This beauty of a camera was an unexpected gift from my wife. Found it cheap (£15) and thought that I would be happy to have it. And she was right.
The Pentax M-series, was Pentax's answer to the explosive popularity of Olympus' idea to miniaturise cameras in the 70's. The Pentax ME/Super and MX are fantastic cameras to have and the immense popularity of the ME gave rise to a number of different models (ME/Super/ME-F/MV etc...).
With the exception of the Pentax 110, the ME and it's bigger brother (the ME-Super) are the smallest SLR cameras produced. Indeed it is diminutive but so well made that it impresses you with it's small size and solid weight. Once you view through it's viewfinder, a nice surprise awaits you. The viewfinder projects such a large image that it is a pleasure to look through. Despite not being the brightest viewfinder around (I love the viewfinder on the Minolta X-700) it has big magnification and it is bright enough. On the left of the viewfinder, you can see the shutter speeds and a red LED lights up next to the automatically selected speed. Top marks for the little Pentax on that.
The vanilla-flavour ME (as opposed to the ME-Super that is) has aperture priority exposure only. Kind of bad news really as this camera comes from the mid-70's and exposure meters were not at their best. Still, nevertheless is accurate enough for b&w film that i used it but if you are thinking about shooting slides, maybe the ME-Super is what you need. Concentric to the ASA-dial on the left, is a + 2 stop exposure compensation that comes in very handy in tricky situations. My experience with this camera is that you will need to use the exposure compensation more often than you think as it's proved to be easily tricked by back light. It is something that you get used to though, I had a couple of badly exposed frames on the first film I shot with it but a couple of film later I am much more competent in getting 36 well exposed pictures out of it. I think that what this little camera really misses, is an exposure memory lock - how much easier would have been to lock the exposure and recompose. To be fair though, there are very few cameras of that vintage that did offer exposure memory lock (and to tell you the truth, while I am writing this, I cannot think of any). Other features include a mechanical speed of 1/100 in case the batteries die and Pentax's lovely little window that turns red on the top of the camera to indicate that the shutter is cocked and ready.
The whole camera body is made out of metal and feels very solid in my hands. The film advance is quite smooth but has a relatively long travel distance. The shutter is a typical SEIKO MFC-E2 vertical metal focal plane and is a very reliable shutter. The mirror is not that well dumped and with high speeds you can feel the vibrations of the mirror. A nice thing about this camera is the fact that because of it's small size, if you are careful enough when you load the film, you might be able to squeeze out 2 or 3 extra frames, turning your average 36-frame film into a 39. On the back of the camera and just below the film advance level, there is a small red/black window. If you have loaded the film correctly, each time you advance the film, you'll see those lines moving. If not, you might need to load the film again.
The biggest criticism for this camera is the lack of manual control. The Pentax ME-Super was released in order to address some of the criticisms that the plain ME received. On the ME-Super you find the addition of manual exposure setting, mirror dumpers for less vibrations and a top speed of 1/2000 (instead of the ME's 1/1000). Not a big deal in my opinion although I can see why would people prefer to spend the extra cash for the Super model. To tell you the truth, £30 difference can be a significant one if you don't really need the extras that the ME-Super provides you with.
Pentax ME vs. Nikon EM
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| Pentax ME vs. Nikon EM size comparison |
Two very similar cameras from two very different companies. My answer to the dilemma ME or EM is simple. Pentax ME. Why? For a number of reasons.
First of all, while both cameras are very well made, the Pentax ME feels (and actually is) smaller, fitting better in my hands. Another reason is the viewfinder; the Nikon EM is nowhere near as nice as the Pentax's. Third, while the Nikon EM has a back light exposure compensation of +2 stops, it does not have the -2 stops that the Pentax ME has. Fourth, with the Pentax ME you can squeeze some extra frames out of the film, with the Nikon EM you cannot as the light meter engages when the frame counter reaches "1". Finally, Pentax lenses are every bit as good as the Nikon ones and they are cheaper to find. Also, there are plenty of third party optics, some of them being excellent like the Rikenon 50 f/2 that came with the camera or the fantastic Tamron 28 f/2.8.
Of course, if you are a Nikon user, there is no point going for the Pentax, makes kind of sense, doesn't it...?....
Conclusion
The bottom line is that this a beautiful camera. It is well made and has a huge viewfinder. Users need to be careful and use exposure compensation often but eventually the camera will reward you with delivering the goods. A diminutive camera that can be bought for peanuts. If you are after a point & shoot SLR, small to fit in you jacket's pocket and don't want to break the bank, then the Pentax ME should be on he top of your list.
Lasting Impressions
I eventually sold this sweet little camera. Again, having the ME and the MX at the same time seemed a bit too much. I liked it but i like the MX better. So i sold it. Good camera to own especially if you consider the relatively low prices it fetches....