Pentax KX 35mm SLRs

Pentax KX 35mm SLRs 

DESCRIPTION

Manual focus, manual exposure, mechanical shutter, 35mm camera produced from 1975-1984. Out of production.

USER REVIEWS

Showing 11-20 of 31  
[Jul 14, 2022]
joeanderson


Strength:

It's like a vintage camera! We used this cam in Atlanta Drywall Contractors! It's worth the price.

Weakness:

None so far.

Purchased:
Used  
OVERALL
RATING
5
[Mar 25, 2025]
Janwil


Strength:

You have a good product. Thank you so much! aluminum fence

Weakness:

none so far

Purchased:
New  
OVERALL
RATING
5
[Feb 22, 2022]
Aina K.


Strength:

t is in mint condition, so I paid top price, but I am well pleased. It has DOF previes and mirror lock-up. The meter is intuitive and easy to use. This is a rugged well made camera that would probably cost about $900 if it were bought new today. cherryhillfoundationrepair.com/

Weakness:

None so far.

OVERALL
RATING
5
[Feb 22, 2022]
Aina K.


Strength:

t is in mint condition, so I paid top price, but I am well pleased. It has DOF previes and mirror lock-up. The meter is intuitive and easy to use. This is a rugged well made camera that would probably cost about $900 if it were bought new today. cherryhillfoundationrepair.com/

Weakness:

None so far.

OVERALL
RATING
5
[Jun 22, 2021]
stussy


Strength:

Good quality of the items

Weakness:

Kitchen Design will assist you in remodeling your home to make it more appropriate for your lifestyle.

Purchased:
New  
OVERALL
RATING
5
[Jun 21, 2021]
Miyuki


Strength:

Consistent light-meter, Bright, clear viewfinder. Availability of parts and bodies makes for a good student camera, or a backup camera for professionals. | Bathroom Remodeling San Ramon

Weakness:

Nothing waekness found.

Purchased:
New  
OVERALL
RATING
5
[Jul 17, 2014]
thrifter

Strength:

great manual focus lens

Weakness:

i had to manualy take apart the camera and the lens to fix the exposure

I bought this camera at a garage sale and I when to develop the pictures I took with it and ALL the pictures had zero exposure

OVERALL
RATING
1
VALUE
RATING
1
[Jan 29, 2013]
Andrew Windes
Intermediate

Strength:

Absolutely reliable. Mechanical functions--will continue to work (sans light meter) even if battery fails. The bayonet mount this camera uses--the "K" mount--is perhaps the most common of all bayonet mounts, and an almost endless variety of lenses are available. Add to this all of the Pentax screw-mount lenses--all easily adaptable to the K mount via a common and easily available adapter--and you have access to an almost endless variety of lenses. Controls are well-placed. Features built into this camera are among the most useful. All functions are manual, but the light-meter is very accurate and both the shutter speed and aperture show in the viewfinder. Although it had already been well used when I bought it, it continues to function perfectly to this day. The camera is a so-called "tank." Although it had a few dents in it when I bought it--used--35 years ago, and I have added a few dents along the way on my own, it had never required repair. Unlike many cameras of the era, it has never had a problem with leaks. A true classic.

Weakness:

Only complaint I have is that aperture readout in viewfinder is via a lens/mirror system that reflects number from aperture ring on lens into the viewfinder. Over time, this mirror became slightly out of adjustment--but this made virtually no difference to me for the way I used the camera and I never felt the need to get it realigned. Extremely minor (in my view) problem.

I caught the camera bug as a 12 year-old and after quickly progressing from a Yashica rangefinder which I had inherited to a very primitive Praktica 35mm SLR, I set my sights on what was then the most popular camera in existence, a Canon AE-1. When I was 14, I happened across the Pentax KX in the used camera section of a local shop one day, and since it came with a set of nice Pentax lenses--a 50mm F1.4 and a 200mm F4, would use my existing screw mount lenses (for the Praktica) with a inexpensive adapter, and was still much cheaper than a new Canon AE-1--I grabbed the Pentax. What a great purchase it was. I used that camera to take thousands of photographs as a yearbook and newspaper photographer in high school, and then continued to use it for personal photographs as well as some professional applications through the years. I've owned this KX for 35 years, and while I've made the switch to digital photography for most applications, I still pull out the old KX from time to time and it works perfectly. One of the really great things about using a KX is that an astounding number of used K-mount lenses aree available on the used market at giveaway prices. There are times when a film camera will produce results which I cannot duplicate with a digital camera and with the great variety of lenses out there, all sorts of creative applications are possible. If you are going to take a photography class which requires a film camera, the only other camera which I have used and feel equally comfortable with is the Canon FTb. Unfortunately, the KX's reputation is well known, and they aren't necessarily cheap. If you can get one for a decent price, by all means grab it. It is one of the all-time greats.

