Pentax ME underexposing

grimnicholas · 05-13-2022, 11:41 PM

Hey all,

The pentax shot a roll perfectly and I thought it was all good - packed the bag and now travelleing.
Had another roll developed & some frames are very underexposed! Washed out, very noisy. Other shots on the roll exposed pretty well, balanced and clean. I've attached examples. Shot same day, same conditions on 400 film.

Light meter LEDs work and change when light changes and the aperture affects the readout. Maybe that helps to diagnose.

Could it be the light meter and cameras choosing the wrong shutter? A light leak in the prism causing the exposure hiccup... Or maybe simply a lab / develop issue since the test roll was pretty perfect.

I've read a couple of places this exposure stuff may be common-ish on the Pentax me, but is there a realiable fix?

Thanks!

Last edited by grimnicholas; 05-14-2022 at 12:20 AM.

grimnicholas · 05-14-2022, 12:05 AM

Attached are said images:

MESuper1981 · 05-14-2022, 12:13 AM

Sounds as if the exposure compensation is not set to "1x normal". Check page 12 of the manual: https://www.cameramanuals.org/pentax_pdf/pentax_me.pdf

grimnicholas · 05-14-2022, 12:16 AM

Originally posted by MESuper1981

Sounds as if the exposure compensation is not set to "1x normal". Check page 12 of the manual: https://www.cameramanuals.org/pentax_pdf/pentax_me.pdf

It's set onto 1x & hasn't been changed much and not around the odd exposed shots. The ISO did turn to 1600 with it set back to 1x however. So thanks for that!

Dartmoor Dave · 05-14-2022, 12:40 AM

Originally posted by grimnicholas

The ISO did turn to 1600 with it set back to 1x however.

Could you clarify what you mean by that? If you were shooting ISO 400 film then you should keep the ISO(ASA) set to 400. If you change the ISO to 1600 when you've got ISO 400 film loaded, the meter will underexpose everything by two stops, which would result in exactly the problem you've got with these photos.

grimnicholas · 05-14-2022, 12:46 AM

Originally posted by Dartmoor Dave

Could you clarify what you mean by that? If you were shooting ISO 400 film then you should keep the ISO(ASA) set to 400. If you change the ISO to 1600 when you've got ISO 400 film loaded, the meter will underexpose everything by two stops, which would result in exactly the problem you've got with these photos.

Shot the whole roll @400 ISO box speed. This part was referring to the ISO dial not turning the whole way when no film was loaded - but that's solved and likely nothing to do with the results here.

MESuper1981 · 05-14-2022, 01:00 AM

The ISO / compensation dial slides a contact over a resistor plate to adjust the setting. This gets dirty resulting in incorrect and inconsistent exposures. Moving the ISO dial from one end to the other and back a number of times helps.

grimnicholas · 05-14-2022, 01:13 AM

Originally posted by MESuper1981

The ISO / compensation dial slides a contact over a resistor plate to adjust the setting. This gets dirty resulting in incorrect and inconsistent exposures. Moving the ISO dial from one end to the other and back a number of times helps.

Great tip! Thanks! I'll do that and hope it helps. I did revive it from an antique store shelf, it was clearly unloved. So that's very possibly it's not in the best shape under the hood.

The tricky thing is, won't know it's worked and helped until developing 😅

I'm considering shooting half box speed to overexpose, just in case. Thinks that's wise?

grimnicholas · 05-14-2022, 02:30 AM

I just compared light meters with my Fuji digital camera. It seems the Pentax is maybe a stop off in metering, when the fuji says f16@125 the Pentax says f16@250.

So, with that in mind, if I exposure compensation -1 stop, will that realign metering and maybe help with the underexposing?

MESuper1981 · 05-14-2022, 02:44 AM

+- 1 stop is within the exposure latitude of color print film. Slide film needs to be as correctly exposed as possible. The samples you showed are certainly more than 1 stop underexposed. So, yes you can compensate the one stop overall metering error, but i don't think that is the cause for the much underexposed pictures you showed.

grimnicholas · 05-14-2022, 02:57 AM

Originally posted by MESuper1981

+- 1 stop is within the exposure latitude of color print film. Slide film needs to be as correctly exposed as possible. The samples you showed are certainly more than 1 stop underexposed. So, yes you can compensate the one stop overall metering error, but i don't think that is the cause for the much underexposed pictures you showed.

