[YeOldePentaxian]

So, I picked up a ME Super last Friday for 15.00 CDN, including a camera bag and a Vivitar 2800 flash because I could see in the ad it had a M 50/1.7 mounted on it.

Brought it home, tried advancing the film to see if there was still a roll inside, did not feel any resistance and could continue advancing as much as I wanted without ever feeling any change. Put in fresh batteries, did some reading on the site about possible problems and DIY repairs, watched some take apart videos, decided this was a back burner project for now.

Today, I was thinking I would try the lens out. When I picked up the camera I levered the film advance, hit the shutter and it fired - but the mirror locked up. Tried the banging the camera on my hand and the turn to 125x mirror release suggestions I read on the forums with no success.

Still not planning to spend any major time working on this right now but it raises two questions for me.

1) Would folks concur that what I described supports the theory the camera has a stuck/gummy/worn mirror latch lever?

2) I am assuming I can safely remove the lens with the mirror locked, throw a cap on the camera, and just leave this on the back burner?

[Apet-Sure]

I have the same camera and lens, though I haven't shot with the ME Super in years. Others can correct me if I am wrong, but it seems to me that it would be OK to slowly try to remove the lens. If you feel any resistance other than the K-mount friction, stop immediately. The M50/1.7 is my best lens; so glad it came with the ME back in the day. My K10D loves it.

I'm not sure from your post if you ever loaded film into the camera. I do remember a few times after loading new film into the ME that I didn't feel any resistance when winding. Turned out to be operator error. It was much harder to get the end of the film roll to catch on the sprockets in the ME than on my trusty Vivitar 250/SL. If I didn't feel resistance when winding it was because the end of the film roll had come loose from the take-up sprocket after I shut the camera.

[YeOldePentaxian]

I did not load any film after installing fresh batteries. After trying some film advance and shutter tests I did pop the camera open to confirm there wasn't any film loaded.

I used the ME for years and figured I would be OK just dry firing the Super while I tested it out.

[kp0c]

There should be no problem whatsoever in removing the lens unless the me super is significantly different than the super program, mx and k1000.

[YeOldePentaxian]

Thanks.

I don't remember ever having the mirror lock up on my ME but I don't want to cause any more problems with the body while I remove the lens.

[kp0c]

By the way, my mx had a mirror lock up problem and it was a simple fix for my local repair camera guy. It was a just a matter of retentioning something at the bottom of the camera. However, I also have another mx, and a kx (film) with the same problem and in this case, it needed a complete relub. It isn't all that expansive, but still.

[Bonner04]

So what was the outcome?

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Last edited by Bonner04; 04-20-2016 at 06:37 AM.

[calsan]

Is the light seal foam on the mirror degraded and gooey?

[YeOldePentaxian]

Here is a quick snap of the mirror up with the lens off.

[Shell650]

When my ME Super arrived, the mirror was stuck up like in your picture. The advice in this post (#2) brought the mirror back down:

https://www.pentaxforums.com/forums/8-pentax-film-slr-discussion/71791-mesuper.html#post724763

Good luck.

[YeOldePentaxian]

Since I bought the camera for the lens, I'm going to leave this on the back burner for now.

Thanks everyone.

[Johnny Rod]

The foam bumper doesn't look great, you can just get your fingernail under the edge of the mirror and release it from its sticky grip. The foam turns to gunge as mentioned, I replace mine with strips cut from a sheet of closed-cell black self-adhesive foam from a craft shop, it's 2-3mm thick (can't remember but it matches the Pentax foam thickness well)
Black Self-Adhesive A4 Foam Sheet | Hobbycraft

[Xmas]

The foam bumper doesn't look great, you can just get your fingernail under the edge of the mirror and release it from its sticky grip. The foam turns to gunge as mentioned, I replace mine with strips cut from a sheet of closed-cell black self-adhesive foam from a craft shop, it's 2-3mm thick (can't remember but it matches the Pentax foam thickness well)
Black Self-Adhesive A4 Foam Sheet | Hobbycraft

Confirmed.
Easy.

Favorite Classics / Jon Goodman's Seal Replacement Instructions

You need to do it soon rather than later as the foam eats paint and can damage mirrors!

I just use mouse mat foam, scissors, double sided pressure sensitive tape.
Removing foam needs a can of zippo, wood meat skewer and qtips.
And a lotta time.
You may need to remove foam under top plate too before it eats the prism.

[Johnny Rod]

Is it worth replacing the foam under the top cover? Or just cover the area with some black electrical tape to insulate it against the metal cover? I think the foam in my MX is in poor shape under there but I've done nothing with it yet.

[OldPentaxFan]

The foam is a light seal while the mirror is up and it also acts as a shock absorber, so you don't want to use tape, it won't dampen the shock and light will fog the film.