| Author: | | Inactive Account Registered: October, 2015 Posts: 2
2 users found this helpful
| | Review Date: November 1, 2015 | Recommended | Price: $30.00
| Rating: 8 |
| Pros: | Small size, good balanced weight, easy to use | | Cons: | Light seals turn to goop with age (common to nearly all cameras of this age though) | |
I absolutely love this camera.
I ended up purchasing these back in my college days when the local used camera dealer had run out of K-1000s. Definitely a happy accident!
The ME-Super is compact in size but has a decent weight to it meaning that it doesn't feel flimsy.
It is incredibly difficult to achieve anything but good results with the ME Super so makes a great beginner's camera in my opinion.
I recently wrote an article on my site about this camera so if you are interested, please go ahead and take a look  | | | | | | | New Member Registered: May, 2011 Location: Stoke-on-Trent Posts: 6
2 users found this helpful
| | Review Date: October 12, 2013 | Recommended | Price: None indicated
| Rating: 9 |
| Pros: | Small, light and chromium plated gorgeousness! | | Cons: | No AE lock | |
Mine was my Christmas present in 1982, replacing my Zenit EM. It came with an excellent SMC 50mm f1.7 lens and a free book!
The viewfinder is MASSIVE and very bright.
I have recently replaced all of the foam rubber light seals and put some rolls of film through it. It seemed odd, at first, not seeing my images appear on the back of the camera but I soon got used to using film again.
Anyway, after 30 years my ME-Super is still going strong! Unlike my mates Canon T90, which died 15 years ago.
| | | | | Site Supporter Registered: November, 2011 Location: Vancouver, WA Posts: 817
2 users found this helpful
| | Review Date: July 18, 2013 | Recommended | Price: None indicated
| Rating: 9 |
| Pros: | Compact, looks great, old school charm | | Cons: | No grip (common at the time when new) | |
I've owned my ME Super since I bought it new in late 1981 - and love it. It came with the 50mm M 1.7 lens (which I still have). The ME Super is a great camera that teaches you to shoot aperture priority since it's Auto mode works off the aperture ring input/setting.
I've used this camera for so long it's hard to criticize it, but I've never loved the tiny white button that must be pressed to allow turning the selector ring from Auto to off (Lock) and a DoF button would be nice. I find the camera is easy to load and think it's best not to rush winding (advancing) the film - but maybe that's just me. My camera eventually succumbed to the years and the shutter froze up. In 2013 I paid to have the camera overhauled with a new shutter assembly, new light seals, clean/lube and the meter calibrated. If you can find a good copy of this camera that has been overhauled properly it should last for a long time. If you have to have this done you could expect to pay around $140 to get it back to new.
The ME Super is not as common as the K1000 but they're still easy to find. Back in the day I wanted the Winder but never bought one. I'm over it now as I just enjoy the camera the way it was designed. I love the mechanical sound of the shutter, love the design and the look and find the meter easy to use.
UPDATE - June, 2014:
I have since inherited my dad's ME Super and some of his accessories. I had his camera overhauled as it needed seals, cleaning and they checked the meter (and found it was good). My dad bought this camera new and used it a lot over the years. I was surprised how good the internals were. The repair/overhaul cost a little under $60. I was happy to get the auto winder my dad bought new (it's in very nice condition). I don't know what I'll do with two ME Supers, but since they both have emotional attachment, I'll keep them.
If you're like me and have a leg in the film world and the other in the DSLR world I would recommend putting together a film kit. I have a "film bag (backpack)" with my ME Super and ZX-M along with three lenses: 50mm, 28mm and a 135mm. When I want to shoot film I can just grab and go.
| | | | | Pentaxian Registered: January, 2011 Location: Skåne, Sweden Posts: 482
2 users found this helpful
| | Review Date: February 24, 2012 | Recommended | Price: $110.00
| Rating: 10 |
| Pros: | Small size, build quality, ease of use, looks, great viewfinder | | Cons: | Shutter speed adjustment | |
Being born in 1984, this camera is about as old as I am (produced 1980-1986). My first SLR was a DSLR (K-x, now K-5) but I soon wanted to pick up a classic film camera. I did shoot some film in the 90's as a kid (just point and shoot) and now I also owned a couple of old K/M-lenses. I picked up a mint ME Super with a M F1.7 Prime for around $110, both in original packing. With this background I will mostly comment on the ME Super compared to a new DSLR, since that is where my experience is.