I'm hoping playing with the ISO dial has freed up the function of it and it'll all be okay. It does seem it's something like that as it can expose great and then not so great!

sconut1 · 05-14-2022, 12:11 PM - **1 Like**

I just went through this same issue last fall with my ME. Under almost exactly the same circumstances you describe. My shots were turning out much like the shots you posted earlier. I sent my camera in for a CLA. It turns out that the camera required some adjustments to the light meter. Its now working well again. I had Eric H do the work. If you like the camera, I think a CLA would be money well spent.

grimnicholas · 05-14-2022, 02:23 PM - **1 Like**

Originally posted by sconut1

I just went through this same issue last fall with my ME. Under almost exactly the same circumstances you describe. My shots were turning out much like the shots you posted earlier. I sent my camera in for a CLA. It turns out that the camera required some adjustments to the light meter. Its now working well again. I had Eric H do the work. If you like the camera, I think a CLA would be money well spent.

Hey that's good to know! Happy you have an operational rig again. I wonder, did he say what was up with the light meter to cause the issue?
It's a really nice, simple and classic camera. I think probably worth the CLA for many years of use and life!

Vendee · 05-15-2022, 02:00 AM - **1 Like**

Originally posted by grimnicholas

I just compared light meters with my Fuji digital camera. It seems the Pentax is maybe a stop off in metering, when the fuji says f16@125 the Pentax says f16@250.

So, with that in mind, if I exposure compensation -1 stop, will that realign metering and maybe help with the underexposing?

I think that when you use another camera to verify your exposure meter, its important to make sure that both cameras are metering the same scene. So if I'm checking out my ME Super with a 50mm lens I would use my FF DSLR with a 50mm lens and even then I'd set the DSLR to "centre weighted" metering to match the metering system of the ME Super. If your Fuji is a crop sensor then you should ideally set the lens length to match what you are seeing through the ME Super viewfinder.

sconut1 · 05-15-2022, 09:07 PM

Unfortunately, I didn't get details as to exactly what Eric did. i did ask him afterwards...but I asked if the bad exposeres I was getting were due to me, or the camera. He said it was definitely the camera.

05-13-2022, 11:41 PM	#1
grimnicholas Forum Member Join Date: Apr 2022 Posts: 59	Pentax ME underexposing Hey all, The pentax shot a roll perfectly and I thought it was all good - packed the bag and now travelleing. Had another roll developed & some frames are very underexposed! Washed out, very noisy. Other shots on the roll exposed pretty well, balanced and clean. I've attached examples. Shot same day, same conditions on 400 film. Light meter LEDs work and change when light changes and the aperture affects the readout. Maybe that helps to diagnose. Could it be the light meter and cameras choosing the wrong shutter? A light leak in the prism causing the exposure hiccup... Or maybe simply a lab / develop issue since the test roll was pretty perfect. I've read a couple of places this exposure stuff may be common-ish on the Pentax me, but is there a realiable fix? Thanks! Last edited by grimnicholas; 05-14-2022 at 12:20 AM.

05-14-2022, 12:05 AM	#2
grimnicholas Forum Member Join Date: Apr 2022 Posts: 59 Original Poster	Attached are said images: Attached Images

05-14-2022, 01:13 AM	#8
grimnicholas Forum Member Join Date: Apr 2022 Posts: 59 Original Poster	Originally posted by MESuper1981 The ISO / compensation dial slides a contact over a resistor plate to adjust the setting. This gets dirty resulting in incorrect and inconsistent exposures. Moving the ISO dial from one end to the other and back a number of times helps. Great tip! Thanks! I'll do that and hope it helps. I did revive it from an antique store shelf, it was clearly unloved. So that's very possibly it's not in the best shape under the hood. The tricky thing is, won't know it's worked and helped until developing 😅 I'm considering shooting half box speed to overexpose, just in case. Thinks that's wise? Last edited by grimnicholas; 05-14-2022 at 01:34 AM.

05-14-2022, 12:11 PM - 1 Like	#12
sconut1 Junior Member Join Date: Jun 2020 Photos: Gallery Posts: 33	I just went through this same issue last fall with my ME. Under almost exactly the same circumstances you describe. My shots were turning out much like the shots you posted earlier. I sent my camera in for a CLA. It turns out that the camera required some adjustments to the light meter. Its now working well again. I had Eric H do the work. If you like the camera, I think a CLA would be money well spent. Last edited by sconut1; 05-14-2022 at 12:15 PM. Reason: Spelling

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05-14-2022, 12:13 AM	#3
MESuper1981 Junior Member Join Date: Nov 2021 Posts: 43	Sounds as if the exposure compensation is not set to "1x normal". Check page 12 of the manual: https://www.cameramanuals.org/pentax_pdf/pentax_me.pdf

05-14-2022, 12:16 AM	#4
grimnicholas Forum Member Join Date: Apr 2022 Posts: 59 Original Poster	Originally posted by MESuper1981 Sounds as if the exposure compensation is not set to "1x normal". Check page 12 of the manual: https://www.cameramanuals.org/pentax_pdf/pentax_me.pdf It's set onto 1x & hasn't been changed much and not around the odd exposed shots. The ISO did turn to 1600 with it set back to 1x however. So thanks for that!

