Film cameras I own and use - Part 1 - The Pentax MX
Welcome all, and if you frequently visit this site, you more than likely know that for the last five years I have been capturing the majority of my images on black and white film. I simply enjoy the experience of using a film camera and shooting film. Now I don't claim to have a huge collection of film cameras, but I do own quite a few. The cameras that I own capture images either on 35mm or 120 medium format film. So going forward I plan to create a blog on each film camera I use, starting with this blog.
I am fortunate that all the film cameras I own are in proper working order, therefore I'm able to use any one I choose at any given time. Some I use more than others, but still, I do use them all.
The first camera I would like to discuss happens to be my second most widely used film camera, the Pentax MX, a very close second to my Pentax K1000 SE. It is usually one of these two camera that go with me on a majority of my photo outings. I will only touch slightly on the K1000 in this one since the adventures of that camera will be for another blog. It just so happens that I have been using the MX a bit more these days so I figured I would start with this camera first.
 
|
| A compact all mechanical gem the Pentax MX with a M series 50mm f/1.7 lens |
I began using Pentax cameras with a Spotmatic model in the early 1970's but by 1975 I began a ten year run using various Nikon cameras followed by a return to Pentax in the mid 80's, starting with one of their medium format cameras, the Pentax 6x7. To accompany the 6x7, I also started using various Pentax 35mm cameras such as the Super Program and a couple of K1000's. In the late 90's I continued on with their auto focus cameras using the a couple of ZX5n's. Then around 2002 it was on to their various digital slr models with the K5IIs being my long running favorite.
It's now 2020 and I have acquired a sizeable collection of K mount lenses including ones that would work on both film and digital, though by then I no longer owned a single film camera. That being said, the collection of lenses I owned made it an easy choice to stay with Pentax as I started searching for a used film camera. This time around though, I was looking strictly for an all metal, all mechanical, manual focus, manual exposure camera. Just the basics, I wanted to be in control of the shooting experience not the camera. I also needed a camera to have a split image focusing screen. So that led me to the K1000 SE and the MX. Two years after releasing the standard K1000 in 1976, Pentax would also release an SE version that added a split image screen which was already a standard feature on the MX.
|
| Size caparison of the K series camera bodies compared to that of the MX . |
The MX also released in 1976 made it one of, if not the smallest 35mm slr cameras at that time. This was Asahi Optical's answer to the OM-1 released by Olympus a few years earlier. You can see by the photo above that the MX is considerably smaller than the K1000 SE making it a an easy camera to carry around. Don't let its size fool you though. The MX is a durable work horse and along with the wide selection of excellent Pentax glass this camera is more than capable of creating wonderful images.
Designed to be a premium model when compared to the K1000, the MX did still share some of basics. They are both, all metal, all mechanical, completely manual cameras with a hot shoe and a built-in thru the lens light meter. However the MX went the next step further with a number of upgraded features over the K1000, such as a self timer/depth of field preview lever, center weighted meter with led indicators vs an average weighted with a match needle. The MX also had an improved easer to load take up spool, it also accepted a motor winder and the aperture was visible in the newly upgraded viewfinder that is significantly larger and brighter. All these features were now loaded into a newly compact design camera body that would be part of the M series line of cameras and lenses that would run from 1976 to 1988.
|
| The updated take up spool made film loading easier than previous K and Spotmatic cameras. |
So being the owner of many Pentax K mount lenses it made perfect sense to stay with one of the older classic Pentax 35mm film cameras. Had I owned Nikon or Olympus lenses it would probably be a different conversation but since Asahi Optical made some very fine lenses it made perfect sense to stay with Pentax.
The fun and interesting thing about film photography is not only finding a camera that handles and feels comfortable which is always a matter of personal taste. But equally as personal, is pairing specific film types and lenses to match your camera and photographic style. So here it is 5 years since I acquired my Pentax MX, and it is still one of my favorite cameras with which I have used to shoot many types of black and white film. So if you have read down this far check out some of the photos that I have captured with the Pentax MX and once again thanks for checking out my blog :-)
|
| MX w/smc m 28mm f/2.8 - Fomapan 200 - Stillwater - NJ |
|
| MX w/smc m 28mm f/2.8 - Fomapan 200 - Milford - Pa. |
|
| MX w/smc fa 35mm f/2 - Kodak Tri-X - Hudson Valley - NY |
|
| MX w/smc fa 35mm f/2 - Kodak Tri-X - Asbury Park - NJ |
|
| MX w/smc m 28mm f/2.8 - Ferrania P33 - Rhinebeck - NY |
|
| MX w/smc m 28mm f/2.8 - Ferrania P33 - Rhinebeck - NY |
|
| MX w/smc fa 35mm f/2 - Ferrania Orto 50 - Smithville - NJ |
|
| MX w/smc m 50mm f/1.7 - Ferrania Orto 50 - Seaside Heights - NJ |
|
| MX w/smc fa 35mm f/2 - Ilford HP5 - Liberty State Park Ferry - NJ |
|
| MX w/smc fa 35mm f/2 - Ilford HP5 - Ellis Island - NJ |
|
| MX w/smc m 50mm f/1.7 - Rollei RPX400 - Wildwood - NJ |
|
| MX w/smc m 50mm f/1.7 - Rollei RPX400 - Wildwood - NJ |
If you would like to view more photos that I captured with the MX using up to seven different types of black and white films, click on the gallery link below and once again thanks for checking out my blog :-)
