Pentax made a MX which was very light, manual exp. mechanical shutter that is very similiar to a nikon FM in operation, right down to the collar lock on the shutter button, with a full system of motors, etc. introduced in 1976. I used one in high school and it worked great until I dropped it. Very light duty like an OM, and I'm not real fond of the lack of robust-ness that I am used to i.e. Nikon F-series. The LX was introduced 1980, and was a very competent competitor to the canon f-1 (later introduced), and the Nikon F-3. Very expensive, IMO, about $600-650 for an LX in good shape.(posted 8277 days ago)We are talking about an 8-year old, however. Is he really going to miss the exposure information in the viewfinder if he were to use a k1000? picture quality is identical, of course, and the K1000 is going to withstand more abuse than the MX or the LX. These are my observations working in a repair facility. The K1000 is a great camera. There are quite a few out there still firing after 20 years. plenty of parts too.