I found my first Pentax Me Super in a local charity shop for £15 and fell in love with its super compact form. Being the pathetic aesthete that I am, I decided that I also wanted one in black so I bought another off an American on Ebay .
Dials and controls are at a minimum- I love a bit of automation so I use it in aperture priority mode, but for fans of full manual you can adjust the shutter speed via two buttons (yup, buttons) that send the shutter speed higher or lower – you can see what you’re choosing via a light in the viewfinder that shows you what speed you’re at.
The viewfinder is large, giving you a roomy view of the world for such a compact SLR, and there’s a clean split circle centre focusing area to help get your shots right.
I’m totally in love with the way the shutter sounds on this camera- a satisfying dull clunk that isn’t tinny and metallic in the slightest. It just feels great when you fire it. It’s my second favourite shutter sound after the Leica M7.
I’ve decided to show 5 shots from the first ever roll I shot with my black ME Super. I used Fomapan 100, a film with a lovely slightly soft retro feel. The lens is a compact “SMC Pentax-M 1:1.7 50mm” which works brilliantly..
MAX
COMMUTERS
JAY
KARA
JANE
I suggest you buy Pentax ME Super off eBay this instant. Ciao! x
I can be found here:
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17 Comments
Nick
September 19, 2017 at 3:40 pmBeautiful photos. Sold! I’m with you on the black by the way. Black cameras are just sexier.
Anil Mistry
September 19, 2017 at 6:12 pmI knew I had a problem when I ordered another camera just for its colour…
Chris Pattison
September 19, 2017 at 5:10 pmExcellent images Anil. I have tried Fomapan 400 and really liked it, and my nephew loves his Pentax. By the way your website is tremendous. It might be the kick up the backside I need to sort mine out.
Anil Mistry
September 19, 2017 at 6:12 pmThanks Chris that’s very kind. I’ve just got an m42- k mount adapter through the post today sonthe silver me super is gonna become my Russian glass guinea pig
Callum
September 19, 2017 at 6:59 pmI agree with everything said here, and I also really love the portraits 🙂 . I don’t think a quieter SLR exists and although the buttons get a lot of hate for some reason, I think they’re easy and fast to use. After 4 purchases I’ve finally found one which is in perfect unused condition and it’s great.
Eddy
September 19, 2017 at 8:28 pmLovely photos! That ghostly one, Jay, is really special. Thanks for the interesting thoughts on a camera I’ve never used (in any colour 😉
Anil Mistry
September 20, 2017 at 7:50 amThanks Eddy- that was shot through a glass door. The ME Super is still relatively cheap so maybe you should give one a try. People go on about the Olympus Om 1, 2, etc but the mE Super is just more fun to use (in my opinion of course)
Aivaras
September 20, 2017 at 3:33 amGreat camera with outstanding lens, those pentax fifties with F1.7 does contain magic in any form (M, A, F). My fave picture from this set is “JAY”.
Richard Williams
September 20, 2017 at 10:13 amA lovely set of pictures there Anil and a great camera too! Your portraits are fantastic and I love the stark shot of those commuters. They look really happy to be having their picture taken ha ha! I love an old SLR and that Pentax is a classy looking camera. I’m glad to see that they’re compact enough to fit the 35mmc category! By that reckoning, my old Minolta will just about squeak in as well. I have to confess that I used to be a bit snobby about automation in a 35mm SLR, until I tried one with aperture priority mode. So much easier to shoot, so yeah I ‘m with you on the automation front as well. Great stuff – keep it up!
Anil Mistry
September 20, 2017 at 1:21 pmThanks Richard- I love a bit of automation for street photography, it’s one less thing to worry about- some people see using any automation as “cheating”- an affront to photography. I say try everything and do what works for you and keeps you shooting. I chose the Leica M7 because over the M6 it has aperture priority, and the same for my Nikon FM3A. `A lot of my pics are shot this way. I recently got a Yashica 635 and have been shooting portraits fully manually using a light meter- yes, it’s fun but I don’t want to do this every time I shoot.I’d lose my bloody mind and miss every moment.
Richard Williams
September 22, 2017 at 12:28 pmYeah I understand that totally! My Voigtlander is great when you want to shoot slowly and deliberately. Probably not the ultimate tool for street photography though!
Stig
September 20, 2017 at 9:17 pm5 great shots Anil, I especially like the one of the ladies with sun in their eyes, I don’t think I’m going to go over to Pentax just yet, but so many of those SLR’s from that period are fantastic, Pentax, Nikon, Canon, Olympus, Minolta etc etc, love them all
Richard
September 21, 2017 at 10:58 amMy first SLR which was given to me by my boss 6 years ago. Despite a stupid amount of purchases since then, I still use it all the time and I’ve got some killer shots from it. Great portrait of Max
Anil Mistry
September 21, 2017 at 12:43 pmThank you Richard- I LOVE your work by the way- hallucinogenic, ethereal, dreamlike, all that stuff I like- I’m pretty sure I saw your site a few years ago- really distinct work.
Ľubo Brindza
October 3, 2017 at 3:41 pmHonestly, every ‘5 shot with…’ post before or since this one has been, well, meh in comparison. Keep up the quality work!
Anil Mistry
October 3, 2017 at 3:46 pmThank you – perhaps you should submit one of your own to show us how it’s done!
Danny
January 2, 2019 at 12:22 pmBrilliant work, your images are so evocative and also serve as reminders of why film is so special. I’ve never tried an ME Super but I own my late father’s K1000 which works perfectly and is a pleasure to use.