Similar Products Used:

Canon FTb

OVERALL
RATING
5
VALUE
RATING
5
[Feb 03, 2011]
lvrepoman
Intermediate

Strength:

Absolute reliability. Built like a tank. Superb metering, huge selection of compatible lenses, including the wonderful Pentax SMC line. Also, any Prakica/Pentax screw mount lens is easily adaptable to this camera. The only, minor, fault that I can think of for this camera is that it's exposure meter uses up batteries relatively quickly, but as the batteries are cheap and readily available, this is of minor consequence. Best of all, KX's are common today and inexpensive.

Weakness:

The aforementioned tendency to use up batteries quickly--hardly a liability. I also would have liked a split image focusing screen, but in practical terms, I never found the existing focusing aids to present any sort of liability. A great, great, camera.

I bought my KX used in 1977. It was my second 35mm SLR (after using an old Praktica for a few years), and I have literally taken tens of thousands of photos with it. I was only 14 when I bought it, and it was really a top-of-the-line 35mm at that time. As a school newspaper and yearbook photographer, I got a ton of experience using the KX and it was an ideal camera for a student photographer. It's all manual, what we used to call "match needle metering," but all of the exposure info is shown in the viewfinder. I found the silicon cell meter to be very accurate, but it was nice to have so much control over the exposure for special situations.

At the time, my great love was sports photography, so I found it necessary to purchase a telephoto lens. I counted my pennies and bought an SMC Pentax 200mm. As others have mentioned, I found out that Pentax lens were, for all practical purposes, the equal of much more expensive Nikon lens. Nothing ever beat the 50mm f1.4 that came with the camera originally. When I view some of the 35mm slides I took 30+ years ago, I am amazed at their clarity, even when greatly enlarged.

The camera followed me through college and into adulthood, and while most of my friends had gone onto 35mm auto-focus cameras, I just kept using my old KX. Over the years, it has taken one hell of a beating. In all that time, I have never once had to have the shutter adjusted, the meter works as good as ever, and the light seals have never failed.

I have gone onto using a DSLR for most of my photography, but I have never given up using the old KX entirely. The fact is, if I know that I am going to want a top quality photograph, I'll use the KX in preference to a digital camera. You just can't equal the clarity, the deep color reproduction, or the absolute control over the final image that you get with a fine film camera with a modern digital camera.

If you can find one--and they are always for sale on ebay, usually at bargain prices--buy one. When you add the fact that you can get beautiful Pentax K lenses for dirt cheap to the equation, the deals become unbeatable.

Customer Service

Never needed it.

Similar Products Used:

Canon FTb, Praktica LTL.

OVERALL
RATING
5
VALUE
RATING
5
[Nov 06, 2007]
MidnightCommando
Expert

Strength:

Almost impossible to totally wreck
Wide selection of lenses available
Standard batteries, because of power bridging circuit
Consistent light-meter
Bright, clear viewfinder
Availability of parts and bodies makes for a good student camera, or a backup camera for professionals

Weakness:

No interchangeable focusing screens
Shutter speed goes only from 1 - 1/1000, I like to have 8 - 1/4000

I inherited this camera when a friend of mine died. I have found it to be a most capable camera, and while it is very heavy (due to the all-metal construction and glass lenses), I have found it more adaptable than my Nikon, any of my Praktica L series cameras, or even my favourite Rolleiflex TLR.

There is a certain feel and sound when an entirely-mechanical camera is fired, and the KX is one of the cameras that conveys the "feel" most accurately.

I've never had one seize up on me, it's never jammed, all my lenses produce crisp images, flash synch is perfect, and the internal metering is dead accurate, even when the batteries are low.

Customer Service

I've never needed any, the camera is that reliable :)

Similar Products Used:

Nikon FE2
Nikon FM2
Praktica VLC2
Praktica MTL5B
Praktica F.X. 3
Pentax Spotmatic SP II

OVERALL
RATING
5
VALUE
RATING
5
Showing 11-20 of 31  

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