The 2018 camera of the year.
The camera I put the most film through in 2018 was the Pentax ME Super. The previous year it was the Pentax ME (not “Super”), so I guess I’m being uncharacteristically consistent by favouring what is essentially the same camera two years in a row. And yet, this isn’t the gear I was planning to use in 2018.
Some of you might recall that about this time last year I declared that 2018 was to be the year of shooting “Old Iron”—sturdy, heavy, old thread-mount SLRs. It started off that way, but I soon began to regret my decision. Yes, the lenses I have are superb and the cameras are magnificent in their own way, but eventually I longed for the convenience and features of my little Pentax SLRs. Practically eventually won out. I’ll continue to shoot the thread-mount cameras from time to time, but I’m not ever likely to use them exclusively.
For those unfamiliar, the aforementioned Pentax “M” line is very much a product of the 1970s, when SLR manufacturers aimed to make their offerings more compact, largely spurred on by the sudden appearance of the ground-breaking Olympus OM-1, in 1972. Pentax’s response was a line of cameras that were both smaller and lighter than the OM-1 and, in my opinion, are some of the finest SLRs ever produced.
The aperture-priority automatic Pentax ME was the first in the company’s M line and was introduced in 1976. (For much more on the ME, check out Jim Grey’s book, “Exceptional Ordinary,” or pop over to his web site for his reviews of the ME here and here.) The ME Super came out in 1980 and added full manual control. My other Pentax M is the MG—a simplified version of the ME that appeared in 1982 and proved to be the end of the line. The MG retains the aperture-priority shooting mode of the ME, but loses the shutter lock feature and has a slightly smaller viewfinder. I’ve found all three versions to be highly capable shooters that produce splendid results.
As just about everyone who has shot with one of the Pentax M series knows, the cameras are wonderfully compact and the Pentax K-mount lenses are tremendously good. The black ME Super shown above wasn’t my main camera—I have three Supers and one of the chrome ones got most of the action. I didn’t get the black one back from its CLA until late in the season—but, a black ME Super sure is a looker!
Honourable mention for 2018 goes to the Lomo LC-A 120. I put a few rolls through that camera too. I’ll have much more to say about that experience in an upcoming review. Stay tuned!
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For 2019 go for Minolta XD7/11 or X500/570 with MD 50mm 1.4 (49mm filter). It can use M42 lenses with Minolta adapter.
Awesome! I’m happy you like these compact Pentaxes. And thanks for the link to my blog!