The Pentax ME Super is a highly successful 35 mm

single-lens reflex A single-lens reflex camera (SLR) is a camera that typically uses a mirror and prism system (hence "reflex" from the mirror's reflection) that permits the photographer to view through the lens and see exactly what will be captured. With twin le ...

camera A camera is an Optics, optical instrument that can capture an image. Most cameras can capture 2D images, with some more advanced models being able to capture 3D images. At a basic level, most cameras consist of sealed boxes (the camera body), ...

produced by

Pentax is a brand name used primarily by the Japanese multinational imaging and electronics company Ricoh for DSLR cameras, lenses, sport optics (including binoculars and rifle scopes), and CCTV optics. The Pentax brand is also used by Hoya Corporation ...

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

between 1979 and 1984.

History

The camera was a development of (and one of two replacements for) the

Pentax ME The Pentax ME was a 1976-introduced, aperture priority automatic camera with an electronic focal plane shutter from 8 s to 1/1000 s, synchronized at 1/100 s. The shutter curtains were metal and had a vertical movement. There was no s ...

. Both feature semi-automatic (aperture priority) operation, and are part of the Pentax M series which included the manual

Pentax MX The Pentax MX was a 35 mm single-lens reflex camera produced by Asahi Optical Co, later Pentax of Japan between 1976 and 1985. It was Pentax's flagship professional SLR until the introduction of the Pentax LX. Internally, the MX is essenti ...

and briefly the semi-automatic, automatic-focus

Pentax ME F The Pentax ME F was an amateur level, interchangeable lens, 35 mm film, single-lens reflex (SLR) camera. It was manufactured by Asahi Optical Co., Ltd. of Japan from November 1981 to 1984. The ME F was a heavily modified version of the Pentax ME ...

. The ME Super added a manual mode to the feature set of the ME. Since the ME Super was a better specified camera than the ME, a lower-specification model was introduced at the same time, as the lower-end replacement for the ME: this was the

Pentax MV is a brand name used primarily by the Japanese multinational imaging and electronics company Ricoh for DSLR cameras, lenses, sport optics (including binoculars and rifle scopes), and CCTV optics. The Pentax brand is also used by Hoya Corporatio ...

, a short-lived model quickly replaced by the

Pentax MV1 is a brand name used primarily by the Japanese multinational imaging and electronics company Ricoh for DSLR cameras, lenses, sport optics (including binoculars and rifle scopes), and CCTV optics. The Pentax brand is also used by Hoya Corporation ...

Operation

The ME Super has an electronic focal plane shutter with metal curtains and a vertical movement. Shutter speeds are selected with up and down buttons rather than the conventional wheel. They run from 4 seconds to 1/2000 of a second, with flash synchronisation at 1/125 of a second. The hotshoe features an additional shoe contact for dedicated Pentax flash units, not seen on the preceding ME. In the event of battery failure, the camera can continue to operate at a shutter speed of 1/125 of a second. This feature was lost in later, more fully automatic models such as the

Pentax Super-A The Pentax Super-A, also sold in some markets as the Pentax Super Program was a 35 mm single-lens reflex camera produced by Pentax of Japan in the 1980s. It is ''not'' the same camera as the slightly lower-specified "Pentax Program A" (whi ...

, contributing to the long-lasting popularity of the ME Super. Two

LR44 A button cell, watch battery, or coin battery is a small single-cell battery shaped as a squat cylinder typically in diameter and high — resembling a button. Stainless steel usually forms the bottom body and positive terminal of the cell; insu ...

(or equivalent) batteries power the camera. The camera 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 centre. The exposure meter is a

TTL TTL may refer to: Photography * Through-the-lens metering, a camera feature * Zenit TTL, an SLR film camera named for its TTL metering capability Technology * Time to live, a computer data lifespan-limiting mechanism * Transistor–transistor lo ...

open aperture centre-weighted type. The shutter speed chosen by the camera or the user is displayed in the finder, the aperture is not. LEDs display the shutter speed and inform of over/under exposure, possibility of shake, use of the EV-compensation and use of Manual mode. Pentax ME Super supports a manual ISO range from 12 - 1600 ASA which can be configured using a dial located on the top of the camera. The selector around the release button has five positions: L (lock), Auto, M (manual), 125x, and B. The Pentax ME Super can attach to the external ''winder ME'' (1.5 i/s) or the later ''Winder ME II'' (2i/s) and can also mount a ''Dial Data ME'' databack, or the later ''Digital Data M'' databack via a cord adapter. As with some other M series cameras, there is a window next to the winder arm which indicates film movement, and assists the user in rewinding film into the cassette without losing the tip of the film. The lenses are interchangeable with the K bayonet mount, and a series of SMC Pentax-M compact lenses were introduced during the lifetime of the M series models. The body was available with a chrome or black finish on the upper parts and base (the central body being always black). There was 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.ME Super page
by Bojidar Dimitrov.

References

External links

The Pentax M series at krg site

Bojidar Dimitrov's Pentax K-mount site

Manual for the Pentax Manual Focus cameras {{Pentax K-mount SLR cameras ME Super 135 film cameras Pentax K-mount cameras

History

Operation

See also

References

External links