Pentax ME vs ME Super vs MX: Which compact Pentax suits you?

The Pentax ME, ME Super, and MX share the same compact M body, but are three fundamentally different cameras: the ME is a purely shutter-priority automatic camera for anyone who just wants to take photos. The ME Super adds manual shutter speeds via push buttons and exposes down to 1/2000 s. The MX is fully mechanical, works without a battery, and has the largest viewfinder image in its class. All three use two standard SR44 button cells—no mercury problem, no adapter needed.

Cover image: Thomas Backa, CC BY 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons

Table of contents

1. Three cameras, one body, the overview
2. Technical specifications compared directly
3. Operating philosophy: automation, buttons, or dials
4. The viewfinder, the underestimated buying factor
5. Battery: Insert an SR44 and you're done (with one catch)
6. Weaknesses and Used Camera Checklist
7. Which one suits you? (And why the K1000 is too expensive)
8. Lens recommendations for beginners
9. Accessories and digitising

Three cameras, one body: an overview

In 1972, Olympus introduced the OM-1 and overnight made all other SLRs look bulky and heavy. Pentax needed four years to respond. At the end of 1976, the ME and MX came onto the market simultaneously, two cameras in practically identical compact bodies but with opposing philosophies.

The ME was radical: shutter-priority auto only, no manual shutter speeds, nothing to adjust except the aperture. The MX was the opposite—fully mechanical, fully manual, built as a smaller alternative to the professional class. In 1979, Pentax followed up with the ME Super, which added manual shutter speeds via push buttons and a 1/2000 shutter.

For context, since the M series can quickly become confusing: the MV and MG are stripped-down budget automatics, the 1981 ME-F was the world's first production autofocus SLR (technically interesting, practically insignificant), and the 1980 LX is the weather-sealed professional flagship with interchangeable viewfinders. The K1000 isn't even part of the M series; it's larger, heavier, and simpler, but thanks to its reputation as a school camera, it now costs more than the technically superior MX. More on that later.

Smaller than an OM-1: The ME measures 131 × 82.5 × 49.5 mm and weighs 460 g, a few millimeters smaller in every dimension than the Olympus OM-1 and around 60 g lighter. At 135.5 mm wide and 495 g, the MX is minimally larger, but remains flatter and lower than the OM-1. This makes the ME and MX two of the smallest 35mm SLR cameras ever built.

Technical specifications compared directly

*Functional, unserviced bodies on the EU used market; dealer-tested examples with a warranty cost more. All three accept every Pentax K lens, from 1975 through current Limited lenses.

A note for anyone looking up specifications: English Wikipedia lists the MX's dimensions for the ME (a copy-and-paste error). The correct ME figures are shown above.

Operating philosophy: automation, buttons, or dials

Pentax ME: uncompromising automation

The ME has no shutter-speed dial. You select the aperture on the lens, and the camera selects the shutter speed, continuously variable between 8 seconds and 1/1000. That sounds restrictive, but in practice it works remarkably well: the center-weighted meter is consistently accurate. CasualPhotophile tested it and found not a single incorrect exposure in more than 72 shots. Its conclusion: “one of those rare values".

Anyone who uses exposure as a creative tool can turn to exposure compensation (±2 stops on the ring around the rewind crank). There is no further manual control. That is precisely what makes the ME an insider tip for anyone who simply wants to take pictures, and the cheapest entry point into the M series.

Pentax ME Super: automation plus buttons

The ME Super can do everything the ME can, plus manual shutter speeds from 4 s to 1/2000. They are not set with a dial, but with two push buttons next to the shutter release. This is the most controversial design decision in the entire series. Some people get used to it immediately; others never do. Hamish Gill of 35mmc disliked the tiny release button for changing modes and the lack of AE lock. His verdict: “Not for me, but a great camera regardless".

All in all, the ME Super is the most flexible of the three. If you want to own just one M camera and need both automation and manual control, this is the one.

Pentax MX: the mechanical one

The MX completely forgoes electronics in the shutter. Shutter-speed dial on top, aperture on the lens, and five LEDs in the viewfinder show the deviation (green = correct, orange = half a stop off, red = one full stop or more). The battery powers only the light meter; the camera itself works without one.

Ian Grant sums it up in the Photrio forum: „I have both but prefer the MX, it's a mechanical shutter so will keep working even if the battery goes flat. I also find it much quicker to use." And CasualPhotophile calls the MX „the Mazda Miata of 35mm SLRs … a street photography machine".

Shutter-speed dial while looking through the viewfinder: The small MX shutter-speed dial is a little fiddly to use while looking through the viewfinder; that's a design characteristic, not a defect. A community tip: Place your index finger on the knurling and brace the dial with your middle finger instead of turning it between two fingers. After two rolls, you'll have the hang of it.

The viewfinder: the underrated buying factor

On paper, there's barely anything to separate the three: 0.95× to 0.97× magnification. At the eye, the difference is worlds apart.

The MX shows 95% of the frame at 0.97× magnification—the largest and brightest viewfinder in its class, larger than that of some professional cameras. It also has eight interchangeable focusing screens (shared with the LX) and displays both shutter speed and aperture in the viewfinder. You can see your complete exposure without taking your eye off the subject. With the ME and ME Super, you only see the shutter speed.

One honest caveat from the Photrio thread: The ME Super's LED shutter-speed display is easier to read in low light than the MX's small LEDs. If you do a lot of photography at dusk, hold both cameras up to your eye and compare them.

Battery: Insert an SR44 and you're done (with one catch)

Here's the good news. Unlike the classics from the mercury-battery era (think PX625), all three Pentax models simply need two 1.5 V SR44 or LR44 button cells, still widely available everywhere today—no adapter or voltage correction needed. The metering circuit uses a bridge circuit that is largely unaffected by the exact cell voltage.

