The Cost of Emotional Attachment

**OrangeKx** · 06-10-2013, 11:31 AM - **1 Like**

I was at my parent's house this weekend and located my not-working ME Super. I bought it new (with a 50mm 1.7 M lens) at a Navy Exchange after enlisting in the Navy in 1981. I've used it all over Connecticut (when I lived there for 5 years) and in my travels up and down the east coast from Maine to Virginia. I lugged it around Scotland, Portugal, London and it captured some great pictures of my life on a submarine. It's seen rain, sun, dust, wind, heat and cold not to mention the lovely diesel-tinged atmosphere common to living under water. This camera has been around and never failed me for well over a decade, but it froze up one day and has been sitting in a closet for over 11 years. It's not a "mint" version, but it's in really nice shape all things considered (I still have the lens and it's in great shape). I've been dying to locate and resurrect the camera.

From poking around the Web last night it seems the secondary shutter curtain didn't seat fulling during a cycle and the winder will not move because of it. Sounds like a cleaning issue at a minimum. I dropped it off at Knight Camera in Vancouver this morning and it could easily be over $100 to overhaul it. I know I can buy a working ME Super for less, but the emotional attachment makes the money a non-issue.

I want to use the ME Super for doing B&W film, so it won't sit in a closet doing nothing if I can get it back in working condition.

I can't be the only person who's gone down this road with a camera they love to use.

geedee · 06-10-2013, 12:10 PM - **1 Like**

Hi Ron, no you aren't. In 2003 I took the ME Super my dad gave to me onto a trip to Chile after many years of use, I think it was the Atacama desert sand that finished with some mechanical parts inside. Found a great repair store in very centre of Santiago (run by a german guy originally from Saxony, Harry Müller) where I had to invest a similar sum. It's worth it if you're sentimentally attached to the stuff, especially if you notice that those "old" cameras almost have their own personality which I noticed when buying a second ME Super body - the shutter sound and film crank feeling are just slightly different. So I totally agree with you. Will take my recently aquired Spotmatic II to the repair man here in Berlin this week. This stuff is worth being repaired...

**TomB_tx** · 06-10-2013, 12:26 PM - **1 Like**

I've spent more than is logical to repair family cameras from the 1930s through the 1960s for the same reasons. Many of these old cameras are really functional art, and when you can afford to return them to function - instead of throwing on the trash heap - it is healthy for your emotions. It is very satisfying to use them again, and I find I much prefer them to digital. I even keep my dad's 1950 Stereo Realist working, even though I haven't found 3-D slide mounts in years, and without Kodachrome it wouldn't be the same anyway.

Reliant K1000 · 06-10-2013, 12:49 PM

Did that with an ME many years ago. Disliked it because it lacked manual, but was told I'd get a better trade in value if it was reconditioned. Was bamboozled - when I bought it, I was told the ME was fully manual as well, which of course it is not. And then the camera shop promptly folded, so no way to return it.

Brighouse Cameras in Richmond did the ME reconditioning in the 90's for me for $75, and I traded that ME on a Program+, Flash and $50. Probably not that cost effective, but I wanted to trade in a good camera.

**OrangeKx** · 06-14-2013, 06:04 PM

I got a call from the shop today for the estimated cost of overhauling my ME Super. It will need a new shutter assy., so that has to be tracked down. When all is said and done, new shutter, clean/lube/overhaul and a 1 year warranty it's gonna cost a bit over $140. It doesn't seem so bad, but I don't know what to compare it to. They tell me it'll be in great shape when it's done. I'm optimistic.

ambrosius · 06-14-2013, 06:26 PM - **1 Like**

Emotional attachment is an important thing. I would repair it if I were you, you won't regret an will be happy. For me there's no doubt, that camera isn't just a machine for taking pictures, it's part if your life. On the other side, 100-140 dollars isn't so much money. You can buy another one, but you know it isn't the same!

