Pentax LX focus screens

ChrisR

ChrisR

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So, as mentioned before I have a new to me Pentax LX. It has a matte screen with a very faint centre circle. From this mir.com page I reckon it's a SE-25, but from the descriptions it might be a SA-21, SA-23 or SA-26, or even possibly a SD-21 if the description rather than the picture is to be believed. I didn't worry about it, as one of my MXs has a matter screen (presumably a SA-3 from this page... in fact from that it looks more likely the LX screen would also be one of the SA trio), and it's lovely to use. But I'm having real difficulty focusing with the LX. I read somewhere that he MX viewfinder is much brighter than the LX viewfinders, and that this has an impact; I didn't expect this to be such a big deal.

Anyway, the way forward seems to be to buy a more standard split image/microprism screen, presumably a SC-21. But the usual flea site only seems to have very expensive focus screens on BIN, and last time I looked didn't have any. Can anyone (a) advise me and (b) suggest where I might be able to find one? (ffordes doesn't have one, not sure where else to look.)

Thanks!
 
No-one any advice for me?
 
Chris you may already have tried this, so apologies if this isn't helpful. I have hunted out some hard to find items by hunting the American (.com) and German (.de) eBay sites. The usual and sometimes over priced Japanese items will appear on these too but I found a screen for my 645N as well as a High Slide and slide set for my Sekonic analogue meter. It might also be worth looking on the KEH site, I have bought a few bits from them over the years too.

Just a thought!
 
Chris
I had a look around but no luck. I also asked a friend. No luck.

Japan has proved a good source for good Pentax bits.

You could try posting in other forums.

https://www.pentaxforums.com/forums/

Steve
 
Thanks Adrian I'll have a look tomorrow.

Steve, I'm a member of PentaxForums, and have been searching prior to putting in a post. Lots of contradictory info, eg folk praising the LX screen as being bright, others saying it's not as bright as the MX (which is my feeling). I did find a reference to Beattie screens, which are supposed to be 1-1.5 stops brighter. More tomorrow...
 
So, I put a thread up on PentaxForums, and got some helpful responses. A good suggestion was to try the focus screen that I like from one of the MXs in the LX. However I'm still a bit leery about actually changing the screens without the proper tools.

Anyway, some time in the process I had a good comparative look through the LX and MX VFs, both with 28mm f/2.8 lenses on. It turns out, contrary to my first impressions, the LX is a little bit brighter than the MX (which is already stunningly bright). Turns out I had a CPL on the lens on the LX, d'oh! But the LX VF was definitely fuzzy... at this point a little light bulb started to go on in my poor excuse for a brain... what if the problem wasn't the focus screen but maybe something else? It could perhaps be something out of alignment, or... perhaps the dioptre on the VF? At first I didn't think there was an adjustable dioptre, but there is, you just have to slide the VF out a little bit to get to the adjustment. After a few twiddles, I think I now have a reasonably sharp VF image at infinity. At least the neighbour over the road now appears to have only one TV aerial rather than two!

Still to be tested; I'm not loading another film until I see the results from the test films, now downloading from Filmdev. But I am a happier bunny!(y)
 
ChrisR said:
So, I put a thread up on PentaxForums, and got some helpful responses. A good suggestion was to try the focus screen that I like from one of the MXs in the LX. However I'm still a bit leery about actually changing the screens without the proper tools.

Anyway, some time in the process I had a good comparative look through the LX and MX VFs, both with 28mm f/2.8 lenses on. It turns out, contrary to my first impressions, the LX is a little bit brighter than the MX (which is already stunningly bright). Turns out I had a CPL on the lens on the LX, d'oh! But the LX VF was definitely fuzzy... at this point a little light bulb started to go on in my poor excuse for a brain... what if the problem wasn't the focus screen but maybe something else? It could perhaps be something out of alignment, or... perhaps the dioptre on the VF? At first I didn't think there was an adjustable dioptre, but there is, you just have to slide the VF out a little bit to get to the adjustment. After a few twiddles, I think I now have a reasonably sharp VF image at infinity. At least the neighbour over the road now appears to have only one TV aerial rather than two!

Still to be tested; I'm not loading another film until I see the results from the test films, now downloading from Filmdev. But I am a happier bunny!(y)
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I was surprised at your earlier listed problems but fingers crossed all is good.

I would leave the MX scceens in place if you are haply with the LX. To my mind, if the focussing screen is fuzzy then it is not seated propeely or the lens is not focussing. It has never happened to me. My main MX and ME Super were both bought by me 35 years ago and just soldier on. The LX I have is a late model barely used, again working fine. I have spare MX and Me Super bodies but I think I need to downsize the kit....

Steve
 
Hugh Jarse said:
I was surprised at your earlier listed problems but fingers crossed all is good.

