Starting With Pentax ME Super 35mm SLR

The Pentax ME Super first made in 1979 and finished production in 1983. This is a wonderful full-frame SLR camera and we're going to break this down to see how we can start shooting with it.

The 28mm F2.8 lens is a wonderfully small, nimble little thing. It is a very compact lens and packs a punch. You will find the aperture and shutter controls on the lens itself. In the video, I demonstrate how you can adjust these controls.

Pentax is a very reliable brand, as such, it became trusted amongst professionals and hobbyists alike. Therefore, it should be relatively easy to pick up one on eBay. However, I would recommend popping into a local vintage camera store. You will be able to talk to someone about the camera and feel more confident with your purchase.

At the front of the camera you've got a timer. You can pull this down. Once you hit the shutter release, it'll start going and then it takes about 10 seconds for it to get to its point. So enough time for you to run to get into the shot. There you go. That's the front of the camera.

At the top of the camera you've got your bracketing exposure setting so if you want to change it, it's really quite simple. You just rotate the dial and then you're good to go. It is a little simpler and easier than the Nikon FA equivalent. Also at the top, you will find your shutter release which you can pop a cable release into.

With such a compact design it is even more handy to have a hot shoe available at the top. Just be really mindful that when you put on a trigger or a remote, when you're taking it off, do so slowly. You don't want to lose the metal contacts from the hot shoe! Considering that this is a very old camera it might be difficult for you to get some new ones on. Ultimately, it will be very pricey for you.

In comparison with the Nikon FA there are fewer modes to choose from. The three available are, manual mode, as well as the auto mode.

One of my favourite things about this camera is the traffic light system which you can see inside the viewfinder. This could be particularly useful for any new film photographer with no light meter. That way you're going to make sure that you've got your subject, your scene well exposed for. To make the light meter work, you will need two L1154 Cells. You can find these online from a good electrical retailer. It is straightforward to pop in and I would strongly recommend putting in a couple, especially if you don't have a light meter.

To release the film back all you need to do is lift the little dial at the top of the camera and then it will pop open. You can go ahead and pop your film in there. Pull it across to the other side. The spool on the right hand side of the camera is very unique. It's very easy to put the film tongue into this and then you can just go ahead and kind of rotate the film. It will catch on very quickly and easily. This was, I think, unique compared to other 35mm cameras from its time. Once you've got that done, you can go ahead and shut the back and make sure that you've got that shut down and go ahead and shoot to your heart's content.

In the video I show the similarities and differences between the 28mm and 50mm in terms of weight and size. Pentax lenses are excellent and think carefully about what type of images you enjoy taking before committing to a new set of lenses.

This Pentax ME Super has a faster, lighter full manual exposure control than the K1000 available. It also has a cable release function so you can pop in the cable release into the top here and use that as well. I think this is a wonderful street photography camera.

It's so easily held. It's light, it's portable, it's quite friendly in the way that it looks, and also when you're carrying it. For any beginner photographer I would strongly recommend getting one of these. Particularly for those of you who don't have light meters and want to use one that's already built in, this will be perfect for you. Just to make sure that you get those shots absolutely well exposed.

Considering the Pentax, they had so many of these cameras out there. If something does go wrong then you've got options to find ways of fixing it. However, even if the battery stops working the light meter stops working, as it is a fully mechanical camera, so it will carry on working without those functions!

I'd love to hear from you as well. What's the best way to shoot with this? Doesn't really matter whether you're shooting colour, slide film, black and white film, everything's going to work here. Just make sure that you expose it well. Let me know in the comments below. I would love to hear from you!

Kodak Gold 120 is it up to the Flash Test?

The last time I shot this film outdoors I got some fabulous results with natural light. It got me thinking how this film would handle indoors with natural light and then outdoors with my Profoto lighting kit.

Big shout out to Evie for reaching out for this shoot. There was no way I was going to miss an opportunity to shoot in Mansion! Let’s see how the shoot went down!

All images were shot at box speed, with the same shutter speed, aperture and this time shot different setups and frames. As mentioned before, changing light intensity would be something I would have to carefully consider.

As always I was trying to get the most consistent results possible. We got a little more creative with the shots as the shoot progressed! The word out there is that Kodak Gold generally tends to gravitate towards warmer tones with slightly more granular images in comparison with Portra 160.