Pros
Very small size compared to a modern DSLR, and small to most SLRs as well. Handling is excellent and all buttons and levers seems to be just in the right place. I also have a winder that adds a larger grip, but the overall size of the winder makes it a less attractive package. Build quality is very solid, matching the manual lenses very well (or matching the K-5 / Limited lenses if you are a modern Pentax user). The looks are great, but I didn't need to tell you that!
It is very easy to use, with a large and bright viewfinder, a proper focusing screen makes manual focus easy, and the LEDs in the viewfinder is very useful and easy to understand/read out. Nice that it uses standard silveroxie batteries as well.
Cons
If wanting to set the shutter speed in manual mode (only mode where it is possible) you have to use two small buttons next to the mode dial. I'm almost never using shutter priority on my DSLR, so this is not a big con for me personally.
If you shoot with a ISO1600 film, it is not possible to underexpose. I guess this is a limitation of the light meeter, and it certainly is not a large con, but I did come in that situation during some experimentation.
Overall
Using the camera is generally not a problem if you have some experience with a modern DSLR (other than in auto mode). I have used it on one trip and it makes a good travel-companion still today. A great choice if you are looking for a manual focus SLR!
 | | | | | | | Veteran Member Registered: January, 2009 Location: somewhere around Posts: 615
2 users found this helpful
| | Review Date: January 24, 2012 | Recommended | Price: $40.00
| Rating: 10 |
| Pros: | Small, light weight, Huge VF | | Cons: | None IMHO | |
I have three of them. Just fixed one (replaced the ground glass from an MV). It's a small machine with great possibilities. I love it. The Manual mode is just brilliant. Te LED's are brilliant. The flickering of the LED's when battery is discharged is genius. The mirror is quiet (much more quiet than a K20D). What more can one ask for?
I picked one old M42 Industar 50/3,5 pancake, with K adapter. It's a pocket-able combination I am using as such. I even don't bother to put a lens cap on such a lens.
The Huge VF: Makes me wonder what are the DSLR manufacturers thinking? It helps me a lot with composition instead of coming between me and the picture.
Don't have enough good works for this small workhorse. I have a mint ME that I will have a very hard time to go back to, because of the mirror slap and the lack of the Exposure Compensation Warning indicator.
4 years later edit: Still have that ME-Super, along with another one, and few other cameras. It still gets used the most, accompanied by the 40/2.8 pancake. I used almost exclusively in Domincan Rep. last year for my wedding trip. All pictures are gorgeous!
| | | | | Veteran Member Registered: December, 2009 Location: Illinois Posts: 455
2 users found this helpful
| | Review Date: December 19, 2010 | Recommended | Price: $70.00
| Rating: 9 |
| Pros: | Very compact, auto and manual controls, huge viewfinder
| | Cons: | Ergonomics, shutter speed buttons somewhat difficult to operate
| |
| Pros | Very compact, auto and manual controls, huge viewfinder | | Cons | Ergonomics, shutter speed buttons somewhat difficult to operate | | Rating | 9 | | Price (U.S. Dollars) | $70 | | Years Owned | 1 |
I can recommend this camera: Yes
Value, Features, Performance & Size
Value: 10/10
Features: 8/10
Performance: 9/10
Size: 10/10
Camera Review
The Pentax ME Super is my first and only film SLR since I've started photography with the K-x. From a dslr user's point of view, the ME Super represents a refreshing change from the digital era.
The camera is absolutely tiny compared to even the very small K-x. Compared to my K20D, the ME Super is almost picket sized. As such, at times I can throw the camera, a fast 50, and an extra roll of film with me in a bag and be set. The camera feels like solid weight in the hand, and feels like it can take its fair share of abuse and just keep on working. Superb build quality, compared to the plastics used in a lot of products seen today.
