C41
Kodak Portra 400
Kodak Portra 400 is a professional C-41 color negative film known for flexible exposure latitude, natural skin tones, and fine grain.
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The Pentax LX TTL Quartz is a specialist variant of the LX flagship introduced around 1992, combining the standard LX body's quartz-crystal electronic timing circuit with integrated TTL flash control. Where the base LX relied on conventional RC-circuit timing for electronic shutter speeds, the TTL Quartz replaced or supplemented this with a quartz oscillator, giving more consistent and accurate timed exposures in aperture-priority mode. The variant retains the full LX package: weather-sealed copper-aluminum body, interchangeable finders, hybrid mechanical-electronic shutter (with 1/75s, 1/2000s, and B as battery-independent fallback speeds), and the LX's defining off-the-film OTF metering system.
Reference
Recommended film stocks for the 35mm format your camera takes.
C41
Kodak Portra 400 is a professional C-41 color negative film known for flexible exposure latitude, natural skin tones, and fine grain.
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Kodak Tri-X 400 is a classic black-and-white film known for strong tonality, visible grain, and documentary character.
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Kodak Gold 200 is a daylight-balanced C-41 color negative film with warm color, moderate grain, and a classic consumer-film look.
Develop 35mm film
Labs in our directory that process 35mm film.
Before you buy used
The LX TTL Quartz surfaces rarely. Japan's Yahoo Auctions and Mercari are the most likely markets; occasional examples appear through UK and German specialist dealers.
About this camera
The LX with quartz-precision shutter timing and dedicated TTL flash capability, built for technical and scientific photographers.
| Field | Value |
|---|
| Format | 35mm |
| Mount | Pentax K (KA) |
| Years | ~1992 - discontinued |
| Shutter | ~125s - 1/2000s electronic; 1/75s, 1/2000s, B mechanical fallback |
| Flash sync | 1/75s (TTL flash) |
| Meter | TTL OTF (off-the-film) SPD |
| Modes | Manual, aperture-priority |
| Weight | ~ (body only, similar to standard LX at ~565 g) |
| Battery | 2x SR44 / LR44 (mechanical fallback works without) |
The Pentax LX ran from 1980 to 2001 with remarkably few revisions to its core mechanism. Rather than issuing a successor, Pentax extended the LX's commercial life through a series of special-production and limited variants: the LX Titan (gold-engraved), the LX 2000 (1996 anniversary body), the LX 250 Quartz (extended-exposure specialist), and this TTL Quartz variant. The TTL Quartz occupies a similar niche to the 250 Quartz but adds flash TTL circuitry as a distinguishing feature, making it useful for studio and close-up scientific flash work where precise, metered flash control was required alongside the quartz timing accuracy. The exact production numbers and the precise year of introduction are not firmly documented in publicly available sources.
The LX TTL Quartz is notable for combining two capabilities rarely found together in a manual-focus SLR: a quartz-timed shutter for precision long-exposure work, and off-the-film TTL flash metering. The OTF metering system reads light reflected off the film surface during the exposure itself, which for flash use means the meter can quench the flash when the film has received sufficient exposure rather than relying on pre-flash distance estimation. This was the same technology used in the standard LX, but pairing it with quartz timing meant repeatable, predictable exposure behavior for scientific imaging and technical documentation photography.
On the used market, the TTL Quartz is significantly rarer than a standard LX. Collectors and working photographers interested in precision film work have increasingly sought out LX variants; prices have risen accordingly.
Full Pentax K-mount compatibility. LX variants take any K, KA, or KAF lens in manual-focus mode. Particularly useful combinations for technical photography include:
BW
Ilford HP5 Plus is a flexible ISO 400 black-and-white film with classic grain and strong push-processing tolerance.
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Kodak Ektar 100 is a fine-grain C-41 color negative film with saturated color and high sharpness.
View profile →Pentax LX TTL Quartz
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