Warning: long message.
Frantisek Vlcek <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
> Hi,
> so, is getting an LX body really worth it? I have an K2DMD
body
> and a SFXn body which I will sell to fund the LX, BUT - is the
LX
> really worth it? What about the horrid stories of sticky
mirror and
> other nightmares? What if I am unlucky and get an LX which
will
> need repair all the time?
Hi Frantisek,
I'm sure you'll receive a big amount of replies to your
questions...
My LX story:
When I bought my first LX I had to collect every single coin I
had, serching in the pockets to find the forgotten ones to fund
the "purchase of my life". Never heard at that time of a sticky
mirror sindrome, never even thought of manythings, like "do I
really need it?" and something. The LX was there. I had to buy
it. It costed me all the money I, poor student, had at the time.
When I developed the first roll I almost cried out "what the
h**l?" because the frame spacing was uneven not using the
winder, the exposure was "a bit" too generous, and I had had to
wait a lot to obtain a new strap and the standard prism ("she"
wore the FB1-FC1 finder).
Nevertheless, I began to feel more used to the (few, be careful)
flaws of the camera and started to use it more and more.
My first paid job in photography was shot with this LX, I can
say it paid for itself the first time I used it in a working
situation.
About its reliability, well...
After the first moment of disappointment, the camera (which had
been used a lot, but less than others I own) began to work
almost flawlessly, with probably the highest % of properly
exposed slides among all the cameras I had used before
(including the Contax RX and the N**** F90x).
When I last used it without any problem was during a two weeks
vacation in the Eolian Islands. I had just bought the Z-1p, but
decided to bring to Stromboli the LX instead. On the 14th and
last day on the island the camera fell on a concrete floor from
my open backpack that I was putting on my shoulders to go to the
ferry...
A bad fall.
Finder cover dented (as you know) but camera still working in
manual - even the meter keep working, although all the automatic
functions were gone.
Many days of anguish.
I couldn't afford to have it repaired by the official
assistance.
I went to a repairman in Naples and asked him if he could repair
it. The LX came back after almost five months. The repair was
almost inexpensive, and it started a new life.
Only I could not trust it completely (I was wrong, now I know,
but then...) because the repairman was a bit too superficial
with a lot of things; so I started to look for another LX.
Meanwhile, I used this first body mostly for available light,
handheld B&W shots and the results were always amazing.
Two years later the second LX was added to my equipment. I
bought it in "ugly" conditions, with a mirror misaligned
(repaired at no cost), at more or less the same cost of a CLA
for the other one.
When I started to actually "use" this second LX I realized what
marvelous instrument it is and started again a heavy use of the
first one, with no complaints.
Then I bought another one...
and then another one...
and then a data back...
and few screens...
and another winder...
and...
Now I can be sure that every kind of situation I have to face I
have a photographic system that can handle it at best.
And I can also leave a couple of LX at home just in case...
> Also, the K2 has quite noisy and vibrating shutter mechanism,
even
> if mirror is locked up. Is the LX beter in this regard? Does
it
> also lock up the aperture stopdown lever?
The LX is not that noisy (I own a K2 as well) but definitely not
a silent camera. The early models have a metallic sound that can
be annoying, but the recent ones produce a more dumped sound.
When you engage the mirror lock up lever it stops the aperture
down too. The noise drops a lot with the mirror locked up.
> So you LX users, no winks ;-) this time, are you really
satisfied
> with your LX? Did you have to invest much money in the repair?
I'm now completely satisfied with my four (once five...) LX. I
can use different bodies for some jobs, I can chose MF when I
need a huge enlargment, but the LX is my first choice for real
photographic pleasure. At least in 35mm...
But, as some of us use to say, YMMV...
:-)
Gianfranco
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