Very easy to use and understand. Great meter. Doesn't feel like you could ever break it.

The screens are hard to get if you need to replace. Take care of the one you have!!

I love it!! I would never sell it for anything. The first picture i took with it to the pictures i just took, the meter has never been wrong. My girlfriend who knew nothing about manual SLRs now loves it and is trying to get me to buy another camera so she can "use" it. She said she likes the sound of it. I forgot how much that "snap" of the shutter get you into a mood. I just realy like to take lots of pictures with it and am comfortable taking it to any situation. If I find another for around the same value I would put the money down on the spot!!

Similar Products Used:

Pentax K1000
Minolta 3si
Pentax ME
Pentax KM

Amazingly small and portable and returning to a manual camera after years of gizmo laden cameras reminds me of my youth. Good range of lenses available second hand.

Nothing major

Great camera to get back to basics with and small enough to stash anywhere.

Customer Service

N/A

Similar Products Used:

ME Super

-Small compact size,
-LED display-very easy to use

-unreliable light meter
-unreliable film counter

Maybe I just got a lemon, as I bought second hand, but I cannot recommend this camera. The light meter has failed twice, and been fixed twice. It now currently (after working fine for a couple of months) underexposes by about 3 stops.
-my film counter has broken, and been fixed. It has failed again recently
-the depth of field/self timer lever has broken as well
I am not hard on my equipment-it sees light usage by most peoples standards. I bought this camera to replace an AE-1 that was stolen, and although I like the concept, the execution leaves a lot to be desired. Nothing is worse than having equipment you can't rely on :(

Customer Service

Used Alt Camera customer service twice for this camera-fixed fast, and not too expensive

Similar Products Used:

Pentax MZ-M
Pentax MZ-10
Canon AE-1

Simple, easy, all you need. Great 50mm 1.7 lens. Small. Ergonmy is good.

No spot meter. Not easy to use the light meter in sunlight with glasses. A bit heavy.

I'm carrying this one all around and I'm very pleased with the images it produces. The 50mm f.17 is really great! It is a bit heavy in my bag, though. I wish the LEDs in the viewfinder could range into a -2..2EV range rather than -1..1EV. I don't like the light metering, even if it is effecient and would prefer a partial metering. It's not a camera for Zone-System ;) ... but it definitively pleasant to use. Ergonomy is great!

Customer Service

Not used.

Similar Products Used:

Elan II and all of the Canon EF stuff.

apparently indistructable, samll, quiet, very easy to use (12 year old niece could use it within five minutes.

perhaps a bit too small - handles better with the winder attached

the best camera I`ve ever used.

Customer Service

never needed it

Similar Products Used:

ricoh slr, pentax k1000

Runs without batteries. Period.

No exposure comp dial

One of the smallest SLR cameras of all time. They dont make them like this anymore. With a pancake lens attached, you can slip it in your coat pocket.

Customer Service

DIY is best.

Similar Products Used:

Mechanical cameras of Nikon, Canon, Pentax, Yashica, Olympus (Meaning, they are circa 1960's!)

Simple Mechanical Camera
Light Compact Rugged
No Battery dependence
Pleasure and fun to use
Great Mechanical Shutter

No Spot or deliberate exposure compensation
Shutter peaks at 1/1000

A true classic manual camera, that is a delight to use and carry. If you forgot how much fun manual shooting was, the MX will remind you.

Similar Products Used:

Spotmatic
K2
ME Super
Super Program
ZX5N

Great little camera. Very reliable TTL meter. Battery only feeds the meter, so it will always work.I have had this baby since ´83 and I´ve had it cleaned and oiled regularly, and it has never let me down. Rugged metal design also makes it handy as a self-defense weapon.

A bit small for my hands, I use it with a flash gun ( which means top speed = 1/60!) and that makes it much easier to hold, but that defeats the small size. Good reason to use the motor.

Cheap, reliable and easy to get the lens you want. Great meter, and (with a flash gun or motor)it is fast and easy in your hands.

Customer Service

Never tried them.

Similar Products Used:

Nikon FM2
Pentagon WP4 (Arcane Russian SLR)

Extremely rugged, solid and well-designed controls. An extremely functional and compact SLR. Very precise, although basic non-zone metering (easy to meter to 1/2 stops).

Pentax stopped making them!

Seriously, about the only problem I've ever experienced is missing the take-up spool when loading film (aaarrrrrggh!) so care is needed while doing this.

I work as an endangered species biologist, which means that good photographic opportunities are sometimes extremely hard to get, and a reliable camera is a must (see www.marmots.org). I've dropped my MX off a cliff. I've soaked it in the rain, frozen it overnight, baked it in my truck, used it around salt water and it's never let me down. What more can I say? I own two and am looking for a third!

Customer Service

No experience

Similar Products Used:

ME Super,K1000, Canon AE-1, OM-1, Ricoh XR-2

Logical egonomic controls.
Simple and reliable.
Accuate viewfinder - good for well composed slides.
Accuate light meter - good for well exposed slides.
Light and compact.
Quality Pentax lenses.
Lenses and accessories widely available.

Within the context of a manual SLR - none.
TTL flash and spot metering would be nice, but I get along quite well without.

No regrets, except they are out of production. I'm going to get a spare while they are still available.
Caried one 3500 miles in a bicycle pannier across Europe, no problems until it died years later on the bottom of an Ozarks river. Got the second one used in 1993 - just now having the foam light seals replaced and cleaned and oiled by local repairman; first time any of my Pentaxes have seen the inside of a repair shop except for the Spotmatic that took a five foot drop to the floor (it still worked fine, but a cosmetic dent in penta housing was too ugly to ignore).
I often shoot in low light or tricky light situations, but I consistantly get good pictures, mostly scenics and landscapes, using slide film (I'm not going to let the camera take all the credit).
Recommended for advanced amatures or pros who appreciate reliability in a compact package, and find all those advanced auto/program features just get in the way of photography.
Like all manual cameras, probably not the best pick for a lot of action photography.

Customer Service

Not needed

Similar Products Used:

Konica Auto something (1970s)
Spotmatics
Pentax ME Super