Pentax ME Super

Pentax ME Super

Image by Pablo Coronel (Image rights) Maker: Pentax Dates: 1980-1986 Variants: chrome, black, SE Camera Type: 35mm SLR Focusing: manual Lens mount: Pentax K with fully automatic diaphragm linkage Shutter: SEIKO MFC-E2 electronic focal plane, vertical, metal from 4s to 1/2000 Exposure meter: TTL, open aperture, center weighted by GPD cells. EV 1-19 Exposure modes: aperture priority, manual, 125 mechanical, Bulb ASA/ISO range: 12 to 1600 ISO Finder screen: fixed split-screen Flash shoe: fixed hot shoe, contact for dedicated flash Flash speed: 1/125 TTL Flash: no Motor drive: external Winder ME (1.5i/s) or Winder ME II (2i/s) Battery: 2 × 1.5V (SR44, LR44 or equivalent) Weight: 445g w/o lens Number produced: unknown

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 ME databack, or the later Digital Data M databack via a cord adapter.

Interchangeable lenses for the ME Super use the K bayonet mount. SMC Pentax-M lenses are a more compact K-mount series introduced alongside the ME and MX cameras.

The Pentax ME Super exists in chrome or black finish. There is a special edition called ME Super SE, only sold in chrome finish; the differences are the SE marking and the diagonal instead of horizontal split-image device in the focusing screen.

A derivative with a primitive autofocus mechanism, called the Pentax ME-F, was released in 1981. Production of the ME Super stopped in 1986.

images by Dirk HR Spennemann (Image rights)

Links

ME Super SE image by wolf4max (Image rights)

• Pentax ME Super user manual at Butkus.org
• User's manual at Pentax Imaging
• The Pentax M series at the KRG site (in French)
• Pentax ME Super Ramblingsby Henry Taber at kyphoto.com via Internet Archive: The Wayback Machine
• Pentax ME Super at Bojidar Dimitrov's Pentax K-mount site
• The ME Super at Aya's Cameras
• Pentax-Manuals.com Manual for the Pentax Manual Focus cameras