**monochrome** · 06-14-2013, 07:02 PM

Originally posted by OrangeKx

I got a call from the shop today for the estimated cost of overhauling my ME Super. It will need a new shutter assy., so that has to be tracked down. When all is said and done, new shutter, clean/lube/overhaul and a 1 year warranty it's gonna cost a bit over $140. It doesn't seem so bad, but I don't know what to compare it to. They tell me it'll be in great shape when it's done. I'm optimistic.

IMHO you should send it to Eric for a COMPLIMENTARYevaluation before you spend $140 for a replacement shutter assembly.

magkelly · 06-14-2013, 07:41 PM - **3 Likes**

The first Pentax camera I ever shot with looms long in my memory. A few years back before I got a zebra SP and started to shoot film to learn how to do photography properly I got to run around for a weekend with a black Asahi SPII that belonged to a man who became my teacher and my friend. For sentimental reasons this guy will not part with that SPII. It was one of his first cameras. His Dad who is no longer alive gave it to him when he was like 20.

I covet that camera like a madwoman. The man has a vault, literally, of far, far more precious cameras and lenses but when he asked me to pick my favorite one day no hesitation I told him that one and I meant it. That SPII is in near pristine condition and it's probably worth a couple hundred easily but I'd still turn down Nikon's, Leica's, 10K Full Frame DSLR's, et all, from various makers for that one!

I have a black Honeywell SPII that needs a CLR but that is functioning, a couple of black KX's and a black Spottie F that badly needs an overhaul too, so you think I'd be happy with what I've got, right? I have more black Pentax SLR's than any Pentaxian legitimately has a right to, but no, that camera, a working black Asahi SPII that is still my "holy grail" of old film SLR's and I am still very much obsessed with owning one. I truly feel my collection of Pentax cameras will never be complete until I do.

You want to talk about emotional attachments to a camera? My obsession with that particular camera is just pointedly ABSURD given the cameras I have. The only difference between my Honeywell and the other one is a NAME and yet I just cannot be happy until I have a black Asahi SPII in the case with my black Honeywell one? Obviously I am mentally disturbed when it comes to black Spotties because there is no rational explanation for this fetish of mine, none. :P

PS: Actually I have to correct myself a bit here becuase technically his SPII was not the first I ever held, just used. I had a zebra SPII that I barely had when it got stolen. I never even got to shoot a roll of film with that one. Technically my teacher's SPII was the first SPII I ever shot with, not held. I forgot about that lost SPII when I was writing this. My mind automatically went to the SPII I first used but there was one before. Had it, just didn't get to ever use it. I have corrected this blurb to reflect that.

**OrangeKx** · 06-14-2013, 09:41 PM

Originally posted by monochrome

IMHO you should send it to Eric for a COMPLIMENTARYevaluation before you spend $140 for a replacement shutter assembly.

The labor for cleaning, etc. is $109, shutter is $29 and then sales tax. I didn't really know where to send it, but this shop is a few minutes from my house and the owner has a long history of Pentax repair.

**monochrome** · 06-15-2013, 04:13 AM

Pentax Camera Service Many members here who still use film cameras have sent ours to Eric - from the earliest Pentax models through to LX'es. Good luck with yours - but if you ever have something they can't do - try Eric.

**OrangeKx** · 06-15-2013, 08:25 AM

Originally posted by monochrome

Pentax Camera Service Many members here who still use film cameras have sent ours to Eric - from the earliest Pentax models through to LX'es. Good luck with yours - but if you ever have something they can't do - try Eric.

Looking at Eric's web site I may have saved a bit of money just based on his basic fees. Live and learn. My dad has an ME Super older than mine, so maybe Eric will get that one for a tune-up. Thanks for the heads-up, so now I have two options down the road.

RS

**monochrome** · 06-15-2013, 09:33 AM

Originally posted by OrangeKx

Looking at Eric's web site I may have saved a bit of money just based on his basic fees. Live and learn. My dad has an ME Super older than mine, so maybe Eric will get that one for a tune-up. Thanks for the heads-up, so now I have two options down the road.

