Pentax ME Super 35mm SLR Film Camera

POSITIVES
Bright viewfinder
Accurate exposure
Light and small
Rugged
Cheap
Can plug a flash into the side of it
Modern film like Ektar, Portra and TMAX

REVIEW
A joy to use. Lightweight with an accurate exposure meter and precise manual focus through one of the largest and brightest viewfinders ever on a 35mm body.

A pneumatic damping cylinder was added into the ME Super along with a lighter weight Seiko 2 shutter with continuous exposure control up until the shutter closes in order to control mirror shake. I get sharp photos out of it handheld, and you can always use the tripod mount. Its a non issue and the ME is equally competent and cheaper to have CLA'd.

The ME Super winder is very smooth, smoother than the MX without film in, but with film, the MX has a mechanical advantage (longer throw of the MX winder). The exposure value adjustment is something which the MX doesn't have: you could put an extra stop of exposure on every shot with the ME Super, automatically. The sound as you fire the shutter off is sublime.

The ME Super represents a fractional technical improvement on the ME. I'd be more inclined to believe the meter in the camera, rather than switching to manual mode so its a toss up between the two models, and the ME usually goes for half the price of the ME Super on Ebay, around GBP 10 to GBP 15.

Its worth replacing the rear seals as it keeps dust out of the camera. At the same time, replace the mirror bumper...don't touch the mirror or the viewfinder in the process! You can fix the door seals and mirror foam yourself in about 30 minutes, with a can of lighter fuel as a cleaning agent and a "seal kit" from Ebay. Don't scrimp on batteries, go for EPX76 as they are specifically intended for use in cameras like the ME Super and maintain their voltage rather than drooping as they die. They are more expensive, but in comparison to a roll of film, the difference is negligible.

There are loads of ME's and Super's hanging about in lofts which have not been used for 20 years as the consumer society has been continually encouraged to buy the latest camera. Consequently, there is no need to pay more than about GBP 25 for one without a lens or about GBP 40 with.

There is no need to immediately send these cameras off to be CLA'd. I'd only do that if I had a mint example which I was going to keep in a display cabinet. A slightly scratched and marked version will function as a workhorse, until it dies when it can be flipped back on Ebay for "spares or repairs".

Watch out for sellers who claim they know nothing about cameras and items "sold as seen" as this indicates something may be wrong. There is no need to take the risk, just ask the seller to check that the camera fires each and every time its wound on and that the LED's light in the viewfinder and that the viewfinder is clean. If the seller refuses to do this, just move on. There are usually about 50 ME and ME Supers on Ebay's UK site, at any time.

I love my ME Super which I bought on Ebay. It has its faults ONLY because it needs a service to replace the mirror damper, light seals and correct a slow mirror. This is to be expected after lack of maintainance over the years but they are either consumable components or need minor adjustment, lasting 30 years is quite decent.
I will get it serviced professionally myself and then I know it will last decades more, but it is a solid camera and is quality both in build and appearance. I can do brilliant landscape shots currently, as I still want to use it, and when serviced it will surely give excellent sports shots too.
It was well priced and I will be buying another one no doubt as it is the best functioning camera I have used. Once serviced I hope it can compete with my Chinon which has a fantastic light meter for low light.
I am confident that this is the best SLR I will buy as it offers value for money, excellent picture quality (even as it is), I never worry about the battery life, I feel good wearing it out as my accessory, it never delays when I push the shutter, it is good to work the aperture and focus to get the perfect picture, experimenting with the effects like slow shutter for motion blur, or fast shutter for capturing action in frozen state (propellors on planes). The three colours of the LEDs is great for working with aperture size. manual shutter speed is a perk I can't live without now. It is such an easy camera to use too, not too many programs to mess about with (landscape, portrait, night, blah, blah, blah!)
Digital cameras don't compare. OK, they give instant feedback but they are slow to respond to the shutter, they are undramatic when taking the shot, you have a 105page manual you need to know backwards to figure out the settings like white balance, etc. The battery lasts 5 minutes (literally mine does) so once set up for a shot the battery dies and you start over again.
One thrill besides using the ME Super, is the excitement seeing how good they came out when you get the film developed and you can still convert it to digital by getting a CD made with the photos. You treasure the results much more and know that you set the camera just right to get perfect results not the camera on auto doing everything for you. You learn a lot about the camera which can even help you set up a digital camera to work as a manual SLR. Tried it with my aunties camera but wont give that a mention as it is no match for this camera.
Pentax ME Super forever!!!

