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Hi all,


Today whilst looking through the garage I found an old camera case, and inside i found a Pentax Me Super. I assume it must have been one of my parents. I honestly have no idea about film camera
s. I've only ever used digital.

I'd really like to have a play around with it, but I'm not sure if it works. I have no idea how to change the battery or what type it uses or even to put film in there

As you can all see, I'm a beginner so could anyone please give the basics on film camera's or more specifically has anyone used one of these cameras ? Were they any good ?


Thanks everyone,

Tim

A fun camera. Not quite up there in terms of being one of the classic Pentaxes, but if it works, it should be a very satisfactory piece of kit.

What lens is it fitted with? My guess would be that it's a 50mm f/1.7.

The ME Super is one of their K-Mount bodies; there should be a button around the lens mount which should permit you to release the lens, pretty much the same as on your DSLR.

Looking at the camera from the back, on the top deck, rhs, there will be the film wind-on lever. This also cocks the shutter. On the extreme lhs, top deck, there will be a small round knob, with a small crank-handle in the middle. The handle should fold out. See if you encounter any resistance if you wind it anti-clockwise, or clockwise. If there is no resistance at all, it has no film. IF there is solid resistance when turned clockwise, this means that there is film and it is loaded, ready to shoot. If there is some resistance when turned anti-clockwise, then the film chamber contains a roll of film, but it is not loaded.

I cannot remember how to open the ME, but it will probably be by either pulling the crank handle straight up, or by releasing a catch somewhere along the left hand edge of the rear of the body, perhaps a small lever towards the bottom.

Along the bottom surface there will be a couple of points of interest. The first will be the film release button, which will be a small button - maybe 1.5mm diameter. You push this in and then turn the crank handle clockwise to rewind the film into its canister.

The second point of interest should be a bettery compartment. These will probably use a button cell, so there will be a small circular area with a screw-type of opening. A five cent piece is ideal for this; unscrew this and you should have access to the battery. Replacements will be around $15 I suspect, and available at your local KMart.

I'd start by ensuring that there's no film in the camera (remove it if needed) and then check the battery compartment for corrosion on the contacts. Then I'd be looking at the lens to see what condition it's in. If all seems reasonable, stick a fresh battery in, set the shutter speed to 1/60, keep the film back open and with no lens fitted, cock and release the shutter a few times. Do this at several other speeds: you should be able to see and hear that, as you change your shutter speed settings, the shutter's reactions change as well.

As a point of interest, I believe that the ME super was the first camera to do away with the traditional way of changing shutter speeds and apertures and adopt an electronic buttons systems.