It goes without saying that metering for these films is essential unless you have a bottomless pit of money! I was using my Sekonic L-308X. Kodak Gold has a slightly wider dynamic range but generally you don't want to go to far from about 3-4 stops to be on the safe side.

This is certainly more important when shooting outdoors without guaranteed consistency of light. The shot of Evie and Sammi with the natural light coming in through the window showed the capabilities of Kodak Gold in low light conditions. You can see from the first image that there is a green overcast on the far left with a darker one in the shadows to the right of the window.

Even so, the warm colours with shadows gives a real classic look and feel. As the light poured through the window a little more intensely this afternoon it hit on those light pinks on Sammie’s dress and softened the whiteness of Evie’s dress. It’s got almost a Bridgerton-esq feel to it and this shot is certainly a keeper!

Next we stepped and got to use this beautiful garden golden chair/hammock! I set up the Profoto B2’s to the left of the frame and had Evie sit on the suspended chair with Sammie standing to her left. After a few manual adjustments of the lighting and working through some poses I ended up freezing this look and was amazed by the outcome.

I love the richness of color from the grass in the foreground to the trees in the background but without a doubt the pose and colors from the dresses and chair/hammock this image is a real stand out!

We drifted out to the garden area and shot this with natural light. The balance of colour is consistent although the brilliantly white dress isn't as well captured, I wonder if that’s because of the scanner or some other reason. Chip in your thoughts in the comments below!

The afternoon light was drifting away and so was my time in this shoot so rather hurriedly we shot these two with the profoto lights to make sure the image would definitely come out.

A little overexposed, which can certainly be fixed in Lightroom, it almost looks as if Evie has been superimposed onto a background. A fill light would certainly have complimented this image, a note for next time!

A quick change into the pink dress and a couple of shots with Evie sat outside in the garden patio. The lesson here is that having an external light source certainly guarantees the image will come out as long as it is well metered!

By this point I do think that Kodak Gold would really have struggled to get anything and I wasn’t going to risk it especially with an opportunity to shoot in such an environment does not happen everyday!

My brief experience with this film stock is making me wonder if Kodak Gold may just be cheaper and equally well performing as Portra 160. Do you really need to spend almost 25% more for incremental sharpness? Tell me what you think in the comments below.

The summer is going to be coming into full swing and I would love to connect or collaborate with you if you’re in London! Shoot me a comment and let's set up something!

Thank you for watching all my videos, do go ahead and comment below. Have you shot with the Bronica Zenza ETRS or similar 6by45 camera or either of these slide film stocks?

I would love to hear your thoughts on this shoot, the images, how you have shot with either of these film stocks? which are your likes and dislikes about them? What do you recommend I shoot next with it?

Be sure to check out my shoot with Fadhillah on Kodak Gold too, see you there!

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Kodak Gold 200 Film

Pre March 2022 this film was only available in 35mm format. With the resurgence of film photographers Kodak released it in Medium format too. Thank you, Kodak!

Kodak Gold 200 is a low-speed color negative film that offers an incredible combination of color saturation, fine grain, and high sharpness. It is designed for general picture-taking situations in daylight or with electronic flash.

Due to its wide exposure latitude—you can shoot this from two stops underexposed to three stops overexposed. If you’re looking for saturated colors, fine grain and high sharpness then this is your new go to Kodak color negative film!

In their press release Kodak recommended this film for advanced amateurs who are looking to upgrade from 35mm to medium format photography! Prior to the digital era, Color negative film was the go to film stock. It’s ease of use and easily processing with C41 chemistry made it the staple for any beginner or professional photographer.

Current available Colour negative films can range in ISO rating from as slow as the bonkers FPP ISO 1.6 through to as fast as CineStill 800t or Portra 800. These films offer greater exposure latitude, ie if you’re not good at getting the exposure spot on it you need not worry as even sometimes even being up to 4 stops off and you should be ok!

As it is a fine grain, sharp film that for daylight or electronic flash. It's well worth shooting portraits as well as general landscape or candid images.

If you enjoy developing at home/ in your own lab, you can use the universally available C41 chemistry. Although Kodak recommends Kodak Flexicolor Chemicals, there are so many alternatives available that it's really down to what you are more comfortable with using.

