviced & resealed MX body. The MX will back up the LX & the Super gets sold .. maybe 4 a good price being freshly serviced + instruction manual (it's Down Under🇦🇺.. no thrift store cheapies here .. u gotsta have deep pockets😭)
Fuggin nice vids (framing inabilities notwithstanding). New sub. 😄
Funny - I feel the reverse about ME vs MX, even down to the advance lever. Pentax just never made THE camera for me. If the MX had a titanium shutter and a bit faster shutter it would be that camera. Or alternatively, if the LX had PCBs that weren't little bitches (or even if it had more than a single mechanical speed) then it could be THAT camera. Neither is true. But the MX I love the most. I've rejuvenated a fair number and have three at the moment. My little black one, the oldest is "my" camera but it's mirror is sticking and I've been obsessed with Konicas (restoring TC and T4 models mostly) lately so I've really been ignoring it ... it's probably mad at me by now. I've been so mean to that one and it just keeps going - no idea how. I've had that one torn down multiple times over the years and it's been to Eric H once (twice?). MX is just quality.
I don't dislike ME but have never gotten on with the push-button control - they just irritate me. I think the only one in my house of that ilk at the moment is my Super Program which I prefer overall if I'm going to shoot one of those. I forgive the controls if I can run in full program modes.
Anyhow - yammer yammer - I appreciate (and relate to) your scorched earth alcohol and naphtha approach and overall commentary. I'll be back. Cheers.
I love my MX but I get what you mean about the advance. Lots of the time I'm not even sure i advanced all the way and I feel the need to give it an extra push
I have problems with my light meter. It’s just not working :( any Ideas for a fix? Already dismounted the plate, the copper things are touching each other when I half press the shutter button..
I got about halfway through the first roll in this camera and the meter stopped working so I'll probably take it apart tomorrow and see what the issue is and can then hopefully help you out a little bit!
Another great video, the MX is definitely one of the cameras I really want to try. Talking about alcohol to clean cameras, do you just use regular grocery store alcohol?
I'm about to try it out and I'm genuinely looking forward to the experience. I use some 99% alcohol solution that I found online, regular grocery store works as well. I believe that is like 80% or something along those lines.
@@RompingBronco thanks for the help. I have a question regarding a totally diferente camera, but since you kinda already feature one the channel I think you might be able to give me some help. I bought a Pentax auto 110 Super (almost the same camera as the auto 110), but there seems to be a problem with it. When I test it with no flash, when the cameras fires the shutter, the aperture blades (that I believe act as shutter too) stay open (whether there’s enough light or not) and when I use flash, the shutter just acts normally.
Could this be a problem with the camera, could it just be because I’m shooting without film loaded, could the light meter be faulty (I know it reacts at least, because of the indicator on the viewfinder, it shows green when there is light and amber when there’s not)
The camera needs a good cleaning, especially where the batteries should be located, maybe a good cleaning with alcohol could help
Sorry for the gigantic question
@@filipecostapt6427 Never apologize for any question regardless of the size, all the extra information makes answering a lot easier so I appreciate it!
I am in fact a fan of my little 110 and the super is similar, the shutter will fire at 1/60 if anything comes in contact with the contacts be that a finger or the flash unit itself so that may explain why it works with the flash attached. The absence of film should not affect the shutter speed, it's likely that there is an issue with the photo resistors that detect light or the lens not properly communicating with the body. The lenses of these cameras are so small and only have the one aperture so the shutter speed is determined by that aperture and paired with the amount of light input received. If either of those variables are "unknown" the camera will likely just assume there is no light and go for the longer exposure.
However this is all just me guessing, I'd definitely recommend cleaning the camera and then testing it. I'll keep looking into it too because now I'm quite interested! Thank you for the question and I hope my response is gigantic enough to answer it.
@@RompingBronco thanks a lot for the help. I´m going to try to resurrect the camera
I just copped a really pristine looking one for 175. Seen some for parts ones for 40, 50 bucks but I am too short tempered to ever attempt something like this. I pulled up the service manuals and how complex these thing is really scares me.
would you help me to calibrating the curtain? my pentax mx always slow when shutterspeed at 1000. there is some black spot on the result
If you could email me some sample photos I may be able to diagnose it a little bit better! Thanks for watching
Shutter capping. Your camera needs a full service.
I like putting my ME Super on a flash gun. 125th sync with no batteries is kind of cool.
In the UK these make more money than the ME Super. Personally I prefer the MX. You could ease the dent out of top plate and replace lens mount should look good.
Could you do a quick demo of how to remove and blow out dust from the focusing screen on an MX? It appears that no one has made a video of this.
That is an excellent idea. I think I touch on it a recent video I made (haven't edited yet) but I'll cut something together tonight and hopefully have it out tomorrow for you! Thanks for the suggestion.
Awesome, thanks!
You need to adjust your camera to show people what you are doing sir
I have in some of my newer videos but thank you for the feedback
Nice workspace. 🙄
My inspiration was those old I Spy books but I have a much less chaotic space now hahah thanks for the comment