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11-29-2010, 05:57 PM   #1
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ME Super or K1000SE?

I swapped my black AE-1 and it's FD 25-75MM off for a Pentax ME Super. I got a 28mm Chinar lens 1:2.8 (#7061012) out of the deal as well as a zoom lens that's in poor shape. Chinar looks like it has some promise and the ME looks good except I am going to have to replace the light seals it looks like sooner or later. They're there but they're just a bit patchy.

It wasn't quite an equal trade IMHO, but then again I got the AE-1 for nothing and it just doesn't work for me anyway. Bottom line the Pentax is far more likely to sell if I decide I don't want it. I've had a tough time even trading for the AE-1 for some reason even though it's black. I might actually use the ME whereas I just couldn't seem to bond at all with that AE1.

I do like the smallness of the ME Super. It's very light, perfect for keeping handy in the purse, but I'm not sure about those buttons.I'll have to see how they work in actual practice, but I have a feeling using the tiny white button and the two buttons instead of a dial may not be something I'll like too much.

K1000 SE versus this one? Opinions? I was thinking more about a K1000 SE versus an ME Super, but it came along today on CL and I went for it. I'm going to take it out on both cameras the ME and the *ist digital tomorrow and really try them out with this 28mm.

Anyone have both? Prefer one to the other? Why?

Thanks!

11-29-2010, 06:21 PM   #2
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I love the solid build of the K1000, but the ME Super is still built well and held comfortably. The ME Super's aperture priority mode can be handy, but one reason I occasionally shoot film is to slow down, and favor the K1000's simpler manual operation. Plus, as you guessed, those two buttons aren't the easiest to use.

All in all, I love both cameras, but if I could choose again I would have given my girlfriend the ME Super and kept the K1000 to myself

Edit: The exposure compensation feature on the ME Super is really useful for multiple exposures, which I'm starting to experiment more with.
11-29-2010, 07:03 PM   #3
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I'd keep the ME-Super, though I don't see a lot of reason to not keep both.
The ME=Super is a gem, and has a better viewfinder (as well as aperture preferred auto), the K1000 is a clockwork camera.
BTW, you can do mirror lock on the k1000, which is an undocumented "bug" in the mechanism.
11-29-2010, 07:42 PM   #4
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I'll have to see how it goes I guess. One thing I just noticed though? This camera doesn't say SE, just Super, but the text on the camera is all outlined in red. It's not like that in all the pics I'm seeing online. Did Pentax do that, use red type sometimes? I've never actually seen an old one with outlined red text like this. I'm still looking but I find it interesting that mine seems a bit different from some of the ME super pics I am seeing. It can't be an SE the focus screen is horizontal and it doesn't say that.

The red you see here isn't just my digital camera causing a reflective cast nor does it appear to be brassing. It's faded, but if you look up close I can see the text was done red enamel originally or at least lined in red on the smaller text. Doesn't look like a home job to me either. Hard to paint those smaller letters I would think.




Last edited by magkelly; 11-29-2010 at 07:56 PM.
11-30-2010, 05:23 AM   #5
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The ME Super is an infinitely better camera than the K1000. Among the most annoying things of the K1000 is the meter that doesn't turn off and that requires you to put on a lens cap to avoid draining the battery.

The little buttons of the ME Super for manual mode work reasonably well and you should be able to adjust the shutter speed without taking your eyes off the winder.

Having said that, I've always shot it in aperture-preferred mode. The ME does after all have exposure compensation if you need it.

There's a few alternatives: The MX has the same form factor as the ME but only manual and no aperture-priority mode. Unlike the ME, it is fully mechanical and while you might always have a battery in it, its shutter feels smoother. So the overall feeling is nicer. It also has DoF-preview which both the K1000 and ME Super are lacking. The MX even improves on the already impressive viewfinder of the ME. It's among the best viewfinders in the SLR world.

If you like the chunkier K-series bodies, see if you can find a K2. It's a terrific body with both aperture-priority mode and full manual mode via a shutter-speed dial similar to the MX. It uses an electronically controlled shutter though and therefore doesn't sound quite as nice. It has always been a somewhat rare body so you might not instantly find one at a price you are willing to pay.

Finally, there's the KX which has the same body as the K1000 but a non-archaic feature set with a proper meter that turns off, DoF-preview, aperture readout in the viewfinder, mirror-lockup and a fully mechanical shutter.

Any of the above - ME Super, MX, K2 and KX - would be more satisfying than a K1000 if you actually intend to use the camera.
11-30-2010, 09:17 AM   #6
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It's not a pressing thing because I am after all a major SPII fan and I have the Queen of all SPII's in my kit. Actually I don't "need" a K mount, got my *ist DSLR to mount K mount lenses, but I got the opportunity to trade a Canon camera I just wasn't getting into for this and I figured why not?

