arhphotographic

This will undoubtedly sound strange. I have to admit to feeling slightly apprehensive when considering using this camera for the first time. So much has been written about the ME Super extolling its virtues and abilities, I wondered if I could live up to its expectations. Could a mere mortal like myself be capable of creating good images with this camera in my hands

However these feelings of inadequacy evaporated as soon as I picked up the ME Super. Instead I knew I was in for a treat. Small, lightweight with all the necessary tools at your fingertips, how could I fail to make great images?

This aperture priority camera with manual exposure mode allows you to tap into the legendary line of Pentax K lenses. The shutter speed dial has gone, replaced with an up/down set of buttons that enable you to change shutter speed.

Even the back of the camera looks good! Functional film memo holder; film advance/rewind indicator on the right with its orange stripes that move when you wind the film on and when rewinding the film back into its container.

I would normally check the internal light meter on any camera before going out for the first time. For whatever reason I didn’t with this camera, but I was still rewarded with well exposed images. It’s almost as if the camera was telling me, “don’t worry, I’ll handle that for you.”

Of course it’s not all due to the camera. The 50mm f 1.7 lens has to be one of the best I have tried so far. The images look almost exactly as I imagined when taking them. I love how close you can get with it too.

The split image focus screen in my ME has at one time been cleaned incorrectly and has some swirly looking marks on it making it a little more difficult to focus than it should be. Shame the screen can’t be replaced. However I can live with that.

About 18 months ago, I bought a set of bellows with a Pentax mount, which I proceeded to put in a cupboard and forget about. However, now that I had a Pentax ME Super, I remembered that I had the bellows and so decided to dig them out.

I was keen to try them out to see exactly how close I could get.

Whaooo that’s close. I can see the hairs on this tulips leaves, which were invisible on the previous photo.

The enter key on my old clicky apple keyboard.

Even the apple logo on the same keyboard!

At the outset I mentioned my misgivings. I now feel slightly uneasy for a different reason. I am a Nikon digital shooter which has of course spilled over into my analogue adventures. The whole experience with the ME Super has been such an enjoyable one that I can feel my loyalties being tested :~) I should of course not be totally surprised at this. Many of the cameras I have yet to try out are ones I longed for as a youth but was unable to get any closer to than the shop window. However I was not prepared for the frequency with which my expectations were not only met but exceeded.

Now, which camera should I try next??