1X
4X
1X
1/2 X
BACKLIT SUBJECTS: When shooting a subject against a bright background such as a window, bright sky, sand or snow, the camera meter will tend
to underexpose the subject. To compensate, press the dial lock release and change the dial towards the 2X or 4X position depending on the degree of
additional exposure desired.
FRONTLIT SUBJECTS: When your subject is spotlighted against a dark background such as on a stage, the meter will tend to overexpose subject
details creating a washed-out appearance. To compensate, press the dial lock release and change the dial towards the 1/2X or 1/4X position depending on
what degree of underexposue is necessary or desirable.
EXPOSURE COMPENSATION RANGE
While the range of the exposure compensation dial is sufficient to allow exposure compensation at all film speeds featured in the camera's film speed
range, with extremely fast and extremely slow films, compensation is not available for the plus and minus settings indicated by the black dots below.
FILM SPEED
EXPOSURE COMPENSATION
ASA 6
•
•
1X
1/2X
1/4X
ASA 12
•
2X
1X
1/2X
1/4X
ASA 25 ~ 800
4X
2X
1X
1/2X
1/4X
ASA 1600
4X
2X
1X
1/2X
•
ASA 3200
4X
2X
1X
•
•
MANUAL EXPOSURE CONTROL
In the manual exposure mode your Pentax LX provides rapid response through-the-lens metering
combined with an extensive manual shutter speed range from 1/2000th second to 4 full seconds.
To set the LX for manual exposure control, press the shutter dial lock release and move the dial
from the "Automatic" position. The shutter speed selected by the dial will be displayed in the
camera viewfinder by a blue flag at the right-hand side of the scale.
Metering With Pre-set Aperture
In situations where depth of field is critical, it's a good idea to pre-set the aperture when metering.
Once you've turned the lens aperture ring until the desired f/stop appears in the viewfinder aperture
window, activate the meter and viewfinder display by pressing the shutter release lightly. To set
the correct shutter speed for a proper exposure, rotate the shutter dial until the blue flag algins with
the speed recommended by the meter via the glowing LED. A red LED at the top or bottom of the
scale indicates that the f/stop-speed combination is out of the camera's metering range and should
be changed accordingly.
Metering With Pre-set Shutter Speed
When fast action ca'ls for pre-setting the shutter speed, rotate the shutter dial until the blue flag in
the viewfinder aligns with the shutter speed index desired. Activate the viewfinder display by
lightly pressing the shutter release and rotate the aperture ring until the LED along the shutter speed
scale aligns with the pre-selected speed. A red LED at the top or bottom of the scal¢ indicates that
the speed-P/stop combination is out of the camera's metering range and should be changed
accordingly.
METER COUPLING RANGE
The IDM (Integrated Direct Metering) system of your Pentax LX assures superbly accurate exposure readings over a broad range of shutter speed/film
speed combinations. The working EV range of the IDM metering system for both manual and automatic exposures is reflected in the reference chart above.
With ASA 100 film at f/1.4, for example, the manual coupling range extends from EV 1 (1 sec. at f/1.4, 2 sec. at f/2) through EV 19 (1/2000th sec. atf/16,
1/1000th sec. atf/22). In the automatic mode with ASA 100 film and an f/1.2 lens, it extends all the way from EV -6.5 through EV 20 (125 sec. at f/1.2 -
1/2000th sec. at f/22 under normal temperatures and humidity).
