Quality of the Picture is superb with my SMC lense. It's built like a tank. It can function with out batteries if you've got the knack. It's so heavy that if you can't help but notice if its missing. Fully manual so it's really you taking the shot.

None that I will admit to.

I picked up my KX while living and working in South Korea. The shop was a graveyard of metallic 35mm bodies. I was lucky to have a friend who gifted me with the wisdom that Pentax lenses were as good as Nikons but at much less cost. Well, heck, for $50 I picked out the KX and have never looked back. It has survived my very extreme travel decisions for the last 10 years with nary a complaint.

Yes, the light meter died on me several times but if you use the camera enough you know what the settings should be. I got caught in Nepal on a high mountain pass without fresh batteries. I spent a roll using guesswork and familiarity before I discovered a tiny shack off the hiking trail selling exactly the correct batteries. While I was glad to have the meter back, I found that all of my exposures were correct on the film I'd shot without the meter. This bit of luck had naught to do with me; I credit the camera for its consistency.

And, yes, the KX is a very heavy camera. I’ve never left it sitting on a café table, a bus seat or information counter for precisely that reason. It’s worth the weight.

Customer Service

I've not had the pleasure.

Similar Products Used:

Nikon, Canon, Olympus 35mm from the 70's and 80's.

Rugged, dependable, easy and fun to use

Not suited for sports photography or where auto focus would be necessary. I find I need auto focus whenI want to caputure people and their changing expressions. I use the superb Contax G2 system for all my portrait, travel and wedding photgrapy.

I had wanted to return to a more simple approach to photography in landscape and fine art work where I do not need auto focus. I had used Nikon AF equipment for many years, but when I purchased my son a Pentax K1000 so that he could learn photgraphy I was remined of how much I enjoyed using these mechanical cameras. There's just something about the feel and sound of taking pictures with these cameras that cannot be beat! I had used the MX years ago but I did not like the metering system. Bright light tends to make the diodes hard to read. So I bought a KX on Ebay. It 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. I find this camera a joy to use in photography where I can take my time, set up my tripod and think about the image I want to capture. The following M series lenses are rugged and very sharp: 50mm f1.4 & 1.7; 100mm f2.8; 200mm f4; 35mm f2 and 75-150mm f4. Great fun!

Customer Service

www.abilenecamera.com can restore these cameras to perfect working condition if needed

Similar Products Used:

ME Super, MX, Nikon 90s.

All controls just where you need them. Solid and reliable, has never let me down. Gorgeous and useful viewfinder.

NONE!

What a cracker! I lost my MX through a burglary, then I saw this in a shop window,I could almost thank the scum who raided my flat. This is a camera and a half.

Customer Service

Never needed

Similar Products Used:

Pentax MX, Praktica, Chinon, Zenit, Argus, etc, etc

Full metal body - solid rock! True MLU & DOF lever, impressive metering display, holding balance, full mechanical speed

Timer lever a little bit annoying until you know the trick

KX is perfect..!! Fit perfectly in my small hand, add balance with zoom lens, metering is impressive (most of time exactly the same with my z-1 matrix metering), the best is you can see where your exposure need to be (it is not like k100, MX, Z-1, Z-1p, you only see maximum 3 stop up/down). Speed dial is light - one finger touch can turn! MX is litle bit hard to turn. But for size, for sure you can not put this one on your pocket. Full metal body, light & multifuction DOF MLU button, battery only for metering, this is the type of camera you need to bring along hard day picture hunting - even just for backup. For me, I prefer this one compare to MX, but MX is a beautiful one - smallest manual SLR. Try one, you'll feel the same as I do, perfect.

Similar Products Used:

Pentax MX, Z-1, MG, K1000, ME-Super

Reliable / Usable with high ISO / one finger exposure setting / MLU / serviceable / beautiful.

No: winder, screen changing, high speed sync / meter switch in transport lever. Some people claim the metering to be not centered enough.

Disapointed by my LX and K1000 I was glad to find a black KX. I love the matchneedle exposure meter, but hate its switch in the winding lever. DOF preview is nice. It's among my favourite film bodys. If you don't need no winder or exotic screen this is surely the better MX, according to ISO range, MLU stopdownlever operation and shutter speed setting, which is possible with one finger. K1000 are good, KX better.

Customer Service

Oficialy discontinued / Got new foam, stop down button rescrewed ( flew off) at local repair shop.

Similar Products Used:

K1000, Vivitar 2000, MX, LX, Super program, SFXn.

Solid, very reliable (I have had it serviced just once, in Northern Ireland in 1978!!) and it is still going strong. You just know you have got the photo when that lovely sounding "KERCHUNK" happens.

"Sorry, we don't service these old cameras" or "How, much would you like for that?"

What can you say about this nice work of art? This camera has been with me in most fields of conflict in the last 25 years as a professional photographer with the British Army and it has never let me down, unlike some of the more delicate pieces of machinery I have used. I even (unforgiveably) used it to ward off a couple of strange guys who tried to "borrow" it from me, and as a previous reviewer has already noted, my Black KX can easily be repainted using a marker pen. It will deinately outlast it's owner!

