Super Program back from Eric, just another +1 for his skills.

**PPPPPP42** · 09-08-2012, 07:43 PM

I send him my mess of a Super Program with a spare parts body that I bought with a smashed in view finder housing because mine was actually getting rusty inside from getting wet before I inherited it, and the shutter button half press hadn't worked in years plus the button for the lcd light required you to mash the hell out of the button and wiggle it around to get anything.

To complicate matters apparently my father purchased the Super Program with an A50 1.4 kit lens right as it came out (he had already been an M42 Pentaxian and had been waiting for the release of the S.P.) which means it had the early style circuit board that I never knew existed (but Eric did before he even got it) that was changed very soon after release. The parts camera was the later style.

Somehow Eric sorted the mess out (he didn't specify but I got the impression it was a pain in the ass) and now I have my original S.P. back in like new working order, its my first time with a working half press since I first inherited it years ago.

Since I have gotten used to the wonderful simplicity of my K1000 I had forgotten, but this thing is absolutely CRAMMED with features (I really missed the 2000 shutter speed for sunny day wide apertures).
I think I will use it for color film and also use my K1000 for B&W. Now that I have that macro stuff I will have to see if I can get this DOF preview to work at least in the sun. I could never figure out why they bothered with the feature since it gets so dark when you use it past the first few stops that you can't see if a damn thing is in focus half the time anyways.

Its good I bought all 6 boxes of 3 roll 24 exposure Kodak gold 200 that I found on clearance recently, I'm ready for shooting.

elliott · 09-08-2012, 08:10 PM

The Super Program has to have the best feature to size ratio of any manual focus 35mm SLR. It is the same size as the ME Super, but adds Tv and P modes, TTL flash, DOF preview and an LCD in the viewfinder. Also, the little grip on the side makes it very nice to hold.

LesDMess · 09-08-2012, 08:13 PM

Isn't it great to feeling to know that sending your Pentax to Eric will make it better

aurele · 09-09-2012, 01:09 AM

the SuperProgram have a little taste of "come play with me again"

Have a lot of fun with it !

womble · 09-09-2012, 05:26 AM

I have a very nice looking Super A I have never used because it needed the seals doing and the half press on the shutter was a little erratic. I really ought to send it off and get it done but at the moment I am just getting used to my recently CLA'd (by Eric) Pentax SV... Too many cameras, not enough time.

Enjoy yours!

K.

mickey · 09-09-2012, 07:10 AM

Womble, I notice that you're in England.
Is there any place to have a camera checked over by someone like Eric in England?

I have an ME that I would like to have worked on, but haven't found anyone here in Japan yet, so am probably thinking I'll look for someone back in Blighty when I head back later in the year.

Seems like Eric really is the man, though.

LesDMess · 09-09-2012, 07:18 AM

I can't believe there are no Pentax masters in Japan!

womble · 09-09-2012, 07:56 AM

Originally posted by mickey

Womble, I notice that you're in England.
Is there any place to have a camera checked over by someone like Eric in England?

I have an ME that I would like to have worked on, but haven't found anyone here in Japan yet, so am probably thinking I'll look for someone back in Blighty when I head back later in the year.

Seems like Eric really is the man, though.

Robin at Harrow Technical is pretty good. He doesn't seem to have quite the same range of spares as Eric but has repaired and/or done a CLA on my KM, LX, MX, ME Super and ME-F. He couldn't do my ESII as he didn't have the parts so I sent that one to Eric in the US.

K.

aurele · 09-09-2012, 09:15 AM

@ "lots of P"42

may i ask how much you paid ? because my SuperA is acting weirdly recently : it takes ages to just show speed / aperture when i half press the shutter.

i didn't find any french shop that seem very ... trusty, and Erik has such a good reputation that i'm ready to send my favorite SLR over the seas and around the globe to make sure it will be ready (and shiny) to rock again

frogfroggy · 09-09-2012, 10:42 AM

Good for you ! I will ship my cameras (MX and KX) in a couple of days to Eric. I heard only good stuff about him.

Have fun with the Super A and when I heard you had so much fun, GAS came back again that I am currently bidding on Super A with 1 year warranty !

**PPPPPP42** · 09-09-2012, 04:02 PM

$97 for a Super Program full CLA (includes parts like seals and such), though I'm thinking he should have charged more for the mess I sent him. Since I inherited this camera it was more than worth it to me to have it sorted out again. Plus its just nice to have a camera that you can 100% trust because it was fully calibrated and tested on equipment designed for just that purpose.