For such a small package, most dslr users will be pleasantly surprised to find that the ME Super is packing an absolutely enormous viewfinder. If all you've ever used is an aps-c sized viewfinder, you will be amazed. The viewfinder contains a horizontal split prism, as well as a microprism focusing ring. These two focusing aids make manual focusing a breeze, and very precise.
Feature wise, the ME Super contains almost all the features that I could want on an slr. The camera is designed to function in Auto mode, which is essentially Aperture Priority mode from modern dslrs. Simply set your film speed and then aperture, and the camera does the rest, as far as exposure is concerned. It's still up to you to make meaningful compositions.  The ME Super, in contrast to the ME, also has a manual mode. Two black buttons to the left of the shutter release allow the user to switch the shutter speed from 4s to 1/2000s. The fact that a manual mode exists is very nice, but the buttons are rather cumbersome to reach and it is somewhat difficult to accurately meter a scene manually, as there is no traditional exposure meter with a needle, but green lights that light up next to correct shutter speeds. Personally, I've always left the camera on Auto and let it do its job.
Some features that are missing that I wish it had are mirror lock up and depth of field preview.
These cameras are plentiful and cheap on the used market, but many have problems with shutter speed accuracy and foam seals. My ME Super was in pretty much Mint condition, but the shutter speeds were inaccurate and the foam seals were done for. A CLA cost about $65, but afterward the camera should last more than a decade before needing more maintenance. Overall, if you're thinking about trying out film, the ME Super is a cost effective and beautiful little camera, just be careful that the bargain you think you're getting is really a bargain.
 | | | | | Junior Member Registered: March, 2014 Posts: 27
1 user found this helpful
| | Review Date: May 13, 2023 | Not Recommended | Price: $25.00
| Rating: 3 |
| Pros: | Great viewfinder, good light metering | | Cons: | lightweight and cheap construction | |
It's super compact, lightweight, has a huge viewfinder magnification, reliable lightmeter and was a great budget camera when it was sold new.
Nowadays the ME and ME super -in my experience- are models to avoid. The better they look, the bigger the chance that transport/ mirror/ shutter combination is not working anymore. The time and effort it will take to repair or cla are not worth it, better go for a SP or even older Pentax 35mm body, or stick to the K1000/ KM/ KX/ K2 generation of camera's if you like the PK mount, they are almost indestructible.
| | | | | Site Supporter Registered: February, 2017 Posts: 2,032
1 user found this helpful
| | Review Date: April 2, 2017 | Recommended | Price: None indicated
| Rating: 9 |
| Pros: | size, weight, manual controls, feel | | Cons: | no ae lock, no DoF preview, manual controls | |
I have borrowed or owned a few MES cameras over the years. Some have been sold due to pressing economic need or to finance another camera purchase. One was unfortunately dropped and stopped working, and my latest developed a wind on problem. For a long time the MES was my joint favourite film camera (the other a Mjnolta XE1). I still love them though I now am starting to prefer the MX. Tastes change.
Anyway these cameras are the dogs b*******ks! The size, light weight and feel, smooth wind, on huge bright viewfinder, excellent metering display and sturdiness of the body are the major points in its favour.
The manual metering control system is both a plus and a minus. Using the buttons to control shutter speed when the camera is at eye level is dead easy, but when you pick the camera up you have n't a clue what speed its set at! The control ring is also a little fiddly changing from lock (at least it has one) to AE to manual etc. An aperture window in the viewfinder would be nice as would AE lock and DofF preview. The Super A addresses many of these quibbles but not the AE lock nor fiddley control ring and despite sharing the same basic chassis manages not to feel quite so good in hand.
The major plus of the camera is of course it small size. with a small m series prime attached you can carry it around your neck all day with no. ache. You can carry it over one shoulder under a coat or jacket and no one will know you are carrying it and keep it safe from any bad weather.
Yes they can become a little unreliable in their old age, after all they are now over 30 years old, but most faults can be fixed, which is certainly worth having done and you can have many more years of service from them. My wind on fault complete with a service cost £80. The camera is now like new.
