Monday, June 27, 2016

Pentax ME - It's So Cute


I was reading about film cameras the other day and read about the Pentax ME.  Several articles raved about how small and simple it was to operate.  Just a basic manual focus aperture priority-centric camera.  I said, Steve, you need to have one of these.  I said, Steve, you're right.  So, guess what, I jumped onto eBay and purchased one via Buy It Now.  

The camera I purchased came with a Takumar-A 28-80 macro zoom.  I would prefer a 35mm or 50mm, but the camera was clean, tested, and well, I can get a prime later if I need one.  The entire kit was way less than $50.  Not bad.  

First impression - the first thing I noticed when I felt the camera after unboxing is how small it truely is.  It's clearly the smallest of my SLR film cameras.  It's really just a bit bigger than my digital Sony A6000 walk around camera.  However, it's rugged and with the lens quite heavy.  Actually, the camera is almost too small to hold comfortably.  I don't have really big hands and even for me it's a bit dinky.  That's cool however.

As a side note, I was up in Chicago this week and went to Central Camera.  They had several Pentax ME's for sale and none was cheaper than $150 with no lens.  So I felt good with my purchase even if the eBay purchase was just so-so.

Anyway, I popped in a few fresh A76 batteries and it appears to work just fine.  Film loaded smoothly, seals appear tight, but like the description indicated the hotshoe is toast.  That's OK.  

I loaded the camera today with a 12 exposure roll of FujiFilm 100, and I'll let you know how it works!  More to come.


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