Pentax Super A and ME Super - Anything to watch out for?

AJQS

AJQS

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As above really, I've gotten fed up of hunting out wide angle lenses for my Oly OMs, so I'm going to sell the OM30 and get one of the above instead.

So anything specific with these that goes wrong?
 
Hmm, quite a few then! How common are things like that though? Is it as bad as OM10 shutter circuitry failure for example?
 
I wouldn't imagine that most of those faults were that common except for the light seals and mirror foam. There's not a lot really that can go wrong with an ME Super or Super A if its been looked after well. The strap lugs being loose can be quite common though I've heard, one of the ones on my Spotmatic F is definitely quite loose, I'm intending to get it serviced soon.

Theres less to go wrong in an ME Super though as the Super A has all the additional stuff to allow it to use 'A' lenses in shutter priority and program mode. It must be remembered though that these cameras are about 30 years old and will have had some wear and tear.

In my view you can't really go too wrong with either of those cameras so long as their in good condition and have been looked after well.
 
Sounds promising. I've got my eye on a rather nice Super A at present, and a couple of lenses. Samyang 14mm is giving me the eye right now too...
 
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Yes, the gummy seals common to the mirror happens when they get old. I just recently replaced them on my Sportmatic F and ME Super SE. It is an easy thing to do yourself once you score the seals. I got mine at a local camera repair shop.

Fungus on lenses noted on that list is not really a camera fault. You'll get that on any lens if stored poorly for a long period of time. Good reminder to give your lenses a sun bath every now and then.
 
Light seals, but that's common with all vintage cameras really. There's nothing really specific to those cameras (i.e. there's nothing unique to it, say like the Canon 'cough' for the A-series of cameras). Most of them are pretty bulletproof - don't forget, it's Harrow Technical's line of business to list as many faults as possible, and the chances are you'd only ever maybe stumble upon one of those, if it all. It's just everything that they have ever run into with these cameras.
 
AlanSmithee said:
...Fungus on lenses noted on that list is not really a camera fault. You'll get that on any lens if stored poorly for a long period of time. Good reminder to give your lenses a sun bath every now and then.
Click to expand...

Chance would be a fine thing... I've barely seen daylight for the last 6 months, never mind the camera lenses :shake: i'm beginning to develop the old "Strangeways Suntan" :LOL:
 
I like my SuperA, but it has a tempramental wind-on or shutter priming mechanism. But that might be a one off problem.
What i think is more likely to be a common problem is the LCD displays gradually failing, making some manual adjustments tricky.
 
Well on it's way to me is a Super A and a Vivitar 19-35mm to play with (I thoroughly expect the latter to be pants!). All for less than £50.
 
Some Vivitar stuff is brilliant - take the original 3 versions of the Series 1 70 - 210mm zoom, for instance, they were excellent (I own the 1st version by Kiron in M42 mount) and amongst the 1st lenses designed by computer, they rivalled Nikon and Canon lenses at the time.
Take also the Vivitar 283 and 285 flashguns, they were used by many professionals in the 70's and 80's and you can still get the slightly modified 285HV version today. (I have a 285 and its probably one of the most versatile flashes ever)

Just see how the lens is before you judge it.
 
SOME vivitar stuff is indeed brilliant - the Cosina 24mm f2.8 is a real gem. Trying to get hold of another one for decent money is a challenge. (I used to have 2). The 28-90 is sharp as anything, just it's huge.

The 19-35, well the most information I have about it comes from here

As long as it doesn't show as much CA or fringing as my Tokina 25-50 I'll be happy. The plan is to have wideangle primes eventually, but hey I might not even like the camera...
 
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