[nickthetasmaniac]

I'm curious why you're offloading your OM kit (which is fantastic gear), just to buy back in with a similar Pentax kit? If money is tight why not just stick with what you have?

[Mikheil88]

you are welcomed

please post some of your photos if you get a chance

I don't create anything worth showing, it's just a hobby and I'm pretty sloppy with it.

The SuperProgram/SuperA isn’t really plastic—it has the same/similar build to the ME Super. Unfortunately like the ME Super it fails your other requirement in that it uses buttons to set shutter speed.

Indeed. And to make the matters worse, it doesn't have an all-mechanical 1/125 shutter speed for emergency scenarios.

I have a couple if Super Programs and I like them allot. For the Super Program...
Pros:
- Newer than the K2
- Supports "A" lens settings and has 3 Auto modes and TTL flash.
- With PKA mount lenses you get more functionality with DSLRs which is a plus.
- has a 3.5 fps motor

Cons:
- LCD in viewfinder has a potential short life and will fade and eventually not work
- the shutter release meter activation often gets dirty and stops working
- build quality is below K2 (imho)
- while the top and bottom are plastic, they have a metal veneer and look and feel like metal
- me super like shutter speed selector

I like both cameras though...

If K2 were as compact as next generation of cameras from the 70s, it would have been nice, I might have even paid the assigned price of 100+$.

I'm curious why you're offloading your OM kit (which is fantastic gear), just to buy back in with a similar Pentax kit? If money is tight why not just stick with what you have?

Money is tight right now, but it won't be always like that and next time I want something that will share the mount with my digital camera. Because carrying two sets of cameras and lenses hurts my back. I am happy with K-x and when the time comes I will undoubtedly upgrade to another digital Pentax.

[aslyfox]

I don't create anything worth showing, it's just a hobby and I'm pretty sloppy with it.. . .

nothing wrong with that decision, your choice on how to participated in the forums is fine

[abruzzi]

Indeed. And to make the matters worse, it doesn't have an all-mechanical 1/125 shutter speed for emergency scenarios.

A lot of people hold this view, but to be honest, The batteries are cheap, easily available (here, I don't know about Georgia), and have a very long life, so it never really bothered me. Most of my regular cameras have electronically timed shutters, and despite shooting ~100 rolls in the last 6 months between three electronically timed cameras (Bronica ETRSi, Pentax 67, SuperProgram) I've never given it a second thought. If photos are critical, I throw a spare battery in the bag.

[pres589]

Your requirements are a bit odd. Needs to be all metal. Not basic like a K1000. Cheaper than an MX and should be as cheap as an old deal on an OM-1.
Has an automatic mode of some sort. No pushbutton interface for controlling the camera body.

The best camera I could think of for all this is a Pentax LX. It's everything you want save for price.
Next might be the XR-7 but you don't like it because the top deck is plastic (this has been debated, oddly enough). It has an automatic exposure mode and doesn't need P-pin equipped lenses; K and M series Pentax lenses work with the XR7's auto mode just fine.
After that, the Chinon CM-5 might be of interest, but it's a bit more plastic-bodied than the XR7. This camera actually interests me a lot and is something I'd be interested in picking up some time.

I don't think you're going to find the perfect camera for you with a k-mount on it. One of the cameras I've mentioned here might get you close.

[Mikheil88]

A lot of people hold this view, but to be honest, The batteries are cheap, easily available (here, I don't know about Georgia), and have a very long life, so it never really bothered me. Most of my regular cameras have electronically timed shutters, and despite shooting ~100 rolls in the last 6 months between three electronically timed cameras (Bronica ETRSi, Pentax 67, SuperProgram) I've never given it a second thought. If photos are critical, I throw a spare battery in the bag.

They are fairly easy to find out here too, it's just me who is forgetful. OM bodies drain batteries like a glass of juice and I had to deal with all-mechanical speed more than once. Pentax is far better in that.

[abruzzi]

I know that both of my medium format bodies can be hard on batteries if you use bulb mode, because the batter is constantly keeping the shutter open. The SP I'm still using the old batteries that were in it when I bought it.

[Mikheil88]

Your requirements are a bit odd. Needs to be all metal. Not basic like a K1000. Cheaper than an MX and should be as cheap as an old deal on an OM-1.
Has an automatic mode of some sort. No pushbutton interface for controlling the camera body.