Similar Products Used:

Nikon and Olympus (standard military issue use for public relations)

Very durable, fullmetall construction; bottom and (!) top plate made of brass; good metering operations; Very good manufacturing over all;

Loud shutter and mirror clap

A very, very underrated nice mechanical SLR. Bought mine about four month ago in a very good condition and even in black (110,00€!!). Having used a couple of MX`s for years I must point out that I like the KX much more. It fits better in your hands, has a mirror lock up and is build much more solid than the MX. Everything you need to know is displayed in the viewfinder. the viewfinder is very large compared to todays cameras, I have no problems to focus it with my glasses on. Exposermeter and metering work excellent. If you like mechanical cameras you`ll love it. Can you imagine the price of a camera like the KX build and sold today??

Customer Service

Not needed.

Similar Products Used:

Pentax MX, Nikon FM 2;

Excellent metering system, depth of field preview and mirror lock up. Durability and solid feel.

Self timer is not very reliable in operation (may be a quirk of my camera). Meter needle is hard to see in low light.

Having used K1000 models for years I had expected the KX to be nothing more than a K1000 with a few added features and a better meter, it is more than that. The overall build quality of the KX is marvelous, and mine was a well worn used camera when I purchased it. Exposures are dead on in most lighting conditions and mechanical operation is very smooth and accurate.

Customer Service

Have not had any dealings for this camera, but did have the ME Super serviced quickly and effeciently.

Similar Products Used:

Pentax K1000, Pentax ME Super, Chinon SLR

K-1000 lineage in dependability. All metal construction. Full Mechanical and is only battery dependent for metering. Simplicity in design and full manual in operation (no need to carry the manual around on this one). Full information viewfinder. Feels good to the hands.

No split image focusing, this may be an advantage with long telephoto lenses but not for those with weak eyesight.

The Pentax KX is a handsome camera, more so than the basic K-1000 which it was based on. The dimensions are exactly as the K-1000, I can visually see no differences in size between the two cameras when placed side by side. Shutter speeds remains the same from B to 1/1000th (60x), it accepts all K-mount lenses, and film rewind is mechanically actuated via a button on the bottom:))) But the KX has a more "substantial" feel to it when picked up and used, right away as the button is pressed, the shutter feels and sounds slightly dampened. The KX differenciates itself from the K-1000 in additional features, such as, the ASA dial is large w/locking pin and is located under the rewind knob, there is a battery check button next to it, a shutter lock rotating collar on the trigger release prevents accidental firing and is good for long term storage:). Facing the lens mount, there is a self timer, and above it is a depth of field preview button-combo-mirror lock up lever (very smooth, easy to operate, and does not require fingernails). On the right side there are contacts for both X and FP synchs. Perhaps the best feature of the KX that most K-1000 users "wished" to have are the shutter speeds and apertures displays in the viewfinder. The KX shutter speeds are legibly displayed from B to 1000th in a vertical bar on the right, it is matched-needle metering in operation with a green actual speed indicator clearly defined. The f-stop in-use on the lens aperture indicator ring gets projected into the viewfinder through a clear glass window/mirror system (the first camera that comes to my mind: Nikon F2:))). That's about it, overall I like this camera very much, it is a matured K-1000 providing users with all the basic necessities for taking photographs. It's mechanical innard is much like the K-1000 (I Detail, Lube, and Adjust everything that gets in my hands:)))and should be as reliable. The added features are gems that expand the camera's capabilities and makes it so nice to look at. After much research on the Web, I was unable to find much information on this Pentax model, some sites wrote that a Pentax KX in good condition is a rare sight due to its limited production. In my opinion, Pentax should not have discontinued the K-1000, it should replace the Pentax K-1000 with the KX and rebadge it as a K-2000. Considering the current demands on the market of mechanical cameras, the KX reintroduction would be a big hit to users and collectors.

Customer Service

Pentax offers a manual replacement program, last I saw it was only $4 for shipping and handling.

Similar Products Used:

I have a camera repair shop so I get to play with all kinds of cameras:)))

Indestructable!!
Advanced features like depth-of-field preview, mirror lock up, self timer, shutter lock, sprocket release for dbl exposure
Shutter speed and ap settings visible in viewfinder
Used lenses are easy to find
All-black finish (if you can find it) makes it less flashy and visible to thieves - and dings can be repaired with a felt-tip marker!

Heavy
Loud
Black meter needle is hard to read in low light

This was my first camera! I inherited it when I took my first photo class. It's been almost ten years, and I still haven't outgrown this camera. I finally bought a "modern" camera, but from time to time I still use the KX. I have one problem with manual cams: withoug the KACHUNK of the KX's mirror and shutter and the heft of the manual winder, it just doesn't feel like taking a picture!

My KX is twenty years old, it's never been cleaned, and was my constant companion while traipsing around England, France and Upstate New York. Suffice it to say that life has been less than easy for my KX, yet it still works as well as ever.

I rarely see KXs, but if you can find one, buy it! This is an excellent choice for beginners or manual-cam enthusiasts, and with the features and durable build, you won't outgrow it as you might outgrow a K1000. Take reasonable care, and your KX will outlive you!

Similar Products Used:

Pentax MG
Canon Rebel 2000