Its really weird going from the K1000 to the super program though. The K1000 will still get used because I absolutely love its simplicity and I actually prefer analog meters like its match stick. Getting used to an LCD actually telling me in numbers how many stops over or under I am is certainly new, I never used this thing in anything other than full Program mode because I didn't know much about photography back then (10+ years this has been sitting broken) and the half press was broken. The Super Program does beat a whole ton of others for ergonomics though, the size and the grip are just so damn handy, I always found the lack of grip and extra height of the K1000 a tad awkward in that department.

Best part is I have A whole pile of Pentax A lenses and a 280T ttl flash (inherited the flash with the camera too) so I'm totally set to maximize this things abilities.

mickey · 09-10-2012, 12:48 AM

Thanks womble! Just checked the site out.

LesDMess, I'm sure there is someone in Japan...just haven't found one yet.
My Japanese is far from fluent, so there may be one or two places that I know of, just haven't been there for a while.

Oh, and apologies for hijacking the thread somewhat...

**ChrisPlatt** · 09-10-2012, 09:30 AM

I have an M 35/2.0 lens with a slow diaphragm I want repaired prior to my trip in October.
I must send it off to Eric this week. Now to choose a body (to CLA) as a "rear cap"...

Chris

**monochrome** · 09-10-2012, 11:26 AM

Originally posted by ChrisPlatt

I have an M 35/2.0 lens with a slow diaphragm I want repaired prior to my trip in October.
I must send it off to Eric this week. Now to choose a body (to CLA) as a "rear cap"...

Chris

I should think a black MX well-suited to that task.

**ChrisPlatt** · 09-10-2012, 11:57 AM

Originally posted by monochrome

I should think a black MX well-suited to that task.

Funny, I packed it up with an MX body and Winder MX earlier today.

They say great minds think alike. So do ours!

Chris

09-08-2012, 07:43 PM	#1
PPPPPP42 Site Supporter Join Date: Jan 2012 Location: Wisconsin Photos: Albums Posts: 947	Super Program back from Eric, just another +1 for his skills. I send him my mess of a Super Program with a spare parts body that I bought with a smashed in view finder housing because mine was actually getting rusty inside from getting wet before I inherited it, and the shutter button half press hadn't worked in years plus the button for the lcd light required you to mash the hell out of the button and wiggle it around to get anything. To complicate matters apparently my father purchased the Super Program with an A50 1.4 kit lens right as it came out (he had already been an M42 Pentaxian and had been waiting for the release of the S.P.) which means it had the early style circuit board that I never knew existed (but Eric did before he even got it) that was changed very soon after release. The parts camera was the later style. Somehow Eric sorted the mess out (he didn't specify but I got the impression it was a pain in the ass) and now I have my original S.P. back in like new working order, its my first time with a working half press since I first inherited it years ago. Since I have gotten used to the wonderful simplicity of my K1000 I had forgotten, but this thing is absolutely CRAMMED with features (I really missed the 2000 shutter speed for sunny day wide apertures). I think I will use it for color film and also use my K1000 for B&W. Now that I have that macro stuff I will have to see if I can get this DOF preview to work at least in the sun. I could never figure out why they bothered with the feature since it gets so dark when you use it past the first few stops that you can't see if a damn thing is in focus half the time anyways. Its good I bought all 6 boxes of 3 roll 24 exposure Kodak gold 200 that I found on clearance recently, I'm ready for shooting.

09-10-2012, 11:57 AM	#15
ChrisPlatt Site Supporter Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: Rockaway Beach NYC Posts: 7,692	Originally posted by monochrome I should think a black MX well-suited to that task. Funny, I packed it up with an MX body and Winder MX earlier today. They say great minds think alike. So do ours! Chris Last edited by ChrisPlatt; 09-10-2012 at 01:27 PM.

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09-08-2012, 08:10 PM	#2
elliott Inactive Account Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: North Carolina Photos: Albums Posts: 1,720	The Super Program has to have the best feature to size ratio of any manual focus 35mm SLR. It is the same size as the ME Super, but adds Tv and P modes, TTL flash, DOF preview and an LCD in the viewfinder. Also, the little grip on the side makes it very nice to hold.

09-08-2012, 08:13 PM	#3
LesDMess Pentaxian Join Date: May 2011 Location: Santa Cruz, CA Photos: Albums Posts: 3,235	Isn't it great to feeling to know that sending your Pentax to Eric will make it better

09-09-2012, 01:09 AM	#4
aurele Veteran Member Join Date: Jan 2011 Location: Paris, France Photos: Albums Posts: 3,217	the SuperProgram have a little taste of "come play with me again" Have a lot of fun with it !

