petre_petrov1 Posted December 3, 2005 Share Posted December 3, 2005 Today I got a winder for my LX, and while I was playing with it, the mirror on the camera locked in the upward position. I think it was a temporary interruption of power from the winder, but I am not sure. In any case, the mirror is now locked and I cannot bring it down. The lever is also locked, so pressing the shutter achieves nothing. Perhaps, this is something very simple, and I already feel like an idiot. Is anyone out there less clueless than me? Your advice will be highly appreciated. PP Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jochen_S Posted December 4, 2005 Share Posted December 4, 2005 Put your shutterspeed dial away from "auto", dismount the winder, try something including MLU lever. If I remember right mirror up for a long time always indicated some electronic breakdown inside the camera, although the meter and sometimes maybe even the electronical generated shutterspeeds remained useable. Good luck Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
petre_petrov1 Posted December 4, 2005 Author Share Posted December 4, 2005 Mounted and dismounted the winder several times. Rotated the speed dial and played with the MLU lever. Also took out the batteries and put them back in again. No improvement. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zenit_zepplin Posted December 4, 2005 Share Posted December 4, 2005 though not in the same category, but when this happens on ME sup it's an indication that the 2nd shutter curtain is notfully closed. Now, don't all shout at once, I know it's not the same shutter construction, but might be worth a try... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greg M Posted December 4, 2005 Share Posted December 4, 2005 This is a known problem with age on the LX. See here: http://home.swiftdsl.com.au/~distudio/pentax_lx_problems/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
petre_petrov1 Posted December 4, 2005 Author Share Posted December 4, 2005 I am pretty certain that I don't have the classical "sticky-mirror" problem. It's not that the mirror is delayed in coming down. It simply is stuck in the up position. My guess is that it has to do with the camera's function of locking the mirror when the batteries are low and the shutter speed is 1/60 or below. Today I went and got new batteries, but the problem remains. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stemked Posted December 5, 2005 Share Posted December 5, 2005 This may seem pretty obvious, but do you have new batteries in the camera? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
asimrazakhan Posted December 5, 2005 Share Posted December 5, 2005 i've got my fully functioning LX right here with no batteries in it. if i fire the shutter at X (1/75) and faster (ie. 1/2000), the mirror works fine because these are mechanical settings that dont use battery power. if i use 1/60 and slower (ie. 1 sec), then the mirror goes up but doesn't come down. turning the shutter speed to a mechanical speed brings the mirror back down. the fact that your mirror stays up in all the shutter settings (mechanical and electrical) means that there must be a more serious problem... and it really shouldnt matter if you have good batteries in there or not since this camera should function without batteries. i actually think it might be a problem with the ISO/compensation dial on the left. try this: while keeping the ISO dial buttom pressed, change the ISO settings to all the various ISO speeds. also, turn the compensation dial to all the various settings. there could be an electrical contact problem in the left knob. swinging the settings around may cure it. otherwise you may have to take it to pentax. good luck Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
asimrazakhan Posted December 5, 2005 Share Posted December 5, 2005 also, can you activate the self timer? if you turn the self timer lever and then press the shutter button, does that activate the timer? if not, does it activate the timer if you use a cable release? also, what happens when you activate the mirror lock up? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
petre_petrov1 Posted December 5, 2005 Author Share Posted December 5, 2005 Asim, thanks enormously for your effort to help. After your intervention, I am increasingly convinced that it is an electrical problem. Let me review the situation and answer yours and Douglas' questions: 1. When the problem occured, the old batteries may have been low. 2. I replaced them, but this did not eliminate the problem. 3. When I turn off the camera, the LED stays on in the lowest position "Lt.B". This seems to confirm that the problem is electrical. The light indicator is supposed to go off when the camera is turned off, right? 4. After one night of being on, the red light is now flickering (batteries drained?) 5. I tried every imaginable speed on the shutter dial: no change. 6. I tried doing what you, Asim, suggested: rotating the ISO and compensation dials. No change. 7. The self-timer can be activated. The release button activates it, but when the timer runs out the mirror does not come down. 8. The mirror lock-up can be activated, but nothing happens. When I disengage it, the mirror continues to stay up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