I played with it a bit this morning, popped in a roll of film and mostly I can deal with except for having to use the little white button. I find that button almost impossible to use and very annoying. I can't see me using this camera all the time because of it so I think I am going to redo the light seals and either sell or trade this one off.

I do like the smaller camera body of the Pentax ME Super a lot, but this layout with the buttons is definitely not my thing. I wouldn't mind this camera body but with the more traditional wheels sans tiny white button.

I'll have to take a look at those suggestions, and grab some pics to compare. I have a feeling I may go for something very like this if I can figure it out, but I'm just not into this particular camera.

Are there any bodies outside the M series that are really compact like this?

Note: I'm looking at all the specs on Dimitriov's Pentax K mount page as I type and actually liking the specs on this one over the rest. If it wasn't for this button set up I'd probably be very happy with what this camera can do versus most of the others. MX does look like the best alternative but I am wondering if there were others besides the M series that had this body? I don't know. That white button will probably drive me crazy but maybe I can get used to it.

Last edited by magkelly; 11-30-2010 at 09:40 AM.
11-30-2010, 11:08 AM   #7
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In Pentaxia, the M series were the smallest cameras. There are some others that aren't too dreadfully far behind, though.

You might take a look at the P3n. It's going to be spec'd somewhat like the ME Super, but will be a tiny bit bigger and give you Program mode in addition to Av and Manual. The biggest difference will be that there is no exposure compensation control, but there is a meter lock. The other big difference is that the P3n's finder isn't quite as amazing as the M series, but it's still much bigger and brighter than modern DSLR's.

The little white button is long gone on the P3n. In it's place is an easier (I think, at least) to use switch. Adjusting manual shutter speeds is done via a dial instead of the little buttons of the ME Super. Much easier, too.

It's definitely not as cute as the ME Super, but I think it will be a better user for you.

Good luck!

11-30-2010, 01:56 PM   #8
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Actually I have a P3, don't know which version, coming tomorrow. It was with the lenses that I bought at Goodwill that finally emptied my Hello Kitty bank. But I was planning on finding a new home for that. I don't like the look of the P3 cameras AT ALL. I think that whole series was one of the F- ugliest Pentax ever made. Good cameras, I have no doubt. Design challenged ABSOLUTELY.

Yeah stuff like that does matter to me. I'm awfully shallow that way, laugh. My "keeper" cameras have to be examples of good tech AND good looking! P series fails the "pretty toy" test utterly, IMHO. I might as well carry around one of those cardboard one time use cameras as carry one of those plastic, boxy looking things. The only way I could ever see myself keeping one is if I pimped the thing up in some wild way with craft paints to cover up as much of the plastic body as possible. Since that's totally disrespectful to the innards of the camera likely I'll just find someone out there who will appreciate it far more than I do!
11-30-2010, 02:08 PM   #9
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LOLOLOLOL!!! I totally understand where you're coming from with that. I actually probably went a step further for criticizing the P3n not for it's looks, but for the sound of it's shutter. I really like a good "Ka-thwack!" from my film cameras. The P3n is just too squeaky for me. I guess I'm even more shallow! ;-)
11-30-2010, 02:13 PM   #10
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About the K2, as mentioned by VParseval, I saw one a while back on one of my preferred gear-shopping sites. They trade more in obsolete than usable equipment, so it's probably not sold yet. I don't know if it's proper to post shop links here, so if you're interested, send me a PM.
12-02-2010, 02:27 PM   #11
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I used my ME Super in manual 99% of the time (I shot slide film) and so the little white button never annoyed me. The ME Super was my first camera and I still find my index finger groping for the up and down buttons...

BTW I have never seen an ME Super with red letters. Maybe it is a very good home touch-up job?

K.
12-02-2010, 05:46 PM   #12
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Pentax P-series: Stuck in the middle?

The P3n/P30T conventional shutter speed dial, DOF preview and AE memory lock make them more usable cameras than some earlier Pentax bodies.
The "feel" of the P3n/P30T is better than many later Pentax bodies, especially the plasticky ZX/MZ series, and operation is far more straightforward.

Chris
12-02-2010, 06:04 PM   #13
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I thought I saw the K1000 on a list somewhere....the 50 best 35mm SLR cameras of all time...I even thought about trying to find one..
12-02-2010, 06:28 PM   #14
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The paint looks like professional enameling to me. The text has it deep down. I could see the larger text on the center being done by hand but the other? I don't know, but I've been wondering about that ever since I got it. I don't think I am going to keep it or the P3 either for that matter but we'll see.
12-03-2010, 06:41 AM   #15
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If if were me, and the price were right, I'd probably get the K1000 just for sentimental reasons. I really don't need another film body, so it would need to have meaning for me. I have two SuperProgram bodies, and, while they are great in a lot of ways, the push button shutter speed has never felt like a real film camera to me, so the ME series is not as attractive . On the other hand, the prices on the k1000 often seem ridiculous.
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