Pentax K1000 in it’s genes? Maybe..

[Ralph Turner]

Bit of a long story, but recently I acquired a Pentax ME Super with this f1.7 std lens attached. Sadly the camera suffers with a stuck mirror/shutter - apparently a common issue with these. The lens, though, works fine and is in very good condition all round, particularly the glass, which looks as good as new (apologies for the dust on the filter in the pic). I had no K mount bodies to use it with, but came across this Centon whilst wandering the ‘Bay. It came with a matching 28-70 zoom and both are in virtually as new (working) condition for less than £30. There are various theories online of the K100’s heritage - Pentax K1000 clone or Cosina copy, likely manufactured by Seagull). Centon isn’t a brand I’ve considered before, but I’m surprised how good it looks/feels (the body potentially a better prospect than the lens, but I’ll wait until I’ve seen some results from it before I judge it). Looking forward to seeing how the lend behaves on the roll of Ilford Ortho I have loaded in the combo. Never tried the Ortho before, so potentially a number of variables at okay, but we’ll see how it goes

 

[Stevenson Gawen]

I've never heard of Centon. Looks nice. Look forward to seeing how it performs!

 

[Ralph Turner]

I've never heard of Centon. Looks nice. Look forward to seeing how it performs!

Thanks @Stevenson Gawen . It looks and feels very similar to my Yashica FX3 Super 2000 (I believe, a Cosina made model for Kyocera) even down to the metering display in the viewfinder, though it’s actually a simpler machine (no self timer), more like the K1000. Rumour has it that a lot of the tooling etc for the Pentax was sold to (presumably) Seagull in China, so it’s anybody’s guess what the actual story is. Centon is or was the house brand for the Dixons consumer electronics chain of shops here in the UK and was aimed at the budget end of the market. I rather like the fact that it’s mechanical like the Yashica.
I, too, look forward to seeing the end result

 

[Len Philpot]

recently I acquired a Pentax ME Super

I had an ME Super back in the mid '80s / '90s. It had an Asahi 50mm (f1.x?) lens. It was a good little camera, never had any trouble with it. I bought a "Focal" 70-135 (?) zoom from a discount store a in the early '90s. Focal was the house brand for the US Kmart discount store chain, Yeah, I know... but I was a poor young-ish lad at the time with little discretionary photo-funds. When I look at images shot through it, it's obvious they had the brand name almost correct. The just forgot to use an "e" instead of an "o" in the first syllable... Must've been a typo...

After I got my first DSLR in 2007 (Canon Rebel XT / 350D) I gave the Pentax to one of my sisters. As far as I know she never used it, but I'm sure she now considers is "hers", despite it being stored away in the attic, probably. At any rate, being film even if I got it back I'd probably play with it for a bit as a novelty then fade away. Not that I have anything against film, but digital is more immediate, "editable" (translation: I can rescue crappier images) and I can shoot all I want for no more $$$.

 

[Ralph Turner]

Reading my first bit again, I should have qualified the statement with saying that the stuck mirror issue is only a potential issue these days due to age and the lubrication gumming up a little. Back in the day it was, indeed, an excellent camera.
My first slr was an ME that I bought from my brother in the mid 80s. That, too, was a lovely little camera (until I decided to upgrade to a Super A due to having some grand ideas at the time about what I thought I needed from a camera mode-wise - I still used the new model predominantly in aperture priority).
I only shoot b+w on film these days. For any colour work I use digital, a decision I made for various reasons when I came back to playing with film a few years back. Although my 6D doesn't see quite as much use these days (due to the film rabbit-hole), but I wouldn't be without it and it's beautiful image quality potential. It's such a flexible tool, too (for the reasons you mention and more) and allows me to capture images I would likely struggle with otherwise.
There's something about images on film, though... all those lovely grains... and, of course, being able to play with all those wonderful old cameras of yesteryear....