Vintage 1970's Pentax ME Super automatic 35mm film camera. Excellent condition, well taken care of. This is an aperture-priority automatic exposure 35mm SLR camera. Light meter works and includes self-timer.
Tested and in working condition.
Lens: SMC Pentax-M 1:2 // 50mm // F-stop 2-22
ASA: 12-1600
Lens, and handmade strap included!
Batteries not included. Tripod not included.
History:
In 1977, Pentax introduced two compact 35mm SLRs, the MX and the ME. These followed a trend towards smaller size in SLR cameras inspired by 1972's Olympus OM-1.
Of the pair, the ME was the autoexposure model, but it lacked any manual shutter-speed settings. In 1979 Pentax replaced the original ME with the simpler MV and the more advanced ME Super, which had the following changes:
- manual mode added, which lights a green indicator LED in viewfinder
- shutter speed range from 4s to 1/2000, sync at 1/125
- over- and under-exposure LEDs blink
- blinking "EF" indicator LED when exposure compensation dial is moved away from standard 1x position
- additional shoe contact for dedicated Pentax flash units
- -1.0 diopter eyepiece (changed from -0.5)
- The marking "ASAHI" in the pentaprism housing was eliminated sometime between the ME and the ME Super
The "Super" version is also a fraction of a millimeter taller than the original ME, although the difference is imperceptible in use. Both are exceptionally small bodies for a full 24x36mm format SLR.
The Pentax ME Super is an aperture priority automatic camera, with a focal plane shutter electronically timed from 4s to 1/2000, and with flash sync at 1/125. The shutter uses vertically-traveling metal curtains. For manual mode the ME Super uses two buttons, up and down, to select the shutter speed, rather than a more conventional rotary dial. The exposure meter is of the standard TTL open aperture center-weighted type. It is activated by a slight pressure on the release button, which should illuminate one or several LEDs at the left edge of the viewfinder.
The selector around the release button has five positions: L (lock), Auto, M (manual), 125X and B. With dead or missing batteries, A or M settings revert to a minimal, uncalibrated shutter speed. The user who fails to notice the unlit viewfinder LEDs and is fooled by the normal-sounding shutter operation may discover they have shot only blank or greatly-underexposed film. The mechanical B and 125X settings are usable without batteries, however.
The Pentax ME Super has a 0.95x viewfinder, covering 92% of the field. The finder screen is fixed, with a split image and a microprism ring in the center. The shutter speed chosen by the camera or the user is displayed in the finder, although aperture is not.
The ME has a mechanical self-timer with a maximum delay of about 10 seconds. After setting, the self-timer lever must be nudged clockwise again to begin the countdown. The camera has a hot shoe with an additional contact. Dedicated Pentax flash units use this to communicate a flash-ready indicator in the viewfinder and to automatically select the correct 1/125 sec. shutter speed, overriding any manual or auto setting.
The Pentax ME Super can accept either the external winder ME (1.5 i/s) or the later Winder ME II (2i/s). The Pentax ME Super can also mount a Dial Data MEdataback, or the later Digital Data M databack via a cord adapter.