One of the best sites to check out this kind of information is Bojidar Dimitrov's Pentax K Mount page. The following link is to the information on the Pentax A* 300mm F4 which seems to be close to what you are looking for. http://www.bdimitrov.de/kmp/ Regards

I can't say about the Optio S, but I have just got the Optio S4, and it is superb. Just perfect as a pocketable camera, with great features and high quality images. I have used an Olympus XA and then a Pentax Efina as my carry anywhere (anytime!) camera in the past but the Optio S4 just leaves them all standing. Nice to have a camera that makes my mini disc player seem bulky!

Lets start with the film loading. The ME Super uses the Pentax 'Magic Needle' system - this requires you to insert the film leadre into the spool of white plastic rollers - you can't just lay the film along the guides (as you do with most modern compacts and SLRs with built in film advance). Assuming the film leader has been inserted into the 'magic needles' then you have another aid - with the ME Super, on the back of the top plate (just below the film advance lever) there is a small window with black and red vertical bars. If the film is correctly loaded thses bars will agitate as you advance the film - if they don't chances are that the film has not taken up properly. A further indication that the film is advancing properly is that the rewind spool will rotate as you wind on the film.

If all of this is ok then the next thing is to check the camera settings and shutter. Was the film speed set correctly? if set too fast this may have caused severe under exposure.

Check the shutter operation - with the back of the camera open (and the lens on maximum aperture) fire the shutter and you should see the shutter open / close (and see a quick burst of light from the lens). If the shutter is not operating I am afraid it is a repair needed.

Let us know how you get on.

Regards

I can only suggest keeping an eye out on Ebay. There are currently a douple of Espio 115's advertised as spares / repairs for under £10. You may strike lucky and pick up another body with other faults that you can cannabalise to repair yours. Good Luck

If you can't track down a good LX, I would opt for the MX over the ME Super.
The MX is a more rugged camera than the ME Super, it only relies on batteries for the meter so you are less likely to miss that all important shot!

You haven't mentioned the type of photography you are interested in - if you require a motor drive, again the MX has the advantage witha choice of a 2 fps winder or a 5 fps motor drive (though these are now rarer thean LX's).

I use all three of these cameras on a regular basis, the LX is definitely my favourite but the MX is not far behind. This is not saying that the ME Super is anything other than a great camera - just a personal preference

Hi Stuart,

When you select a depth of field preview the lens aperture shuts down to that which will be used for the exposure, this will make the image in the viewfinder darker (the smaller the aperture the darker the image). With the lens 'stopped down' in this way you can see exactly what is in focus (providing the image isn't too dark!). This is particularly useful when trying to guage the correct focus point to gain the maximum area in focus.

Hope this helps

The only thing I can add to John's recollection of prices is that for the ME, MX and ME Super there was a £10 premium to be paid if you wanted a black body.

Hi,

I have used both the Winder ME and Winder ME 11 on my collection of ME / ME Super / MG and MV1 cameras. From new several of these cameras would have had extensive use (upwards of 200 rolls of film in the first few years) with the winder attached (I found the winder improved the handling) and have not suffered any failures in either the winders or the cameras. I understand your concern but from my own experience I think it unlikely that the use of the winder would cause any undue additional stress to the camera body.

I can comment from personal experience of using Glover and Howe. They do provide a first class service and when one of my LX's was damaged beyond economic repair they even managed to source and supply a replacement! - something I was dreading having to do.

Hi ShotGun,

Thanks for your 2 cents - I think your opinions / experience is worth considerably more! I am currently tracking a secondhand 360, so fingers crossed I should be able to let you know my initial thoughts in a couple of weeks.

Cheers

Steve