I would leave the MX scceens in place if you are haply with the LX. To my mind, if the focussing screen is fuzzy then it is not seated propeely or the lens is not focussing. It has never happened to me. My main MX and ME Super were both bought by me 35 years ago and just soldier on. The LX I have is a late model barely used, again working fine. I have spare MX and Me Super bodies but I think I need to downsize the kit....

Steve
Click to expand...

Just looked through the downloads from Filmdev. Although there are obviously badly focused images (more than usual) there are plenty of in-focus images as well that look just as crisp as I would expect. Yes I agree, I'll leave the MX screens in place; I really like the matte one, which is in the black MX, used for colour film. Keeping the split image screen in the black and silver MX, plus a yellow or orange filter, helps remind me that's the one with black and white film. Quite what I'll be using the LX for I haven't yet decided!

The black MX I bought off this forum 3 years ago; the silver one from a local charity shop. Sitting on a shelf somewhere is the ME I bought in 1978... it has a weak standoff spring and a tendency to tear the sprocket holes at the back end of a roll of film. It really deserves a CLA, but Miles said he didn't have a key part, and I like the MXs so much more that I haven't yet bothered!
 
ChrisR said:
Just looked through the downloads from Filmdev. Although there are obviously badly focused images (more than usual) there are plenty of in-focus images as well that look just as crisp as I would expect. Yes I agree, I'll leave the MX screens in place; I really like the matte one, which is in the black MX, used for colour film. Keeping the split image screen in the black and silver MX, plus a yellow or orange filter, helps remind me that's the one with black and white film. Quite what I'll be using the LX for I haven't yet decided!

The black MX I bought off this forum 3 years ago; the silver one from a local charity shop. Sitting on a shelf somewhere is the ME I bought in 1978... it has a weak standoff spring and a tendency to tear the sprocket holes at the back end of a roll of film. It really deserves a CLA, but Miles said he didn't have a key part, and I like the MXs so much more that I haven't yet bothered!
Click to expand...

I have 'almost' decided to part with an MX and an ME Super to use the cash to add to my 645N kit.

Probably do the MX with a 50mm f/1.4 M - they seem to be holding their price. Tempted to chance the package with the 85mm f/2 M which is a rare beast. The 645 wide glass is pricy.

S
 
Hugh Jarse said:
I have 'almost' decided to part with an MX and an ME Super to use the cash to add to my 645N kit.

Probably do the MX with a 50mm f/1.4 M - they seem to be holding their price. Tempted to chance the package with the 85mm f/2 M which is a rare beast. The 645 wide glass is pricy.

S
Click to expand...

IMHO you should definitely sell the 85 separately; in good nick you should get near £200 for that alone. What am I saying? No mate, it's only worth just over £100, I'll send some notes over right away...

It's funny about the 50s... for decades I shot nothing else (didn't have anything else other than the mahoosive Tamron 85-210). Now I have the 1.7 and 1.4, but when I put one of them on the camera and go for a walk, I don't "see" anything worth taking!
 
ChrisR said:
IMHO you should definitely sell the 85 separately; in good nick you should get near £200 for that alone. What am I saying? No mate, it's only worth just over £100, I'll send some notes over right away...

It's funny about the 50s... for decades I shot nothing else (didn't have anything else other than the mahoosive Tamron 85-210). Now I have the 1.7 and 1.4, but when I put one of them on the camera and go for a walk, I don't "see" anything worth taking!
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Most of my kit goes back to my buying new in the early 1980s!

The 50s are nice and the f/1.4 is a gem. That said the f/2 is surprisingly good.

Another sweet M lens is the Pemtax 35mm f/2 M. Another rarity that runs at £120-200 when they appear. I got one at a general store in Boston Mass in 1988 for,.... $42!

I rarely use the 85 as I have the 100, 120, 135 and 150... all M.

The 645N is my next project. 30+ years with the MX etc... the lust is dying out.
 
Yes I have the M35/2 and the M85/2. Love the former, love the latter for its IQ but again having the M100/4 semi-macro, and not taking portraits, I don't use it much. The 645 is supposed to be very good, but I don't like heavy cameras!
 
ChrisR said:
Yes I have the M35/2 and the M85/2. Love the former, love the latter for its IQ but again having the M100/4 semi-macro, and not taking portraits, I don't use it much. The 645 is supposed to be very good, but I don't like heavy cameras!
Click to expand...

The m100 is probably my least used lens but it does co,
Me alive on my EOS750D. Just about to return to my coastal project in Ireland in mid may and, hopefully, increase the amount of film photography I do compared to last year's sojourn. I only y
Took the 2 MX bodies last year and iirc, they were used with the M24/M35/M40/M120. The LX and 645N will be coming as well! Weight is not really an issue as everything goes in my motor home neatly.

On the darker side I have EOS3,5 and50E film bodies which will work with my EF lenses, but where to draw the line?

Steve
 
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