The Pentax ME Super is a highly successful 35 mm

single-lens reflex In photography, a single-lens reflex camera (SLR) is a type of camera that uses a mirror and prism system to allow photographers to view through the lens and see exactly what will be captured. SLRs became the dominant design for professional a ...

camera A camera is an instrument used to capture and store images and videos, either digitally via an electronic image sensor, or chemically via a light-sensitive material such as photographic film. As a pivotal technology in the fields of photograp ...

produced by

Pentax was a Japanese camera and optical equipment manufacturer. Currently, it exists as the Pentax Life Care Business Division of Hoya's medical endoscope business, as well as the digital camera brand of Ricoh Imaging, a subsidiary of Ricoh. Penta ...

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

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 ...

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

Pentax MX The Pentax MX is a 135 film, 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 Single-lens reflex camera, SLR until the introduction of the Pentax ...

and briefly the semi-automatic, automatic-focus

Pentax ME F The Pentax ME F was an amateur level, interchangeable lens, 135 film, 35 mm film, single-lens reflex camera, single-lens reflex (SLR) camera. It was manufactured by Pentax, Asahi Optical Co., Ltd. of Japan from November 1981 to 1984. The ME F was ...

. 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 second model was introduced at the same time as the lower-end replacement for the ME: the short-lived

Pentax MV was a Japanese camera and optical equipment manufacturer. Currently, it exists as the Pentax Life Care Business Division of Hoya's medical endoscope business, as well as the digital camera brand of Ricoh Imaging, a subsidiary of Ricoh. Penta ...

model, quickly replaced by the Pentax MV1.

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, contributing to the long-lasting popularity of the ME Super. Two LR44 (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 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.

Notable appearances in media

A Pentax ME Super is used by Jonathan Byers in the third season of ''

Stranger Things ''Stranger Things'' is an American television series created by the Duffer brothers, Duffer Brothers for Netflix. Produced by Monkey Massacre Productions and 21 Laps Entertainment, the Stranger Things season 1, first season was released on N ...

.''

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

Notable appearances in media

See also

References

External links