09-09-2012, 05:26 AM	#5
womble Pentaxian Join Date: Apr 2010 Location: Hertfordshire Photos: Gallery Posts: 4,324	I have a very nice looking Super A I have never used because it needed the seals doing and the half press on the shutter was a little erratic. I really ought to send it off and get it done but at the moment I am just getting used to my recently CLA'd (by Eric) Pentax SV... Too many cameras, not enough time. Enjoy yours! K.

09-09-2012, 07:10 AM	#6
mickey Veteran Member Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: Japan Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 1,146	Womble, I notice that you're in England. Is there any place to have a camera checked over by someone like Eric in England? I have an ME that I would like to have worked on, but haven't found anyone here in Japan yet, so am probably thinking I'll look for someone back in Blighty when I head back later in the year. Seems like Eric really is the man, though.

09-09-2012, 07:18 AM	#7
LesDMess Pentaxian Join Date: May 2011 Location: Santa Cruz, CA Photos: Albums Posts: 3,235	I can't believe there are no Pentax masters in Japan!

09-09-2012, 07:56 AM	#8
womble Pentaxian Join Date: Apr 2010 Location: Hertfordshire Photos: Gallery Posts: 4,324	Originally posted by mickey Womble, I notice that you're in England. Is there any place to have a camera checked over by someone like Eric in England? I have an ME that I would like to have worked on, but haven't found anyone here in Japan yet, so am probably thinking I'll look for someone back in Blighty when I head back later in the year. Seems like Eric really is the man, though. Robin at Harrow Technical is pretty good. He doesn't seem to have quite the same range of spares as Eric but has repaired and/or done a CLA on my KM, LX, MX, ME Super and ME-F. He couldn't do my ESII as he didn't have the parts so I sent that one to Eric in the US. K.

09-09-2012, 09:15 AM	#9
aurele Veteran Member Join Date: Jan 2011 Location: Paris, France Photos: Albums Posts: 3,217	@ "lots of P"42 may i ask how much you paid ? because my SuperA is acting weirdly recently : it takes ages to just show speed / aperture when i half press the shutter. i didn't find any french shop that seem very ... trusty, and Erik has such a good reputation that i'm ready to send my favorite SLR over the seas and around the globe to make sure it will be ready (and shiny) to rock again

09-09-2012, 10:42 AM	#10
frogfroggy New Member Join Date: Aug 2012 Location: Berlin, Germany Posts: 13	Good for you ! I will ship my cameras (MX and KX) in a couple of days to Eric. I heard only good stuff about him. Have fun with the Super A and when I heard you had so much fun, GAS came back again that I am currently bidding on Super A with 1 year warranty !

09-09-2012, 04:02 PM	#11
PPPPPP42 Site Supporter Join Date: Jan 2012 Location: Wisconsin Photos: Albums Posts: 947 Original Poster	$97 for a Super Program full CLA (includes parts like seals and such), though I'm thinking he should have charged more for the mess I sent him. Since I inherited this camera it was more than worth it to me to have it sorted out again. Plus its just nice to have a camera that you can 100% trust because it was fully calibrated and tested on equipment designed for just that purpose. Its really weird going from the K1000 to the super program though. The K1000 will still get used because I absolutely love its simplicity and I actually prefer analog meters like its match stick. Getting used to an LCD actually telling me in numbers how many stops over or under I am is certainly new, I never used this thing in anything other than full Program mode because I didn't know much about photography back then (10+ years this has been sitting broken) and the half press was broken. The Super Program does beat a whole ton of others for ergonomics though, the size and the grip are just so damn handy, I always found the lack of grip and extra height of the K1000 a tad awkward in that department. Best part is I have A whole pile of Pentax A lenses and a 280T ttl flash (inherited the flash with the camera too) so I'm totally set to maximize this things abilities.

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09-10-2012, 12:48 AM	#12
mickey Veteran Member Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: Japan Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 1,146	Thanks womble! Just checked the site out. LesDMess, I'm sure there is someone in Japan...just haven't found one yet. My Japanese is far from fluent, so there may be one or two places that I know of, just haven't been there for a while. Oh, and apologies for hijacking the thread somewhat...

09-10-2012, 09:30 AM	#13
ChrisPlatt Site Supporter Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: Rockaway Beach NYC Posts: 7,692	I have an M 35/2.0 lens with a slow diaphragm I want repaired prior to my trip in October. I must send it off to Eric this week. Now to choose a body (to CLA) as a "rear cap"... Chris

09-10-2012, 11:26 AM	#14
monochrome Loyal Site Supporter Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: Working From Home Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 26,276	Originally posted by ChrisPlatt I have an M 35/2.0 lens with a slow diaphragm I want repaired prior to my trip in October. I must send it off to Eric this week. Now to choose a body (to CLA) as a "rear cap"... Chris I should think a black MX well-suited to that task.