asimrazakhan Posted December 5, 2005 Share Posted December 5, 2005 i'm almost convinced too that this is an electrical problem. my LX had a problem once. i took a photo once which needed +1 compensation. i turned the left dial and took the shot. the shutter remained open and didnt come down. so i tried it again and the same thing happened. then i tried it at +1.3 and it worked. so i asked someone what happened and they suggested turning the compensation dial repeatedly so that any dirt/gunk/rust between the contacts and the +1 setting would clear away. i did that and ever since its been working fine. but the difference between your problem and mine is that i got my mirror down just by changing the compensation dial. you have a mirror that refuses to come down. the common thing between our camera problems is that they seem to both be electrical problems. the problem i had was on the surface so i could fix it very easily. yours seems to be more imbedded inside the system. so i think you'll have to send it out to pentax to have it checked out. i hope it really works out for you. and i hope its not too expensive. the LX is the best camera i've ever come across. well maybe a few hasselblads are just as nice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
petre_petrov1 Posted December 6, 2005 Author Share Posted December 6, 2005 Yesterday I finally decided to give the camera to a professional repair service. They called me 5 mins ago and told me that the problem is with the mainspring of the mirror (not with the electronics). According to them, the entire mirror box has to be rebuilt. $205 plus tax is what it will cost me. Now I have a financial decision to make. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jochen_S Posted December 7, 2005 Share Posted December 7, 2005 Petre, I might be splitting hairs, but you shouldn't hesitate to borrow the money to get the LX fixed, because there'll be enough fans of it willing to spend more on it. I'm somebody fed up with the electronics of his own one shooting anything else at the momnent, just to proof that my opinion has some critical base. It's a great camera whenever it happens to work. Especially with the winder. I wish I had kept mine and hadn't traded it in for the Motordrive with the trouble provided by the countless miniature NC-cells. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
petre_petrov1 Posted December 8, 2005 Author Share Posted December 8, 2005 Jochen, I appreciate your support for my impending bancruptcy :-). Yes, I have the winder, but even if I fix the camera I will be afraid to use it, since it was the winder that (apparently) started the whole electrical problem. The only thing that convinces me to spend another $250 on the LX is that Pentax will probably never produce a better SLR body. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
48548 Posted December 14, 2005 Share Posted December 14, 2005 Well that is funny because I was messing around with a spare motor drive and had the same thing happen and this is the second time I have used the camera after pay pentax about 400 to fix the original motor drive and sticky mirror+rebuild the battery pack, but since it is over the 6 months I am screwed, I think they messed it up and didn't rebuilt it right, I will try to get a shop to look at it or complain to pentax. Let me know what you came up with, thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
petre_petrov1 Posted December 16, 2005 Author Share Posted December 16, 2005 Well, I gave the camera not to Pentax, but to a local repair service. Now I am waiting for the results. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
48548 Posted December 16, 2005 Share Posted December 16, 2005 Mine camera is back on it's way to pentax, they are going to try to push the issue(I took in to a local shop originally and they sent it out, they don't repair these, but I felt better because the factory said they would warranty the camera completely for 6 months) now 3 rolls and a year later it is broken. I spend a lot of money at the store/shop so maybe they will fix it for free, but doubtful, I will let know what I find when I get it back or a call as to what the problem is. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fouad_guessous Posted February 14, 2006 Share Posted February 14, 2006 Hi Petre, Today I had exactly the same problem you describe playing with my LX and winder and I am very upset. the red light is always on at LT.b led and the other signs are identical. Usually, I don't use the winder and will never use it again. Please how the problem was fixed for your camera and how much was the cost? I am awainting your prompt answer as I feel very bad. Thank you in advance for your help. Fouad Guessous Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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