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Great design well executed.
Verified purchase: Yes | Condition: Pre-owned
I immediately ran a roll of 36 exp. black and white film through the camera and it came out fine. My son is taking a photography class and needed a film SLR. He ran a roll of 24 exp black and white and it was fine. Then when he loaded a third roll of film into it and took a shot the mirror stuck open. It needs a full repair (says the camera shop). Not an easy fix, and it's past the 14 day return period. So I am very unhappy! I used an older Pentax ME for years and years and loved it. I wanted to upgrade to the ME Super so that he could use it on Manual and get shutter or aperture preferred ability. I'm really really disappointed that the camera worked for so little time. It's an electronic shutter so the camera shop person thought that it might be the batteries. One of the batteries tested fine, the other one was dead. Why would someone put in a mismatched set of batteries? We put in a fresh set of batteries and that didn't get fix the problem. And with new batteries in the camera won't turn off when it is set in the "lock" position. It needs a full repair! I'm not at all happy.Read full review
Verified purchase: Yes | Condition: Pre-owned
Great little camera. Has bright focus screen, full size viewfinder, uses standard K mount. Camera can be used with all Pentax/Ricoh K mount lenses in Aperture priority or manual mode. Exposure meter is centerweighted, gives great results when used properly. The shutter is metal blade, reasonably quiet for this type of camera. Accepts Pentax ME winder. Only thing missing is depth of field preview. Other cameras like it- Pentax ME, Ricoh XR-7 and Sears KS 1 and 2 (the Ricoh and Sears have depth of field preview as well). Overall good build quality, metal frame with plastic top and bottom covers. Doesn't weigh you down like so many of todays Digital monsters.
I purchased this camera, because I have many of Pentax's full-frame lenses and wanted a small walk-around camera. I would suggest this camera to any aspiring student photographer or professional who wants a break from lugging a lot of gear around. The ME is surprisingly small (comparable to one of the higher end digital point and shoot cameras, such as the LUMIX by Panasonic) and is easily put into a day bag or purse. After purchasing my ME from an Ebay seller, I quickly realized I would have to do some minor repairs myself. Most film bodies purchases online will probably need to have their light seals replaced, as they become gummy and worn throughout the years. This is an easy process - in fact, an ebay member sells kits and instructions for various cameras at amazingly reasonable prices. You can find these kits by typing "interslice" in Ebay's search bar or searching for Ebay member "interslice." A list of pre-cut kits may show up in the search results, but generic kits run about $10 and are available through his store. Pros: -"Auto" setting for shooters who aren't ready to make the jump to manual -"Manual" setting for seasoned shooters -One of the best pentaprisms on the market - clear and bright -Understandable and sensible controls -Light -Hot shoe for flash and male sync port for studio strobes (or small flashes) -Will sync with remote triggers (Pocket Wizards, Cybersyncs, etc) -Works with "auto aperture" Pentax products -Tough, metal body (does not feel cheaply made at all) -Light meter very accurate -Will shoot at 1/125 if batteries are dead Cons: -Battery compartment difficult to access (this specifically for the model I purchased, but could see other models having "stripping" problems) -Flash sync speeds up to 1/125, which is slow per today's standards -Shutter controls can be hard to depress and are relatively small -Shutter indicator is on the inside of the view finder and thus only readable from there (almost impossible to read shutter numbers in very low-light situations) -Camera is small and feels awkward with large lenses attached Overall, I highly recommend this camera to anyone interested in shooting film. Pentax has always been known to produce high quality lenses, which are usable on every Pentax body made. This makes switching to Pentax digital easier in the future and nicer to your wallet. Lenses I would suggest purchasing with this camera include: 50mm f/1.4, 55mm f/1.8 or 50mm f/1.7.Read full review
The Pentax ME Super was a successor to the all-auto (aperture priority) Pentax ME. The "Super" gave the ability to set the shutter speed by hand (overriding the automatic feature). It's a bit quirky, because in place of a conventional shutter speed dial they provided "Up" and a "Down" buttons which move a speed selection indicator in the viewfinder. It works, but the idea never really caught on. What I like about it is the compact size, bright viewfinder, and smooth feel of the shutter release. It's the "look and feel", you might say. And the Pentax lenses are great. Back when they were new I really wanted one, but chose a Nikon FM instead. Overall, I'm not sorry I chose the Nikon system, but I have always regretted not owning an ME. Well, hey, thanks to the passage of time and the digital revolution, they're very inexpensive. I didn't need another film camera, but bought an ME anyway and have really enjoyed using it.Read full review
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