Pentax ME Super

The ME Super was introduced in 1980 as the succesor to the auto-only ME which had been introduced alongside the MX in 1976. Unlike the ME, the ME Super had both automatic and manual exposure modes.  In manual, the shutter speeds were changed using two small push buttons situated next to the mode dial. It was aimed at the enthusiast market and lacked "pro" features such as a depth of field preview, interchangeable focusing screens and so forth which were available for the MX and the newly released LX.  It was, however, a massive success and topped the sales charts for several years.  As a result they are extremely plentiful now and very cheap.

My first ever SLR was an ME Super bought in 1982 along with a SMC Pentax-M 50mm f/2 lens which was Pentax's budget standard lens at the time. These are illustrated in the second photograph. I still have the lens, which I recently had serviced as it was sticky from an accident with beer in the mid-80s, and the camera body, although sadly, it is long dead, worn out from excessive use on archaeological excavations.