Secondhand £50 challenge - Pentax ME Super

[rhody247]

I came across the "Secondhand £50 Challenge" in the title bar by accident and thought it worth posting my recent experience with a black ME Super with a 50mm 1.7 attached.

I bought this pre-owned, much loved, fantastic little camera within the £50 budget and the seller included a Pentax AF 200S flashgun and a Sigma 80 - 200 f4.5 as well.

All I can say is - what a superb camera. It turned out the flash was broken and the Sigma was suffering from some fungus - but I'm still more than happy with the camera and lens combo.

Going back to film to use alongside digital brings back many happy memories.

The ME Super rocks.

[JohnHallett]

I used to have one and it was a brilliant camera. I gave it my sister when I went digital and she is still using it now. Thinking I maybe should have kept it

[Fen]

Still got mine, must remember to finish off the film that's in it!

[rhody247]

Still got mine, must remember to finish off the film that's in it!

Now I wonder how many of us are guilty of that - and for how long the film has been in there :-)

[rhody247]

I used to have one and it was a brilliant camera. I gave it my sister when I went digital and she is still using it now. Thinking I maybe should have kept it

I know that feeling well John

I'm hanging on to this little beauty now - it's a gem of a camera

[Fen]

Still got mine, must remember to finish off the film that's in it!

Now I wonder how many of us are guilty of that - and for how long the film has been in there :-)

About three years! I did shoot a couple of frames a few weeks ago though.

[AlexMonro]

I bought a 2nd hand ME Super from one of the dealers advertising in AP for 50 quid, plus another 45 for a 50/2 SMC A. So it cost me a bit more than the OP's, but I did get a 3 month warranty. It's a lovely thing, just wish I had a bit more time to use it...

[rhody247]

Still got mine, must remember to finish off the film that's in it!

Now I wonder how many of us are guilty of that - and for how long the film has been in there :-)

About three years! I did shoot a couple of frames a few weeks ago though.

It is quite bizarre isn't it?

With digital images, I rush home and load them up to see them as soon as possible.

With film, I know I have to wait and it can be weeks or even months before I get to see what I've captured.

I must admit, film encourages me to spend more time thinking about the image and the capture process before pressing the shutter.

I'll never be able to give up the magic of film.

I just see it as "different" to digital.

[Monobod]

How many of you, like me, press the shutter then look at the back of the camera to see the image thay isn't there of course!

(On the Pentax Z1-p in my case.)

[rhody247]

How many of you, like me, press the shutter then look at the back of the camera to see the image thay isn't there of course!

(On the Pentax Z1-p in my case.)

PMSL Monobod - yep, guilty your honour. I thought it was only me being daft - but I guess that's a hard to break digital habit.

[spinno]

Still got mine, must remember to finish off the film that's in it!

Now I wonder how many of us are guilty of that - and for how long the film has been in there :-)

About three years! I did shoot a couple of frames a few weeks ago though.

It is quite bizarre isn't it?

With digital images, I rush home and load them up to see them as soon as possible.

With film, I know I have to wait and it can be weeks or even months before I get to see what I've captured.

I must admit, film encourages me to spend more time thinking about the image and the capture process before pressing the shutter.

I'll never be able to give up the magic of film.

I just see it as "different" to digital.

tis why I've gone back to manual focus film...slow down and take better pictures.....I hope

[Done_rundleCams]

Still got mine, must remember to finish off the film that's in it!

Now I wonder how many of us are guilty of that - and for how long the film has been in there :-)

About three years! I did shoot a couple of frames a few weeks ago though.

It is quite bizarre isn't it?

With digital images, I rush home and load them up to see them as soon as possible.

With film, I know I have to wait and it can be weeks or even months before I get to see what I've captured.

I must admit, film encourages me to spend more time thinking about the image and the capture process before pressing the shutter.

I'll never be able to give up the magic of film.

I just see it as "different" to digital.

tis why I've gone back to manual focus film...slow down and take better pictures.....I hope

Hi David,

Me thinks, some how, there is a lesson for Tiger Woods, in your quote

And, sadly (or not), when I shot film, I shot it with (about) as much reckless abandon
as I shoot digital ................... relatively speaking of course, and "in
the good old days" the papers/magasines I was shooting for would supply me with
film

Cheers,

Jack

[Zou]

How many of you, like me, press the shutter then look at the back of the camera to see the image thay isn't there of course!

(On the Pentax Z1-p in my case.)

On the contrary, I still raise my digi compact to the eye fogetting it isn't my Rollei B35.

[rhody247]

How many of you, like me, press the shutter then look at the back of the camera to see the image thay isn't there of course!

(On the Pentax Z1-p in my case.)

On the contrary, I still raise my digi compact to the eye fogetting it isn't my Rollei B35.

Old habits Zou

It just goes to show you are a natural - you do it without thinking

[gray1720]

Funny about not finishing film... I recently bought an Ensign Ful-Vue with a roll of C41-process Kodacolor in it. That was a dead loss when developed, but I also had a Kodak No0 Box Brownie with a roll of 127 C41 Kodacolor in it, which has turned out to have six stunningly mundane exposures on it.

The really intriguing thing, though, was the realisation that both cameras must have been still being used after the introduction of C41, circa 1975. Only about 25 years old for the Ensign, but the Kodak was probably over forty years old even then.

Now that I've sorted out the Ful-Vue's shutter, I really must find an application where I can take advantage of a flash that syncs at 1/30th-ish, 'cos it's got a PC socket - and I just have to try modern flash on a box camera somehow!

Adrian

[rhody247]

Good luck with that project Adrian - fascinating response thank you

[Monobod]

Now that I've sorted out the Ful-Vue's shutter, I really must find an application where I can take advantage of a flash that syncs at 1/30th-ish, 'cos it's got a PC socket - and I just have to try modern flash on a box camera somehow!

Try Powdered magnesium and look the part!

[gray1720]

Do not tempt me!
I've got a Kodak "Guide to making better pictures" circa 1910, and I so want to find out what Kodak flash paper was (nitro-cellulose sheets, perhaps?), and have a go myself. Best not done near a sprinkler system, though...

Adrian

[Staropramen]

Not Pentax - I recently bagged an exc++ Olympus OM2N & 50mm, plus the better-rated Zuiko 35-70mm and a Olympus flash for a measly £30 at auction. Some stuff is almost being given away at times.

Unfortunately, the sort of Pentax stuff I need doesn't seem to fall in the £50 bracket - brisk demand appears to keep prices fairly high compared to many non-Pentax brands, for which there's a lot of gear on offer at silly prices.

I fancy a £50 Pentax Z1-P and 31mm LE lens, or a 300mm T* - Rocking-horse droppings! - but I can often get a lot more 'value' for £50 by buying non-Pentax stuff. For example, a 28mm f3.5 SMC 'F' Takumar can cost £50 in exc+ condition, while a contemporary Canon FD version is half of that on average. The SMC-F is well worth the price though.

[Monobod]

I have a Z1-p and still use it for trannies. It is a lovely camera.