Silver oxide (SR44) maintains its voltage right up until near the end and lasts significantly longer than alkaline (LR44). Use branded cells; leaking no-name cells are one of the most common causes of corroded battery compartments in used cameras.

The ME's silent exposure error: With a dead battery, the ME does not shut off in automatic mode. It keeps firing, sounds completely normal, and still exposes incorrectly. You won't notice until you develop the film. The ME Super and MX are more forgiving in this respect. So always insert a fresh cell in the ME before shooting an important roll, and use the battery test if in doubt.

SR44 Batteries (4-pack), enough for two cameras or years of backup (EUR 9.95)

Weaknesses and Used Camera Checklist

All three cameras are 40 to 50 years old. What matters then is less the spec sheet than the question: What breaks, and what can be saved?

ME and ME Super: the gummy mirror damper

The best-known problem with the electronic models is in the mirror box. The mirror’s air damper contains rubber parts that become sticky and bind after decades. Symptoms: The mirror stays up, moves sluggishly, or after a long pause nothing happens at first when you press the shutter button. Steve Roberts describes it drastically on the Photrio forum: The aging rubber parts “steadily turn into goo.” The repair is feasible (iFixit documents the complete mirror-box service), but with body prices of EUR 40–100, it is rarely worthwhile at a professional repair shop—this is more a job for tinkerers or a reason to buy a better example.

The ME Super has two additional problem areas of its own: The advance mechanism tends to fail on heavily used examples (one forum user now collects them: “They aren't worth repairing — I just buy another”), and oxidized contacts on the ASA/exposure-compensation ring can cause the display to jump sporadically to extreme values. The latter can often be fixed by turning the ring back and forth several times.

MX: almost everything is repairable

The MX ages differently. The light seals and mirror buffers crumble—standard for every SLR from this era and easy to fix yourself for very little money. The mechanical shutter can be serviced like clockwork. A specific, rarer MX problem is gear wear in the horizontal shutter, which causes uneven exposure across the width of the frame (“step exposure”). You can detect this only with a test roll or on an evenly gray surface at 1/1000. Generally, though, because nothing electronic can die, the MX is the most durable of the three. Whether a full service is worthwhile depends on the individual case; our article “Does Every Broken Film Camera Need a CLA?” can help you decide, and in the workshop overview you’ll find repair shops that still work on Pentax cameras.

Used-camera buying checklist

1. Bring fresh SR44 batteries. Without a battery, you can test almost nothing on the ME and ME Super.
2. Mirror test (ME/ME Super): Fire the shutter ten times in a row, including after a one-minute pause. Every hang-up or sluggish mirror return indicates a damper problem.
3. Winding (ME Super): Run through several transport cycles; the lever must spring back smoothly and then cock the shutter.
4. Check all shutter speeds (MX): Count 1 s audibly, check the fast speeds against a bright surface; the slit must travel evenly across.
5. Cross-check the display: Compare the meter reading with a phone app or a known camera; with the ME Super, test the ASA ring for contact problems (if the shutter speed jumps wildly, the contact is oxidized).
6. Light seals and battery compartment: Sticky black crumbs on the back are normal and inexpensive to fix; green residue in the battery compartment is a warning sign of deeper corrosion.

Which one suits you? (And why the K1000 is too expensive)

Regarding the K1000, since this question always comes up: It is a good, indestructible camera. But used, it now costs EUR 120–230, as much as the MX and more than the much better-equipped ME Super. In return, you get less: no self-timer, no meter switch-off, a larger and heavier body, and identical flash sync. The premium is pure name hype from twenty years of photography-course recommendations. An ME Super is the smarter K1000; an MX is the better one.

Independent community opinions: The Photrio thread “ME Super vs MX: most reliable?” is the best collection of long-term experiences:

1. About the MX: “The MX is a tank and the meter is excellent. Slide film or night shots are no problem.” (Don Promillo)
2. About the ME Super: “The ME Super is prone to failure in the winding mechanism.” (Jeff Bradford). On the other hand, the image quality is “excellent”; the buttons are simply a matter of personal taste (Michael W)
3. A balanced view: “Which of these two cameras is more reliable? Neither.” Both are old, so the condition of the individual example is what matters (dynachrome)

Lens recommendations for beginners

All three cameras accept every K-mount lens. For getting started, four SMC Pentax-M lenses have proven themselves:

Rule of thumb: buy the body with the 50/1.7; the lens is often practically free as part of the set. Add the pancake later, once you’re hooked on the format.

Accessories and digitising

The most useful accessories for a 45-year-old Pentax are decidedly unglamorous: fresh batteries, new light seals, and caps for the body and lenses. That is exactly what we make replacements for:

Light seal set for analogue SLRs, fits the ME, ME Super, and MX (EUR 24,95) · Body cap for Pentax K, protecting the mirror box on the shelf and on the go (EUR 16,95) · Rear lens cap for Pentax K (PK, SMC), for your lens collection (EUR 16,95) · Film scanner set for 35mm, scan negatives at home with your digital camera (EUR 54,95)

And once your first rolls have been developed: scanning them yourself is where the cost per roll drops dramatically. Our scanning guide explains what the complete setup of camera, film holder, and light source looks like.

Video tips

Two worthwhile comparisons and reviews of the M series:

Romping Bronco compares the ME Super and MX directly, including the buttons-versus-dial question.

David Hancock takes an in-depth look at the MX, with sample photos and practical tips.

3 questions, a personalised recommendation, in under 60 seconds. Go to Film Scanner Finder.

Batteries, light seals, caps—everything for the ME, ME Super, and MX. Shop Pentax accessories.

From the Rollei 35 to the Canon F-1, our buying guides for classic analogue cameras. All articles.