I was lucky enough to be given one of these by a relative. It was in semi useable order but it some issues that needed correct as is the case with anything of that age. The camera did not auto adjust the shutter speed when a Pentax flash or compatible flash was fitted, the mirror damper had perished and the power winder cap was missing. I had the camera professionally refurbished by Ilesley photograhic for the sum of £65 and I am pleased to report it works as good as new. Lenses can bought cheaply off ebay but be careful as there some poor quality examples, if you get a genuine Pentax adaptor you can also use older M42 screw lenses cheaper adaptors do not allow focusing at infinity. I love the aperture priority mode and the flexiblity of manual as well. I would recommend this as a good entry level camera for students or people wishing to try a film camera. It is worth paying a little more for a refurbished example and making sure the problems I had have been corrected. Batteries are easily obtained unlike a lot of the older older fully manual SLR cameras. I now use this more then my Nikon F65

When I was in my late teens and early twenties I bought a Pentax ME Super as the next step up in my SLR camera's. I added a Pentax 28mm prime and 80-200 zoom lens to my kit and loved every piece of it. It never let me down and always produced superb pictures in both manual and automatic modes.

I used to take a lot of slides and used them for some presentation work, and even blown up to that degree the images were always clear and accurate.

Some time later I moved on to Contax SLR's and Zeiss lenses, and have for a number of years also collected older rangefinder and SLR camera's and have been keen on my old Olympus OM1's and OM2's and Olympus lenses. With the two next to each other, i would say they rate equally in terms of performance and ease of use. The Olympus probably has the greater range of accesories, but these days nobody is buying this type of camera for professional use. The only thing that counts is how nice they are to work with and have a bit of fun with, and the ME Super is just that - Super.

I recently bought on ebay another Pentax ME Super. Opening the box and putting the camera into the palm of my hand was like finding an old friend again. It just feels GOOD. Everything works smoothly, it sits beautifully in the hand, is light to the touch, and the image is bright in the viewfinder and even the standard 50mm F1.7 SMC Pentax lens is great.

Now days of course with our digital camera's this type of camera will usually spend it life in a cupboard, or in a display cabinet like mine. BUT, if your a student and need a very good small 35mm film camera to learn your art, or like me you just like running the odd roll of film through various 'proper' camera's, you'll find this a great camera to start of with, or just to have a play with.

What's not to like? I've used ME supers for years and reluctantly just gone digital.

However, if you are still content to stay in the realms of actual film then the ME is a great buy. It's light, easy to use, reliable, the batteries for the meter are peanuts and you'll get years of service out of one. My oldest one was bought by me second hand in 1987 and is still going strong. It's been all over the world with me in every environment practically (I've never been to either pole)and performed fantastically.

A friend of mine had one that a tree fell on (yes a tree) and it sheared off the flash mounting and left the innards at the top of the camera exposed - it also carried on working with no other ill effects other than not being able to mount the flash on the camera itself. He still carries it in his kit bag.

I could get all technical about the modes, spec etc - but why bother? The bottom line is that these were and are fantastic cameras and although I'm now digital I'm keeping all my ME Supers just in case.

Pentax got it right.



By the way, why do all these numpties keep writing reviews about the people they have bought stuff from? Here's a tip - if you are unlucky enough or stupid enough to get screwed here on ebay take it up with the seller, you have their address after all.