The best camera I could think of for all this is a Pentax LX. It's everything you want save for price.
Next might be the XR-7 but you don't like it because the top deck is plastic (this has been debated, oddly enough). It has an automatic exposure mode and doesn't need P-pin equipped lenses; K and M series Pentax lenses work with the XR7's auto mode just fine.
After that, the Chinon CM-5 might be of interest, but it's a bit more plastic-bodied than the XR7. This camera actually interests me a lot and is something I'd be interested in picking up some time.

I don't think you're going to find the perfect camera for you with a k-mount on it. One of the cameras I've mentioned here might get you close.

Oh no of course I don't have an illusion that somewhere out there the perfect camera exists. That's the very reason of having two Olympus cameras. And even ME Super had a few features that I liked and preferred over OM-1 and OM-4. Automatic mode and 25$ price tags aren't a necessity, but I would much rather invest in proper optics than the body, hence "the cheaper the better". If I find MX for 50$, I'll go for it. XR7 is somewhat cheap too, I've seen one for 20$-ish. I have also seen a few ME Supers for 30-35$ and oddly enough Super Program which is newer and has more features were going for 25$. Don't know about the rest.

---------- Post added 17-09-18 at 07:35 PM ----------

I know that both of my medium format bodies can be hard on batteries if you use bulb mode, because the batter is constantly keeping the shutter open. The SP I'm still using the old batteries that were in it when I bought it.

I had Bronica ETR for a few months and it was also eating the cells, especially with AE prism.

[pres589]

I've shot maybe 50 rolls through an XR7 as my first real film camera. In short, I really like it. I'd love it if it offered the following; non-reliance on batteries to drive the shutter through most if not all of the available speeds, and an illuminated light meter display. In low light the LCD meter display is basically useless, like match needle displays of yore.

I've not used a CM-5 yet, but plan on buying one sometime this year. It's got three LED's for light meter readout (oddly slightly outside the viewfinder, so you could see the meter while the camera is on a tripod I guess) and the shutter can be fired with the film advance lever is fully returned instead of sticking out slightly like the MX and a lot of other cameras of that era. I don't think the CM-5 has a judas window to read the aperture ring's position which is kind of a drag, and it seems like five LED's would be better than three...

Have you ever picked up a Minolta XG-M? The light meter is crazy! I held one for the first time last week and it seemed really cool. Like, cool enough to leave k-mount for film cool, but maybe I'm being silly with that idea.

[Papa_Joe]

The camera for you seems to be the Cosina CT 3.

Works with dials. Full metal body, built like a tank.

Aperture priority or manualy set shutter speed.

Cons:

- Electronic shutter. I do not no if X sync is mechanical. Probably not.
- No DOF preview.

I can also recommend the chinon CE-4 which was my first camera (rebranded as Revueflex AC-2). True, it has a plastic top, but that was no issue. Completely reliable camera wonderfull usability (until i dropped it onto an italian piazza). Has Dials, DOF preview, Aperture priority, manual shutter speed, but only works with batteries.

However all these cameras will have detoriated light seals and mirror damper. If you want to have a camera with working seals you have to buy a Pentax P30n, which is all plastic and has NO manualy set ISO. Or you look for newer Ricohs or Chinon, which will have a plastic body too.

[RKKS08]

About the mechanical 1/125s of the ME Super:
In 1982 the shoulder strap somehow hang on the door when I was leaving the car, and the camera dropped the concrete bottom. There was a dent in the prism housing; no problem with the prism itself, but the electronic circuits were damaged. Repair ment to send the camera to Hamburg for repairs (4 weeks without camera). The 1/125s still worked, and I could wait with the repair for a time I would not urgently need it.

About the push buttons of the ME Super and Super A:
It took me a while to get used to these (the Exa and Exakta cameras I had used for nearly a decade had the usual wheel selector on top). But finally I started to appriciate to change shutter speeds while looking through the viewfinder, much easier than with a selector on the camera's top plate.

And if you liked the Oly OM system: the Pentax M and A series share the size of these. But of course you know this.

[Mikheil88]

I've shot maybe 50 rolls through an XR7 as my first real film camera. In short, I really like it. I'd love it if it offered the following; non-reliance on batteries to drive the shutter through most if not all of the available speeds, and an illuminated light meter display. In low light the LCD meter display is basically useless, like match needle displays of yore.

I've not used a CM-5 yet, but plan on buying one sometime this year. It's got three LED's for light meter readout (oddly slightly outside the viewfinder, so you could see the meter while the camera is on a tripod I guess) and the shutter can be fired with the film advance lever is fully returned instead of sticking out slightly like the MX and a lot of other cameras of that era. I don't think the CM-5 has a judas window to read the aperture ring's position which is kind of a drag, and it seems like five LED's would be better than three...

