The Pentax Super-A, also sold in some markets as the Pentax Super Program was a 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 ...

in the 1980s. It is ''not'' the same camera as the slightly lower-specified "

Pentax Program A 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 ...

" (which also had an alternative name, the "Pentax Program Plus".) The camera offers fully automatic exposure ("program") mode when coupled with an appropriate Pentax-A series lens. With such a lens the camera also offers shutter-priority mode, and with any compatible lens (''i.e.'' Pentax-M lenses in addition to the Pentax-A series) the camera offers aperture-priority and fully manual modes. The shutter speeds, selected by up/down buttons rather than the conventional wheel, run from 1/2000 of a second to 15 seconds, plus a "bulb" mode. There is flash synchronisation at 1/125 of a second. Unlike the camera's most direct predecessor, the semi-automatic Pentax ME-Super, this model cannot function at 1/125 of a second, or at all, once the batteries have been exhausted. Speed is displayed on an

LCD A liquid-crystal display (LCD) is a flat-panel display or other electronically modulated optical device that uses the light-modulating properties of liquid crystals combined with polarizers. Liquid crystals do not emit light directly but in ...

panel on the top of the camera adjacent to the buttons (which also shows whether the camera is cocked), and both speed and aperture are visible on LCD displays inside the viewfinder. These receive natural light through a translucent plastic window on the pentaprism housing and can be electrically lit at the press of a button. Also in the viewfinder, centred, is a split image focus aid surrounded by a microprism ring. A further improvement over the ME Super was the inclusion of a depth-of-field preview lever. The camera also featured a self-timer, which was electronic rather than the manual lever of its predecessors. The available ISO

film speed Film speed is the measure of a photographic film's sensitivity to light, determined by sensitometry and measured on various numerical scales, the most recent being the ISO system. A closely related ISO system is used to describe the relations ...

choices were extended too, and run from 6 to 3200 ASA. As with the previous M series cameras, there is a window next to the winder arm which indicated film movement, and assists the user in rewinding film into the cassette without losing the tip of the film. Metering is

through the lens In photography, through-the-lens metering (TTL metering) refers to a feature of cameras whereby the intensity of light reflected from the scene is measured through the lens; as opposed to using a separate metering window or external hand-held light ...

. Camera also features direct TTL flash metering. The Super A version was available with a black top-plate (and matching base), the Super Program version was available with a chrome-coloured top-plate (and matching base). The main body, plastic grip, and lenses were always black. The European camera of the year version(1983) had a small round brass plate on the front lefthand side of the body. This all came with a lens cap and strap with the European camera of the year insignia.

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File:Front of Pentax Super A.jpg, Front of Pentax Super A File:Pentax Super A self timer.jpg, Activeted

self timer A self timer is a device on a camera that gives a delay between pressing the shutter release and the shutter's firing. It is most commonly used to let the photographer to take a photo of themselves (often with a group of other people), hence t ...

File:Pentax Super A closed back.jpg, Closed back File:Pentax Super A open back.jpg, Open back File:Pentax Super A top part.jpg, Top cover File:Pentax Super A aperture priority viewfinder.jpg,

Viewfinder In photography, a viewfinder is what the photographer looks through to compose, and, in many cases, to focus the picture. Most viewfinders are separate, and suffer parallax, while the single-lens reflex camera lets the viewfinder use the main ...

aperture priority Aperture priority, often abbreviated ''A'' or ''Av'' (for aperture value) on a camera mode dial, is a mode on some cameras that allows the user to set a specific aperture value (f-number) while the camera selects a shutter speed to match it that w ...

mode File:Pentax Super A auto viewfinder.jpg,

in full auto mode

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See also