[Ray DeSalvo]

Hey, so I bought a Pentax ME Super off Ebay, not knowing all too much about them. What little research I did on them made them out to seem like a pretty simple and durable camera. I got it today, and so far it seems to be in all good and working order, however, I had to pry open the back after pulling up the film rewind knob. After examining the back, it doesn't look like the latching mechanism used to open the back works, and theres a little bit of rust on the top of the door. So I'm just curious if this is a common issue with old camera, and how much of an issue it might be. Also, I'm totally new to using film, so any advice on servicing, restoration or maintenance, is very much welcome!

Thanks a bunch!
Ray DeSalvo

[LesDMess]

Hey, so I bought a Pentax ME Super off Ebay, not knowing all too much about them. What little research I did on them made them out to seem like a pretty simple and durable camera. I got it today, and so far it seems to be in all good and working order, however, I had to pry open the back after pulling up the film rewind knob. After examining the back, it doesn't look like the latching mechanism used to open the back works, and theres a little bit of rust on the top of the door. So I'm just curious if this is a common issue with old camera, and how much of an issue it might be. Also, I'm totally new to using film, so any advice on servicing, restoration or maintenance, is very much welcome!

Thanks a bunch!
Ray DeSalvo

It may be a common issue for old cameras that are not taken care of. For example, a $29 bargain condition ME Super from KEH comes with money back guarantee that I am certain would not be rusty. -> http://www.keh.com/camera/Pentax-Manual-Focus-Camera-Bodies/1/sku-PK020107000090?r=FE

If you are so inclined, a service manual can be found at -> http://www.pentax-manuals.com/manuals/service/me-s_sm.pdf

If you don't already have it, a copy of the manual can be found at -> http://derrybryson.com/manuals/Pentax/SLR/ME_Super.pdf

Good luck and share your experience and results when you get a chance.

[Ray DeSalvo]

It may be a common issue for old cameras that are not taken care of. For example, a $29 bargain condition ME Super from KEH comes with money back guarantee that I am certain would not be rusty. -> http://www.keh.com/camera/Pentax-Manual-Focus-Camera-Bodies/1/sku-PK020107000090?r=FE

If you are so inclined, a service manual can be found at -> http://www.pentax-manuals.com/manuals/service/me-s_sm.pdf

If you don't already have it, a copy of the manual can be found at -> http://derrybryson.com/manuals/Pentax/SLR/ME_Super.pdf

Good luck and share your experience and results when you get a chance.

Awesome, thanks, I really appreciate the links.

[stevebrot]

Welcome to the Pentax Forums!

Are you sure it is rust? Degenerate (they turn to goo) foam light seals for the film door can gum up the latch and make the door hard to open. Bad seals are the most common issue for 35mm film SLRs. Fortunately they are easy to replace. You can pay to have it done as part of a general CLA (Clean, Lube, Adjust) or you can do it yourself using a kit of pre-cut foams.

For the best CLA at a very fair price, I recommend Eric Hendrickson in Tennessee. His Web site is at:

Eric Hendrickson: Pentax Service

For seal/mirror bumper foam kits, the best source I know of is Jon Goodman. The kits are $10 including shipping. Send me a private message on this site for Jon's e-mail.


Steve

[Louicio]

+1 on getting it CLA'd or atleast changing seals. Also (although a little late) some good advice with old cameras is if something is stuck or doesn't work as expected, don't force it. It can often be its just jammed/stuck with something due to age and correct clearing will bring you a perfect functioning camera, or forcing it will break whats stuck and render it useless. I do beleive Eric will assess your camera and quote before commencing work. All the best it is a great little SLR, one of the best IMO

[AquaDome]

A working ME Super is a great little camera. Big view-finder, sweet focus-screen, ME-Winder is available, it has everything except auto-focus.
The up-down buttons for shutter speed and the LED meter in the focus screen take some getting used to.

[foto guy]

Congrats! Great little camera.
Avoid the discount places when getting your film processed. Shop around a bit to see who gives you quality processing. The price may be a bit higher, but it's worth it. If need be, you can do mail order, such as Dwayne's Photo in Kansas (if you're in North America).

[jtkratzer]

A working ME Super is a great little camera. Big view-finder, sweet focus-screen, ME-Winder is available, it has everything except auto-focus.
The up-down buttons for shutter speed and the LED meter in the focus screen take some getting used to.

Depth of field button or lever and mirror lockup would have been really nice on this camera, seeing how several K models have those features.

[stevebrot]

Depth of field button or lever and mirror lockup would have been really nice on this camera, seeing how several K models have those features.

Yep, those would have been nice. The lack of DOF preview was one reason why I opted for the Ricoh XR7 when I was camera shopping back in 1982. Mirror lockup was less common at the time. Why, I don't know. It seems like it would have been easy to simply flip the mirror up with actuation of the self-timer at the very least.


Steve

[titrisol]

Depth of field button or lever and mirror lockup would have been really nice on this camera, seeing how several K models have those features.

I think the ProgramA and SuperA had that, they are as good as the ME Super and fetch a lot les smoney on the usual sites

[arnold]

I think the ProgramA and SuperA had that, they are as good as the ME Super and fetch a lot les smoney on the usual sites

If a camera won't work without batteries, that becomes a big negative for me. Film cameras give one the option to avoid this dependency, which is why the fully manual-able ones are generally more expensive.

[jtkratzer]

Super Program has DOF preview, but no mirror lock up.