Have you ever picked up a Minolta XG-M? The light meter is crazy! I held one for the first time last week and it seemed really cool. Like, cool enough to leave k-mount for film cool, but maybe I'm being silly with that idea.

I haven't had XG-M, but I had X-700 for a while. I wish it had a build quality of Mino SRT.

The camera for you seems to be the Cosina CT 3.

Works with dials. Full metal body, built like a tank.

Aperture priority or manualy set shutter speed.

Cons:

- Electronic shutter. I do not no if X sync is mechanical. Probably not.
- No DOF preview.

I can also recommend the chinon CE-4 which was my first camera (rebranded as Revueflex AC-2). True, it has a plastic top, but that was no issue. Completely reliable camera wonderfull usability (until i dropped it onto an italian piazza). Has Dials, DOF preview, Aperture priority, manual shutter speed, but only works with batteries.

However all these cameras will have detoriated light seals and mirror damper. If you want to have a camera with working seals you have to buy a Pentax P30n, which is all plastic and has NO manualy set ISO. Or you look for newer Ricohs or Chinon, which will have a plastic body too.

Light seals are not an issue, I fix all my cameras on my own as long as the issue is mechanical and not in electronics. CT-3 suggested by you seems like a son/grandson of CT-1, which was sold as so many things that I can't even remember. But all in all was a great camera.

About the mechanical 1/125s of the ME Super:
In 1982 the shoulder strap somehow hang on the door when I was leaving the car, and the camera dropped the concrete bottom. There was a dent in the prism housing; no problem with the prism itself, but the electronic circuits were damaged. Repair ment to send the camera to Hamburg for repairs (4 weeks without camera). The 1/125s still worked, and I could wait with the repair for a time I would not urgently need it.

About the push buttons of the ME Super and Super A:
It took me a while to get used to these (the Exa and Exakta cameras I had used for nearly a decade had the usual wheel selector on top). But finally I started to appriciate to change shutter speeds while looking through the viewfinder, much easier than with a selector on the camera's top plate.

And if you liked the Oly OM system: the Pentax M and A series share the size of these. But of course you know this.

A very welcomed bonus feature of OM cameras is shutter selector around the lens mount which allows me to do exactly that - change the speed while looking through the prism.

Maybe I'm just overthinking it all and I'll be better off with ME Super. After all, I used to own that camera for a while some months ago and it wasn't that bad, except for the buttons. If I could find a 28 mm lens for cheap, I would set things into motion.

[RKKS08]

I don't know about prices in Georgia, but on German eBay there are presently many offerings of the SMC Pentax-M 2.8/28, but mostly for creazy high prices. But I saw one offer of a ME Super with this lens attached for EUR 59. With a pre-SuperA body you will not need an A type lens.

Problem may be that many of the ME Supers could suffer of the non-cocking issue when transporting film, and the seller may not know about this issue.

EDIT:
This issue is present with all the small form-factor Pentax cameras of this era, starting with the ME and up to the P series (where it is rather seldom, as these cameras are newer). The issue seems to develop more often if the camera was not used for a long time.

[Mikheil88]

I don't know about prices in Georgia, but on German eBay there are presently many offerings of the SMC Pentax-M 2.8/28, but mostly for creazy high prices. But I saw one offer of a ME Super with this lens attached for EUR 59. With a pre-SuperA body you will not need an A type lens.

Problem may be that many of the ME Supers could suffer of the non-cocking issue when transporting film, and the seller may not know about this issue.

EDIT:
This issue is present with all the small form-factor Pentax cameras of this era, starting with the ME and up to the P series (where it is rather seldom, as these cameras are newer). The issue seems to develop more often if the camera was not used for a long time.

I purchase all of my gear abroad, on ebay, keh, robertscamera or any other place that sells the stuff. My ME Super indeed had an issue mentioned by you, I sometimes had to "overwind" the lever second time because shutter wasn't cocked. But a regular ME didn't have the issue. This happens sometimes, desynchronizing the winder idler gear is also something that OM system suffers from. And unlike Pentax, on Olympus you have to actually advance the film twice (leaving one frame blank in the process). These are old devices after all, 35-40 years mean a lot for a human, let alone some metal box.

[johnha]

The only camera not yet mentioned that might be an option is the original P30 - the only issue perhaps is it's reliant on DX coding. The body is mostly metal (only the top-plate & finger grip seem to be plastic), it has a shutter speed dial, meter lock (a rarity in Pentax MF bodies), takes a mechanical cable release and shouldn't be hard to find for a reasonable price. The later P30n/T are probably more plasticky.