So in summary then a super little SLR which is highly recommended!
| | | | | Pentaxian Registered: April, 2009 Location: Madrid, Spain Posts: 10,897
1 user found this helpful
| | Review Date: March 14, 2015 | Recommended | Price: $40.00
| Rating: 9 |
| Pros: | Small, light, easy to use, great viewfinder, 1/2000s shutter speed | | Cons: | no DoF preview | |
This review assumes that the ME Super is in good working condition - the vast majority of those still around today are not. Since I originally wrote this the light meter in mine has become completely unreliable, a typical problem with the electronics of these cameras.
The only thing really missing from the ME Super is a DoF preview button. Apart from that, it's my favourite of the smaller Pentaxes. I like the bigger, more solid K series but their viewfinders are considerably smaller and darker. The ME Super is much smaller and lighter, and with the fantastic viewfinder and good range of shutter speeds, it's the best all-rounder of my film cameras.
The shutter sound is wonderful.
I see a lot of threads in photo forums about ME Supers not working properly and of the three I have, only one works. One of the non-working ones was bought on ebay very cheap and was no great loss, the other I knew was broken but I wanted the lenses it came with. My point is this - don't ever spend more than $5 on an ME Super unless you've tested it to make sure it works. Most of the ones out there are broken in one way or another.
| | | | | Veteran Member Registered: January, 2012 Location: Milan Posts: 339
1 user found this helpful
| | Review Date: September 15, 2013 | Recommended | Price: $60.00
| Rating: 9 |
| Pros: | light, intuitive, solid | | Cons: | none | |
One of the best film camera I've tried.
Instead of writing about how good this camera is, I would like to explain why I love this camera.
I start saying that I bought 3 of these: the first was given to my girlfriend, the second was sold to make money and the third was bought since I need a film camera that should be intuitive, compact and reliable.
I've bought this for about 60$ and that is the black model (I think that there is nothing diffetent comparing this with the classic silver version).
What impressed me was first of all the long battery life of the camera: on previous cameras (minolta and canon), it died very quickly. Now are months that I don't change battery and this is, for me, an important thing.
Second: how you feel it in your hands. I have big hands, however I can act and set shutterspeed very fastly.
I haven't found any negative aspect so far.
| | | | | Site Supporter Registered: June, 2013 Location: Port Angeles, WA Posts: 505
1 user found this helpful
| | Review Date: June 4, 2013 | Recommended | Price: $40.00
| Rating: 9 |
| Pros: | Super light and compact, easy to use, shutter priority with EV compensation is super fast. | | Cons: | No DOF preview with K mount glass, Metering in full stops | |
Love this camera!
I had been using Nikon for a long time, and always loved my trusty Nikkormat FT3. After borrowing a Pentax ME Super with a few M42 and K lenses, I realized this puppy with a Super Takumar 135mm f/3.5 on it weighed less than my Nikon body alone. The weight balanced out when I put a 200mm on the Pentax, and a 50mm f/2 on the Nikon. This thing will feel weightless around your neck if you're used to cameras and lenses like that.
Size is a personal thing, so it shouldn't effect reviews too much. This is tiny, but fits perfectly in my small-ish hands. Personally, with small fingertips, the buttons for shutter speed are easier than a knob. The lock mode is fantastic, not sure why it's not on every camera. The shutter priority auto makes shooting so simple and easy-- just be sure to use exposure compensation on the rewind side when necessary and it'll take fantastic pictures.
As a camera for M42 lenses, this is perfect. Compose, switch the diaphragm to manual (DOF preview this way, too!), set shutter and click, or just click in auto, switch back to auto. Very quick and easy.
Unfortunately, I struggle a bit if I'm trying to gauge DOF with fast K glass, and usually have to pull the camera away from my face several times to check the focus scale. This only bothers me about 20% of the time, though.
Also, the metering and compensation are only in full stops. If I were really picky, I guess I could do that by changing the ISO dial, though.
If you're thinking about getting one of these, go for it. $40 for a good one on the 'FleaBay' from a 'camera shop', or just get one for $10 that only cocks the shutter every now and then-- give it a few slaps on its butt and it'll be up and running again. 