05-14-2022, 12:40 AM	#5
Dartmoor Dave Pentaxian Join Date: Aug 2012 Location: Dartmoor, UK Photos: Gallery Posts: 3,882	Originally posted by grimnicholas The ISO did turn to 1600 with it set back to 1x however. Could you clarify what you mean by that? If you were shooting ISO 400 film then you should keep the ISO(ASA) set to 400. If you change the ISO to 1600 when you've got ISO 400 film loaded, the meter will underexpose everything by two stops, which would result in exactly the problem you've got with these photos.

05-14-2022, 12:46 AM	#6
grimnicholas Forum Member Join Date: Apr 2022 Posts: 59 Original Poster	Originally posted by Dartmoor Dave Could you clarify what you mean by that? If you were shooting ISO 400 film then you should keep the ISO(ASA) set to 400. If you change the ISO to 1600 when you've got ISO 400 film loaded, the meter will underexpose everything by two stops, which would result in exactly the problem you've got with these photos. Shot the whole roll @400 ISO box speed. This part was referring to the ISO dial not turning the whole way when no film was loaded - but that's solved and likely nothing to do with the results here.

05-14-2022, 01:00 AM	#7
MESuper1981 Junior Member Join Date: Nov 2021 Posts: 43	The ISO / compensation dial slides a contact over a resistor plate to adjust the setting. This gets dirty resulting in incorrect and inconsistent exposures. Moving the ISO dial from one end to the other and back a number of times helps.

05-14-2022, 02:30 AM	#9
grimnicholas Forum Member Join Date: Apr 2022 Posts: 59 Original Poster	I just compared light meters with my Fuji digital camera. It seems the Pentax is maybe a stop off in metering, when the fuji says f16@125 the Pentax says f16@250. So, with that in mind, if I exposure compensation -1 stop, will that realign metering and maybe help with the underexposing?

05-14-2022, 02:44 AM	#10
MESuper1981 Junior Member Join Date: Nov 2021 Posts: 43	+- 1 stop is within the exposure latitude of color print film. Slide film needs to be as correctly exposed as possible. The samples you showed are certainly more than 1 stop underexposed. So, yes you can compensate the one stop overall metering error, but i don't think that is the cause for the much underexposed pictures you showed.

05-14-2022, 02:57 AM	#11
grimnicholas Forum Member Join Date: Apr 2022 Posts: 59 Original Poster	Originally posted by MESuper1981 +- 1 stop is within the exposure latitude of color print film. Slide film needs to be as correctly exposed as possible. The samples you showed are certainly more than 1 stop underexposed. So, yes you can compensate the one stop overall metering error, but i don't think that is the cause for the much underexposed pictures you showed. I'm hoping playing with the ISO dial has freed up the function of it and it'll all be okay. It does seem it's something like that as it can expose great and then not so great!

05-14-2022, 02:23 PM - 1 Like	#13
grimnicholas Forum Member Join Date: Apr 2022 Posts: 59 Original Poster	Originally posted by sconut1 I just went through this same issue last fall with my ME. Under almost exactly the same circumstances you describe. My shots were turning out much like the shots you posted earlier. I sent my camera in for a CLA. It turns out that the camera required some adjustments to the light meter. Its now working well again. I had Eric H do the work. If you like the camera, I think a CLA would be money well spent. Hey that's good to know! Happy you have an operational rig again. I wonder, did he say what was up with the light meter to cause the issue? It's a really nice, simple and classic camera. I think probably worth the CLA for many years of use and life!

05-15-2022, 02:00 AM - 1 Like	#14
Vendee Pentaxian Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: Norfolk, UK Posts: 1,134	Originally posted by grimnicholas I just compared light meters with my Fuji digital camera. It seems the Pentax is maybe a stop off in metering, when the fuji says f16@125 the Pentax says f16@250. So, with that in mind, if I exposure compensation -1 stop, will that realign metering and maybe help with the underexposing? I think that when you use another camera to verify your exposure meter, its important to make sure that both cameras are metering the same scene. So if I'm checking out my ME Super with a 50mm lens I would use my FF DSLR with a 50mm lens and even then I'd set the DSLR to "centre weighted" metering to match the metering system of the ME Super. If your Fuji is a crop sensor then you should ideally set the lens length to match what you are seeing through the ME Super viewfinder.

05-15-2022, 09:07 PM	#15
sconut1 Junior Member Join Date: Jun 2020 Photos: Gallery Posts: 33	Unfortunately, I didn't get details as to exactly what Eric did. i did ask him afterwards...but I asked if the bad exposeres I was getting were due to me, or the camera. He said it was definitely the camera.