RS

A few dollars might not be as important as knowing and seeing your local technician.

I don't have anyone local so Eric has made all my Pentaxes like new.

Eric is truly a master and we won't have him forever.

Here is thread full of Forum testimonials.

**OrangeKx** · 07-08-2013, 01:39 PM

It's been almost a month since I took my ME Super in and it looks like there's light at the end of the tunnel. I was told 1-2 weeks when I took it in but they were waiting on parts so it got pushed out. I called today and should be ready this week. No biggie, I wasn't in a hurry. Looking forward to running some film through it.

**OrangeKx** · 07-15-2013, 04:39 PM

I picked up my ME Super today!! New shutter assay., new light seals, internals cleaned/lubed and the light meter calibrated. So begins another 20 year romp??

**rbefly** · 07-15-2013, 05:31 PM

I see no reason why that camera wouldn't provide 20 + years of service now. I've got a reconditioned ME, ME Super and (most recent, CLA'd by Eric) MX, all black bodies. I rotate their use, the MX is currently loaded with Plus X, the roll is almost finished. My local camera shop, Denver Pro Photo, sells and processes film, for a few bucks extra they scan the negs onto a disc for digital processing at home.
Wait! Do I see a manual 28mm and 100mm in your future? Hmmmm.
LOL!
Ron

06-10-2013, 11:31 AM - 1 Like	#1
OrangeKx Site Supporter Join Date: Nov 2011 Location: Vancouver, WA Photos: Gallery Posts: 817	The Cost of Emotional Attachment I was at my parent's house this weekend and located my not-working ME Super. I bought it new (with a 50mm 1.7 M lens) at a Navy Exchange after enlisting in the Navy in 1981. I've used it all over Connecticut (when I lived there for 5 years) and in my travels up and down the east coast from Maine to Virginia. I lugged it around Scotland, Portugal, London and it captured some great pictures of my life on a submarine. It's seen rain, sun, dust, wind, heat and cold not to mention the lovely diesel-tinged atmosphere common to living under water. This camera has been around and never failed me for well over a decade, but it froze up one day and has been sitting in a closet for over 11 years. It's not a "mint" version, but it's in really nice shape all things considered (I still have the lens and it's in great shape). I've been dying to locate and resurrect the camera. From poking around the Web last night it seems the secondary shutter curtain didn't seat fulling during a cycle and the winder will not move because of it. Sounds like a cleaning issue at a minimum. I dropped it off at Knight Camera in Vancouver this morning and it could easily be over $100 to overhaul it. I know I can buy a working ME Super for less, but the emotional attachment makes the money a non-issue. I want to use the ME Super for doing B&W film, so it won't sit in a closet doing nothing if I can get it back in working condition. I can't be the only person who's gone down this road with a camera they love to use.

06-14-2013, 07:41 PM - 3 Likes	#8
magkelly Veteran Member Join Date: May 2010 Photos: Gallery Posts: 5,901	The first Pentax camera I ever shot with looms long in my memory. A few years back before I got a zebra SP and started to shoot film to learn how to do photography properly I got to run around for a weekend with a black Asahi SPII that belonged to a man who became my teacher and my friend. For sentimental reasons this guy will not part with that SPII. It was one of his first cameras. His Dad who is no longer alive gave it to him when he was like 20. I covet that camera like a madwoman. The man has a vault, literally, of far, far more precious cameras and lenses but when he asked me to pick my favorite one day no hesitation I told him that one and I meant it. That SPII is in near pristine condition and it's probably worth a couple hundred easily but I'd still turn down Nikon's, Leica's, 10K Full Frame DSLR's, et all, from various makers for that one! I have a black Honeywell SPII that needs a CLR but that is functioning, a couple of black KX's and a black Spottie F that badly needs an overhaul too, so you think I'd be happy with what I've got, right? I have more black Pentax SLR's than any Pentaxian legitimately has a right to, but no, that camera, a working black Asahi SPII that is still my "holy grail" of old film SLR's and I am still very much obsessed with owning one. I truly feel my collection of Pentax cameras will never be complete until I do. You want to talk about emotional attachments to a camera? My obsession with that particular camera is just pointedly ABSURD given the cameras I have. The only difference between my Honeywell and the other one is a NAME and yet I just cannot be happy until I have a black Asahi SPII in the case with my black Honeywell one? Obviously I am mentally disturbed when it comes to black Spotties because there is no rational explanation for this fetish of mine, none. :P PS: Actually I have to correct myself a bit here becuase technically his SPII was not the first I ever held, just used. I had a zebra SPII that I barely had when it got stolen. I never even got to shoot a roll of film with that one. Technically my teacher's SPII was the first SPII I ever shot with, not held. I forgot about that lost SPII when I was writing this. My mind automatically went to the SPII I first used but there was one before. Had it, just didn't get to ever use it. I have corrected this blurb to reflect that. Last edited by magkelly; 07-08-2013 at 04:30 PM.