Example images coming soon (shoot B&W and print with an enlarger, mostly; no film scanner.... yet) but pseudo-irrelevant for a camera body.
EDIT: D'OH! I was just informed the you don't have to turn the EV Compensation dial all the way, so it can be set to any fractions of stops... Metering is still only in full stops, though =/
| | | | | Site Supporter Registered: August, 2012 Location: Queensland Posts: 4,294
1 user found this helpful
| | Review Date: May 12, 2013 | Recommended | Price: $50.00
| Rating: 8 |
| Pros: | Light, compact, tidy | | Cons: | Less dependable than fully manual camera | |
Back in 1976, when the MX and ME came out, I did not even consider the ME. It had to be manual for me. I have an inherent desire for simplicity and control where possible It was the MX I chose. Last year, while buying a lens, it came attached to an ME Super. I really wasn't interested in it, but there it was. It was in near mint condition, so I thought a film test would be informative.
Quite honestly, the camera was lovely to use, and did all I wished using the auto settings. This made it too much extra hassle to bother with manual, especially using buttons and checking settings in the view finder.
The camera is beautifully made, and if you like the automation of aperture priority shooting, it can't be faulted. My own preferences are for fully manual cameras, and their simplicity which demand more input from the photographer. That makes taking a picture more interesting - and isn't that something that is an important part of photography, at least for the hobbyist?
This is probably the smallest 35mm SLR, and beautifully made. It is/was very popular. My preference for manual cameras should not detract from that.
| | | | | New Member Registered: March, 2024 Posts: 3 | | Review Date: March 16, 2024 | Recommended | Price: $75.00
| Rating: 9 |
| Pros: | Fantastic bright finder, excellent design, 1/2000th of a second shutter speed. | | Cons: | my cameras meter overexposes a stop | |
The ME super was my first SLR - I had used other cameras before this (the K1000 when I was in school for example) but the ME super was the first one I owned.
I guess it does have some sentimental value for me, but I feel its an underrated camera in a lot of ways - the design and feature set is brilliant - excellent bright VF, 1/2000th of a second shutter speed, 1/125th flash sync, and goes down to 4 seconds.
yes it does have the possibility of failure, but speaking to camera repair technicians I'm told that its well designed and definitely repairable. I've had two copies, and found the electronics to be very reliable - I think the notion that the ME Super is a risky camera to get is overblown.
Definitely recommended from me.
| | | | | New Member Registered: February, 2015 Posts: 6 | | Review Date: November 22, 2021 | Recommended | Price: $300.00
| Rating: 5 |
| Pros: | Low Cost | | Cons: | Durability | |
The ME Super was our second SLR Pentax after starting with an K1000 SE in the late seventies. Having started with the K1000, it was a comfortable transition moving up to a slightly more advanced platform.
The only real complaint was with the durability of the materials used in the shutter. After a few years we started to get what looked like black debris that would collect in the camera body and contaminate film within. It looks like the rubberized shutter material started to break down and flake off.
Not operable at this point, perhaps it has some salvage value for somebody out there?
| | | | | New Member Registered: September, 2020 Location: Derbyshire Posts: 3 | | Review Date: August 22, 2021 | Recommended | Price: None indicated
| Rating: 6 |
| Pros: | Small, light, viewfinder information, viewfinder magnification, robust | | Cons: | Split image screen, I just did not enjoy using it, too small. | |
There is no doubt that the ME Super was a very popular camera and I know people who swear by them.
I however just did not get on with it. It felt very unsubstantial to me and I used to worry about shots taken at the lower shutter speeds. I found the push button operation finicky too - give me a good old fashioned dial any day!!
The spilt micro-prism was a pain for me and unlike the MX could not be replaced. At the time I much preferred the OM-1n and even an OM-40 I had was better to use.
The viewfinder magnification was very useful - but undermined by the split micro-prism. I could not stand the M series lenses either - too small and not the best optically.
I have not got one E6 slide I like taken with the ME Super and M lens combo. I cannot explain it.
I gave my ME Super and 1.4 50mm M lens to a colleague who absolutely loves it for B&W photography and its still going strong I hear.
Handle one first before you buy is my advice.
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