The one that particularly annoys me at the moment is posting slide film for processing. The process paid envelopes are within the width, height and weight limits for a 1st class stamp. However, as they're more than 5mm thick you can't use a stamp but have to take them to the post office and send them as small packets!

Hmm, they don't seem to have noticed that SRS can beat their price for a K-r kit by £25!

It really depended on the budget of the original purchaser. The 1.7 was the standard, with the 1.4 being more expensive and the 1.2 (left over from the original K series) as the top of the range. Later an f2 was introduced which was intended as the cheap lens.

There was also the 40mm f2.8 "pancake" lens, which wasn't especially expensive at the time but is now rather sought-after due to its tiny size and pleasing field of view. I use one on a black ME Super as a pocket camera, as the lens is only about 3cm long!

Try your local supermarket. Tesco here have twin packs of LR44 batteries for less than Boots want for a single one (and they're branded Duracell rather than generic own brand ones). Pound shops sometimes have large cards of button cells/watch batteries including LR44s.

I'm not. It's a K series and an unusual one at that, so rare example from a rare series. That alone will make collectors desperate to own one!

These don't seem hugely common, especially not in this condition. When I saw it for £20 with no bidders I decided to have a go, and ended up paying £20 for it with original strap, ERC, and manual. It even has the original lens cap!

[IMG]http://i183.photobucket.com/albums/x21/Kingofthemountains/IMGP4752.jpg[/IMG]

The camera and lens are in almost perfect condition, the lens is probably the nicest example of the M 50/1.7 I own with a very light, smooth focus and no dust inside. The ERC has suffered a bit but is still presentable, so it'll be living in that to keep it minty. I've just loaded a roll of HP5 and will be giving it a careful test over the next few weeks.

How do I know the manual is original? It still has the slip of paper inside with the camera serial number (which matches that on the body)!

The ME Super shutter has two speeds without batteries - 1/125 and B. 1/125 is also the flash sync speed, hence why it has that speed marked along with Auto, M and B positions. When you fit the batteries you should get LEDs in the left hand side of the viewfinder showing what speed it intends to use (or in M what speed you have selected and whether this will produce an accurate exposure).

If you buy a matching flash (the AF160 and AF200S would both work, aren't expensive, and are from the same era as the camera) then the camera will automatically switch to 1/125 and display a "flash ready" LED in the viewfinder when the flash is charged.

As for film I use Ilford HP5 for B&W and Boots slide film for colour, as both are readily available and easy to organise processing for (the slide film comes with an envelope to send it off, I can process the HP5 at home). If you look in my thread about the MV1 you'll find an album of photos taken in the last couple of weeks using HP5, to give an idea of how it behaves.

Resurrecting this thread as I developed and scanned the test roll from the MV1 yesterday. It seems to work perfectly and I think there are a few crackers in there

Posted a link as I haven't resized them!

Providing the manual you have is for an ME Super (as opposed to the ME or ME F) then yes, it'll be the same. The original one is probably slightly easier to deal with!

I see a lot of people using the word "minty", which I take as meaning "It's close to mint, but I won't use that word because someone will moan about a tiny mark on the base".

I've seen the 135mm priced anywhere between £30 and £50 depending on condition, an ME Super alone could be £20-£30.

Compare the metering to another body and if it seems on the money then definitely put a film through it. Even if you still decide to sell (and I doubt you will - the click of an ME Super shutter is a very pleasant sound) you'll then be able to legitimately list the body as film tested and put a couple of links in to sample images.

I for one am very cautious about buying ME Supers now as they seem to be some of the worst for being sold as "good condition" and then turning out not to work (got two working ones and three broken!) Being able to provide proof that this one works properly should bump the price up a bit.

Yes the ME Super has an electronic shutter, you need two LR44s to get it working. I would avoid anything with "lomography" on the box personally as that approach to photography seems to make a virtue of seriously rough-looking images! Boots still sell process-paid slide film which I find very good indeed, just make sure you put the right postage on the return envelope as a stamp is no longer acceptable by the post office.