07-15-2013, 05:31 PM	#15
rbefly Site Supporter Join Date: Oct 2009 Location: Denver, Colorado Photos: Albums Posts: 2,030	20 Years At Least! I see no reason why that camera wouldn't provide 20 + years of service now. I've got a reconditioned ME, ME Super and (most recent, CLA'd by Eric) MX, all black bodies. I rotate their use, the MX is currently loaded with Plus X, the roll is almost finished. My local camera shop, Denver Pro Photo, sells and processes film, for a few bucks extra they scan the negs onto a disc for digital processing at home. Wait! Do I see a manual 28mm and 100mm in your future? Hmmmm. LOL! Ron

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06-10-2013, 12:10 PM - 1 Like	#2
geedee Senior Member Join Date: Jun 2012 Location: Freiburg im Breisgau, Germany Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 114	Hi Ron, no you aren't. In 2003 I took the ME Super my dad gave to me onto a trip to Chile after many years of use, I think it was the Atacama desert sand that finished with some mechanical parts inside. Found a great repair store in very centre of Santiago (run by a german guy originally from Saxony, Harry Müller) where I had to invest a similar sum. It's worth it if you're sentimentally attached to the stuff, especially if you notice that those "old" cameras almost have their own personality which I noticed when buying a second ME Super body - the shutter sound and film crank feeling are just slightly different. So I totally agree with you. Will take my recently aquired Spotmatic II to the repair man here in Berlin this week. This stuff is worth being repaired...

06-10-2013, 12:26 PM - 1 Like	#3
TomB_tx Loyal Site Supporter Join Date: Jun 2011 Location: Texas Photos: Gallery Posts: 1,446	I've spent more than is logical to repair family cameras from the 1930s through the 1960s for the same reasons. Many of these old cameras are really functional art, and when you can afford to return them to function - instead of throwing on the trash heap - it is healthy for your emotions. It is very satisfying to use them again, and I find I much prefer them to digital. I even keep my dad's 1950 Stereo Realist working, even though I haven't found 3-D slide mounts in years, and without Kodachrome it wouldn't be the same anyway.

06-10-2013, 12:49 PM	#4
Reliant K1000 Senior Member Join Date: Nov 2012 Location: BC - On the 49th parallel Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 235	Did that with an ME many years ago. Disliked it because it lacked manual, but was told I'd get a better trade in value if it was reconditioned. Was bamboozled - when I bought it, I was told the ME was fully manual as well, which of course it is not. And then the camera shop promptly folded, so no way to return it. Brighouse Cameras in Richmond did the ME reconditioning in the 90's for me for $75, and I traded that ME on a Program+, Flash and $50. Probably not that cost effective, but I wanted to trade in a good camera.

06-14-2013, 06:04 PM	#5
OrangeKx Site Supporter Join Date: Nov 2011 Location: Vancouver, WA Photos: Gallery Posts: 817 Original Poster	I got a call from the shop today for the estimated cost of overhauling my ME Super. It will need a new shutter assy., so that has to be tracked down. When all is said and done, new shutter, clean/lube/overhaul and a 1 year warranty it's gonna cost a bit over $140. It doesn't seem so bad, but I don't know what to compare it to. They tell me it'll be in great shape when it's done. I'm optimistic.