You can use this film for portraits or landscapes, take your pick! I was shooting this film in some overcast conditions which gave a wonderful natural soft box. Ideally however I would have preferred a little bit stronger light as I did struggle with the very low light conditions in some images.

I shot this film in beautiful Regents Park, London on yet another overcast day. I would be intrigued to see how it would perform in summery and autumnal conditions to see how the colours of nature would render. A studio portrait shoot will also definitely be in order to see how it fares with different skin tones!

Be sure to ask your lab to provide you with a separate contact sheet with your film negatives. This way it gives you an opportunity to view your images in hand should you need to review them at a later date!

Next time I would like to see how this film performs in a studio or outside with strobe lighting. A pack of 5 Portra 160s will cost you about £60 whereas a pack of Gold will come in around £46.

From an initial viewpoint the colours come our more saturated on this film however a more methodical side by side comparison with Portra 160 will give clarity of the similarities and differences between these film stocks.

The standout shot on black and white was with Fadhillah looking in to the distance and with her hands in her pockets. The lowered angle from which I shot this creates a little more added drama with the slight breeze through her hair! The more you are pushing yourself to create using different techniques and mediums will develop not only your portfolio but also your understanding to work

Overall this film is great for anyone looking to jump from 35mm to Medium Format. The wider exposure latitude is more forgiving on the images taken and perhaps more importantly on the weight of your purse or wallet. Who knows, you may capture an image which may take you down a new path of creativity so get out exploring!

Love shooting film? I would love to hear your thoughts on Kodak Gold, have you shot with it? What kind of results did you get with it? Let me know in the comments below!

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Pentax Me Super First Walk In Notting Hill With Kodak Portra 800

My first walk with the Pentax ended up in a complete disaster. I had put a roll of Kentmere 400 through to test how it would fare. Having thought that the roll had run though the camera fine, I sent it off for development. Only after having the film developed it was brought to my attention that nothing was actually shot on it.

So what was wrong with the Pentax ME Super (or K1000)? Well, it turns out that even though I had seen the film catch and reel on to the camera, when closed, it was not moving to the next frame. This required the roll mechanism to be replaced entirely, which took a few weeks to get done.

With a tinge of excitement and trepidation I took my camera out for a walk in Notting Hill one cold Spring day with two of my favourite photographers, Lucas & Molly. This time feeling more confident, I put in a roll of Kodak Portra 800 due to the continuing murky English weather conditions.

The camera is so light and small its a delight to carry with you. Almost feels like nothing which makes me wonder if it was the materials they used to make it or did they leave something out. Compared to similar cameras it’s certainly one of the lightest and smallest I have held. I suppose any Leica would be a clear challenger.

I do like the catch mechanism in the Pentax Super ME but it can be a little fiddly if you haven’t shot with it before. I need to work on my technique a little more and with a little more practice I should be able to load the camera with one hand soon. Not sure if that is at all a possibility with Medium Format cameras!!

The location couldn’t be more perfect. The pastel colours of the homes intermixed with cobbled roads and old school telephone boxes. There’s certainly plenty here for someone trying to capture colour and environment of a place.

As we walked along Portobello Road I found myself learning something new each time I took a snap with the camera. What I particularly enjoyed was a three light indicator which pops up with you slightly depress the trigger. It forewarns you whether the image will/will not come out due to the f-stop on the camera against the ISO of the film. Extremely handy and so helpful in its absolute simplicity. This reason alone could be a reason for why someone could consider getting one of these cameras.

Given the lack of light, I think Kodak Portra 800 performs really well here and certainly has given me some optimism in using this film more often around London now using not only this camera but another analogue cameras too. I am curious however to find out how an equivalent 35mm lens would fare.

One thing to note is if you are wearing gloves to not let your fingers get too close to the lens. This can be quite tricky due to the size of the camera but certainly one thing to watch!

Overall, its a fabulously compact piece of kit. If you’re on a budget and an enthusiastically want to explore analog photography more than look no further than the Pentax Super ME (K1000). Only those who own really understand its sheer beauty!

Finally, a special thanks to Lucas & Molly for the great conversation, company and being so generous with their support as always! You can follow them on Instagram here:

@analogsquare

@eclectachrome