Film Camera

My nan dug out her old Pentax Me Super with 50mm lens the other week, so I thought it would be rude not to try it out. So after getting some new batteries and finding a supermarket that still sell films I was good to go

It was rather interesting going back and playing with a fully manual camera where you can't review your shots and have to rely on manual focus, it makes you think a lot more about each shot you are going to take.

I'm waiting for the photos to be developed, but once they are (and if they aren't too bad) I'll get some posted up on here.

Questions of the day though had to go to my cousin who asked such classics as "how do you see the pictures?", "where does it plug into the computer?" and "what megapixel is that?"

finding a supermarket that still sell films

Quite a rare thing these days, my son has an Olympus Trip and an Ashai Pentax SLR. Have found the cheapest place for film to be the local 'pound' shop. You'll never guess how much they are ! Cheap developing is the next hunt.

I picked up a pack of 3x24 fuji films (iso 200) for £1.60ish from Morrisons, not bad I thought

ME Super is not fully manual for that you want the MX.

The ME super was the first Pentax to have a top shutter speed of 1/2000th of a second, with Shutter priority, Aperture Priority, Fully Automatic & Manual.

Which I put to good use when in the army in Germany when attached to the army air corps. I manage to take one on the first pictures of the new Lynx in flight & freeze the main rotor blades. It sold very well over the following years, copies are scattered all over the world. One 60cm x 90cm is in Texas. The biggest size I could get printed without golf balling effect.

As to the Megapixel question they have previously a 35mm negative contains the equivalent of 30 MP.

Edited by bigluap (Wed 19-Sep-12 04:39:34)

Decent camera the ME, had one for a few years and Pentax have a huge array of really great lenses.

I still shoot film almost daily myself (mainly Leica M6/M2) and a lot of medium format these days, Rolleiflex & Mamiya 645 Pro TL. Just did a recent portrait shoot using the Mamiya and also shot a few using my Sony NEX-7 too. As good as the superb NEX-7 is when compared to the neg scans from the Mamiya and resulting 12x16 prints you just had to laugh at the digital images. Kodak Portra 160 blew the digital images out of the planet, never mind the water!

If you are looking for film supplies then either www.silverprint.co.uk or the nearest Calumet store is usually my first port of call.

OK, cheers for that, good deal, and a Morrison's not far from here either.

On another point, I got given one of these the other day, for my son to tinker with, anyone got any experience/advice for this beast ?

In reply to a post by Zarjaz:

anyone got any experience/advice for this beast ?

• Do not use film faster than ISO 100. The camera won't handle it owing to the slow shutter speeds.
• Use an exposure meter for correct exposure. If you don't have one, use an exposure guide. For example, for bright sunlight, set the camera to 1/125 at f/16 for ISO 100 film. If overcast, use f/11.
• Use a tripod if you have one. If not, support the camera in some way. I wouldn't do hand-held.
• Do not get close to your subjects. This camera is designed for long shots.
• Always point the camera at the horizon (i.e. keep it level) to avoid distortion.
• You may have difficulty getting prints made. Try Jessops.
• You should be able to use the Pentax as a light meter providing it has auto-exposure. Just set the film speed to ISO 100 and the shutter speed to 1/125 and read off the the aperture setting. You won't even need to put film in the camera.

Basic instructions
Exposure guide

Have fun.

Edited by micksharpe (Sun 23-Sep-12 02:54:22)

Cheers for that. I shall pass this on to no.1 son.

To add to Mick's comments. When sending the film for processing specify that you do not want teh negatives cut but left in a roll, otherwise teh machine can slice straiight through an image as they are wider than standard.

Excellent point. You must make it absolutely clear to the lab that the frame size is non-standard (24mm x 58mm). I would even go as far as including a note with the film--put both in a zip-lok bag. This is one reason why I would use Jessop's rather than some street-corner photo-shop.

I've just noticed that the camera has a 1/250 shutter speed. This means that you could load ISO 200 film at a pinch but I would stick with ISO 100 myself.