06-14-2013, 06:26 PM - 1 Like	#6
ambrosius New Member Join Date: Jun 2013 Posts: 18	Emotional attachment is an important thing. I would repair it if I were you, you won't regret an will be happy. For me there's no doubt, that camera isn't just a machine for taking pictures, it's part if your life. On the other side, 100-140 dollars isn't so much money. You can buy another one, but you know it isn't the same!

06-14-2013, 07:02 PM	#7
monochrome Loyal Site Supporter Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: Working From Home Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 26,276	Originally posted by OrangeKx I got a call from the shop today for the estimated cost of overhauling my ME Super. It will need a new shutter assy., so that has to be tracked down. When all is said and done, new shutter, clean/lube/overhaul and a 1 year warranty it's gonna cost a bit over $140. It doesn't seem so bad, but I don't know what to compare it to. They tell me it'll be in great shape when it's done. I'm optimistic. IMHO you should send it to Eric for a COMPLIMENTARYevaluation before you spend $140 for a replacement shutter assembly.

06-14-2013, 09:41 PM	#9
OrangeKx Site Supporter Join Date: Nov 2011 Location: Vancouver, WA Photos: Gallery Posts: 817 Original Poster	Originally posted by monochrome IMHO you should send it to Eric for a COMPLIMENTARYevaluation before you spend $140 for a replacement shutter assembly. The labor for cleaning, etc. is $109, shutter is $29 and then sales tax. I didn't really know where to send it, but this shop is a few minutes from my house and the owner has a long history of Pentax repair.

06-15-2013, 04:13 AM	#10
monochrome Loyal Site Supporter Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: Working From Home Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 26,276	Pentax Camera Service Many members here who still use film cameras have sent ours to Eric - from the earliest Pentax models through to LX'es. Good luck with yours - but if you ever have something they can't do - try Eric.

06-15-2013, 08:25 AM	#11
OrangeKx Site Supporter Join Date: Nov 2011 Location: Vancouver, WA Photos: Gallery Posts: 817 Original Poster	Originally posted by monochrome Pentax Camera Service Many members here who still use film cameras have sent ours to Eric - from the earliest Pentax models through to LX'es. Good luck with yours - but if you ever have something they can't do - try Eric. Looking at Eric's web site I may have saved a bit of money just based on his basic fees. Live and learn. My dad has an ME Super older than mine, so maybe Eric will get that one for a tune-up. Thanks for the heads-up, so now I have two options down the road. RS

06-15-2013, 09:33 AM	#12
monochrome Loyal Site Supporter Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: Working From Home Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 26,276	Originally posted by OrangeKx Looking at Eric's web site I may have saved a bit of money just based on his basic fees. Live and learn. My dad has an ME Super older than mine, so maybe Eric will get that one for a tune-up. Thanks for the heads-up, so now I have two options down the road. RS A few dollars might not be as important as knowing and seeing your local technician. I don't have anyone local so Eric has made all my Pentaxes like new. Eric is truly a master and we won't have him forever. Here is thread full of Forum testimonials.

07-08-2013, 01:39 PM	#13
OrangeKx Site Supporter Join Date: Nov 2011 Location: Vancouver, WA Photos: Gallery Posts: 817 Original Poster	It's been almost a month since I took my ME Super in and it looks like there's light at the end of the tunnel. I was told 1-2 weeks when I took it in but they were waiting on parts so it got pushed out. I called today and should be ready this week. No biggie, I wasn't in a hurry. Looking forward to running some film through it.

07-15-2013, 04:39 PM	#14
OrangeKx Site Supporter Join Date: Nov 2011 Location: Vancouver, WA Photos: Gallery Posts: 817 Original Poster	I picked up my ME Super today!! New shutter assay., new light seals, internals cleaned/lubed and the light meter calibrated. So begins another 20 year romp??