MX & ME base plates compared ....

Is the "footprint" of the MX same as that of the ME cameras. ?

Will cases that use tripod thread screws interchange ?

No, the cameras are different. The ERC for both cameras does not use a tripod screw - there are lugs that retain the case around the anchor points for the strap. As the height of the two cameras is different, there are different ERCs for the ME and MX.

Ok thanks, but I guess what I really wanted to know does not rely on the height of the cameras but only the footprints with respect to the tripod screw location. Do the base-plates' dimensions and tripod screw locations coincide ?

It's strange that two contemporaneous cameras should use different bodies. They're almost the same, but not quite. And the Super-A, which is really a refinement of the ME and ME Super is again just slightly different.

Pentax was so rich in those days they probably never considered cost.

G

No, the base plates are different Alx357.

The reason for the different designs is that the ME series use a vertically running metal electronic shutter and the MX uses a miniaturised but conventional horizontally running rubberised silk shutter. This means the two body types are quite distinct.

Thats the info I was looking for .... so a belt clip for the ME won't go onto an MX .... unless I drill a new hole ... 'don't have the belt clip in hand now, but could acquire one ... if the belt clip baseplate was simply a hole with threads to hold the screw. ( I do have a 1/4-20 tap-set ) Thanks, from across the pond.

But the Super-A and ME-Super both used similar metal-bladed shutters. Why were they different?

G

I presume because it's a fundamental redesign, although the baseplates are similar and there are quite a few transitional design points that are obviously related to the ME series.

As regards the ERC though the real thing is the body shape and height, it's nothing to do with the tripod screw as those sort of ERCs had been phased out several years before. The Super A series are much more chunky.

quote
I presume because it's a fundamental redesign, although the baseplates are similar and there are quite a few transitional design points that are obviously related to the ME series.

The ME, Super-A and the Program-A use the ME-II Winder. So how are they different?

Regards, Horst

Thanks Horst, that seems to indicate that the base plates are the same, which is fine.

What we are talking about here is the ERC, and this is different for each camera type as the body shapes are different. So the MX, ME type and Super A all have a different ERC.

The confusion arose because of the mention of the tripod screw in the ERC, and of course there is no tripod screw fitting in these cases.

You are right that they use the same winder, but, if my memory serves correctly, the plates are in fact slightly different.

G

From left to right: MX. ME Super, Super A.

The MEII winder did fit the Super A (badly) but the motordrive A works much better.

K.

Nice thread!, here's another picture for comparison, showing that the ME is a bit smaller than the MX

A black ME and MX in the same photo - very nice!

Well, if you like comparisons, here's another one with a more serious camera