Pentax ME Super problem

Hadron

Hadron

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James
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I recently rediscovered my first “proper” camera, a Pentax ME Super. This discovery prompted me to place an order for a bulk pack of Ilford HP5 and I thought I was all set for my reinitiation in to the world of film. Problem... although the camera seems mostly functional I’m going to get through rather more film than I intended due to the fact that probably 75% of the time the shutter will only release if I advance the film at least two frames, sometimes more. I’m hoping that the good folks on this part of the forum will take pity on one who is returning to the fold and hopefully suggest a simple fix, failing that is anyone in the market for some HP5? :ROFLMAO:
Thanks in advance (hopefully). James :)
 
Hmmm! Thanks chaps although it’s not sounding promising so far which is a shame. Looking at the eBay listing @sirch has posted that’s probably going to be the most economical solution for a usable camera it’s just a shame to use the one I have as a paper weight. I might pick up a cheap working version for now but this one has a lot of sentimental value as I inherited it from my grandad when he passed away and it’s the camera that really sparked my interest in photography back in my teenage years :)
Thanks again. James :ty:
 
Well I've had a few cameras when the problems were solved by watching tv and firing about 100 times...i.e. just needs using again OR you could take the bottom plate off and use a bit of logic by putting some small drops of sewing m\c oil on parts that move when winding on and firing.
 
excalibur2 said:
Well I've had a few cameras when the problems were solved by watching tv and firing about 100 times...i.e. just needs using again OR you could take the bottom plate off and use a bit of logic by putting some small drops of sewing m\c oil on parts that move when winding on and firing.
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To be fair that thought had occurred, I think last time I fired the shutter would have been about 20 years ago so it’s fair to say lack of use is likely the cause. When I’ve used the roll of film that’s in at the moment I’ll spend a night clicking away to see if it helps. I’m guessing taking the base off for a fiddle isn’t an option until I’ve used the roll that’s in?
 
Hadron said:
To be fair that thought had occurred, I think last time I fired the shutter would have been about 20 years ago so it’s fair to say lack of use is likely the cause. When I’ve used the roll of film that’s in at the moment I’ll spend a night clicking away to see if it helps. I’m guessing taking the base off for a fiddle isn’t an option until I’ve used the roll that’s in?
Click to expand...

When I bought a ME super from the bootie it wasn't working properly and did what I mentioned and it's working OK now.....but having bought so many cameras can't remember exactly if it was the continual firing or oiling that got it to work..anyway good luck.
 
Trouble is, if it's the lubricant that's dried or hardened over time (as it does), doing that might free it off but then the offending moving parts may well be running dry, causing wear and possibly economically irreparable damage later on.

If it's got sentimental value then how about sending it for a 'clean, lubricate and adjust' (CLA) service? Perhaps give this chap an e-mail, explaining the fault and ask him for a quote to fix it and give the camera a full service (it it's repairable) while he's got it in bits? http://www.mwcamerarepairs.co.uk/

I've sent cameras to Miles on several occasions (after he was recommended to me by one of the F&C regulars) and I've always found him to be very honest, reasonably priced (for a skilled and highly experienced film camera repair technician) and reliable, as have quite a few others in the F&C section. He tends to be busy (usually a good sign!) so it might take two or three weeks turn-around (pre lockdown timescales there!), but you can always ask him for a rough turn-around estimate if he doesn't provide one before you send the camera. Hope this is useful and best of luck getting it repaired. (y)
 
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If I remember correctly you should be OK to take the bottom plate off with the film in, it just covers the mechanism. But even if you do that you are not really going to be able to do much without winding on.
 
Thanks for your help guys, greatly appreciated. I’ll fire off as much as I can of this roll a film and then have a play about with it when it’s empty, if I don’t get anywhere it’s probably not economical to go down the repair route even give the sentimental value (it can always go on display in my office). I’ll update as and when I have anything to report :)
Thanks again. James
 
Miles (mentioned above) would probably give you an idea of what's likely wrong and how much to fix. He's a great guy. He did pass on repairing my Pentax ME, as he didn't have the part, so I got it done by some ex-Pentax guys, that I think @RaglanSurf may also have used (Peter Emanuel of Asahi Photo http://www.asahiphoto.co.uk). Cost was £85 including a broken stand-off spring, strip down/repair and return postage, which is around the same that Miles charges. Like you my ME has some sentimental value, as I bought it new in 1978.
 
Thanks again for all your help. A quick update, I took the camera to work today in the hopes of getting a few shots off in order to use up the film that was in and the upshot was that the problem got worse rather than better. The result of this is I decided to remove the film and open the base of the camera for a bit of investigation. Taking on board some of the advice given above I applied a bit of light machine oil to the mechanism with a precision oiler (aka a cocktail stick). At first this had little effect but after a few operations the shutter failed to reset as well! Fortunately after a few more actuations things started to gradually improve and I now seem to have a fully operative camera :)
I’ve now reloaded the film and will have a play and see what happens.
Thanks again for all your advice, to say it’s greatly appreciated is very much an understatement
:ty::ty::ty:
 
A tip:- if you had made a note of the film counter, you could have carefully rewound the film making sure it doesn't go back into the cassette (you can feel in rewinding when it comes off the take up spool) then later put the film back in and cover the lens and viewfinder and wind on and fire the shutter until you come to the number you originally stopped at, and then waste another shot or two for luck.
I've used this method quite a few times and handy if you want to change films or to put the film in another camera or the camera becoming faulty...but its not foolproof and sometimes I get the wasting of film slightly wrong esp putting it in another camera so e.g. say 8 frames exposed then blanks of two and sometimes three frames (where I wasted for luck) then back to exposed frames, but better than the frames clashing\over lapping.:eek:
Hope this all makes sense to you. (y)
 
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excalibur2 said:
A tip:- if you had made a note of the film counter, you could have carefully rewound the film making sure it doesn't go back into the cassette (you can feel in rewinding when it comes off the take up spool) then later put the film back in and cover the lens and viewfinder and wind on and fire the shutter until you come to the number you originally stopped at, and then waste another shot or two for luck.
I've used this method quite a few times and handy if you want to change films or to put the film in another camera or the camera becoming faulty...but its not foolproof and sometimes I get the wasting of film slightly wrong esp putting it in another camera so e.g. say 8 frames exposed then blanks of two and sometimes three frames (where I wasted for luck) then back to exposed frames, but better than the frames clashing\over lapping.:eek:
Hope this all makes sense to you. (y)
Click to expand...
Thanks for the tip, fortunately it’s one I had actually remembered from what must be 20 odd years since I last picked up a film camera. I’d taken 7 shots rewound and then blanked up until 10 when I replaced it. It’s strange, when I found the camera I had a moment when I wasn’t even sure if I’d remember how to load a film but as soon as the things back in your hand it honestly could be yesterday since last use :)
Thanks again for the tip, really appreciate all the help returning to the fold :ty:
 
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