Pentax Program Plus – you can still get a good film camera for $20.00

With a good wide angle lens included in the set…

I’ve been lucky with ShopGoodwill.com lately — I recently won a Pentax Program Plus with a 28mm Vivitar lens, all for the princely sum of $21.

Let’s clarify one thing to begin with: like most Japanese camera companies, Pentax was selling its cameras under different models names in different geographies – the camera sold as the Super-Program in North America was sold as the Super-A in the rest of the world, and the Program-Plus was simply known as the Program-A outside of North America [*].

I had been looking for a Program Plus at a good price for a while – it’s the last of the ME family of cameras, a marginally simplified version of the Super Program, that I hoped would strike the perfect balance between too little features (the Pentax ME) and a bit too much (the Super-Program).

*Pentax Program Plus – Program Mode (shutter speed and aperture determined by the camera).*

Pentax launched the Program Plus one year after the Super Program, and did not remove much: the maximum shutter speed is limited to 1/1000 instead of 1/2000, and the camera only offers two auto exposure modes (program and aperture priority) instead of three on the Super Program.

But the right side of the top plate is a bit less cramped (it does not have a tiny LCD screen showing the selected shutter speed forced between the mode selector and the film advance lever) and the mode selector has been redesigned to be a little bit easier to set as a result.

Vivitar

I had not paid much attention to the lens that came with the camera. I had assumed it was one of those horrible third party lenses that you generally find on cameras donated to Goodwill. Not this time. It was a Vivitar lens – but not any Vivitar lens – it was the highly regarded 28mm F/2.8 Close Focus MC “RL Edition” manufactured by Komine.

You can still find Vivitar entry level digital cameras at Walmart nowadays, but today’s Vivitar is a shadow of what the brand was in the seventies. They used to be a major distributor of very good lenses and electronic flashes, a credible alternative to the leading camera companies. Some historical context, then.

*Vivitar 28mm f/2.8 Close Focus MC RL Edition*

When the Japanese camera industry started its expansion in the years following WW2, it was still for the most part a cottage industry – even the largest players were relatively small and highly specialized companies (in the early fifties, Nikon was only manufacturing lenses, and Canon only camera bodies, and some of Canon’s cameras came equipped with Nikkor lenses).

Only very few of those companies grew enough to find the financial strength to establish their own distribution networks outside of their country of origin.

*Atlanta – Centennial Park – Pentax Program-Plus – Vivitar 28mm – Ilford FP4 Plus – a pretty good lens.*

An American company named Ponder & Best saw an opportunity, and started distributing under its own “Vivitar” label the lenses and accessories that it procured from a myriad of small Japanese workshops. Most of those products were probably average, but a few were very good.

Vivitar never disclosed who their suppliers were, but the urban legend attributes the best of the Vivitar lenses to a Japanese company named Komine. Vivitar lenses benefitted from a 5 year warranty, but on the “RL Edition” models made by Komine it was extended to a total of seven years. So, this 28mm from Komine is supposed to be Vivitar’s very best.

Shooting with the Program Plus

I’ve burnt a few rolls of film with almost each representant of the Pentax ME family recently, and the Program-Plus is the one I prefer. The ME only works in Aperture Priority auto exposure mode, and the Super-Program is borderline too complicated. Even if there is not a huge difference in the organization of the commands on the right of the top plate, it’s a bit less cramped on the Program-Plus and easier to live with.

*Pentax Program Plus – Semi Auto mode -here the operator has selected a shutter speed of 1/125sec, and the metering system determines that the image will be under exposed by 2 stops.*

For an amateur interested in the technique of photography, the Program Plus is a very nice little camera. It’s among the smallest and lightest film SLRs of the eighties, but its compacity does not come at the cost of the user experience – the viewfinder remains very good – wide, bright and informative. The “programmed auto exposure mode” in particular is very well implemented – it lets the photographer know (on two LCD displays in the viewfinder) the aperture and shutter speed selected by the camera’s program. And in semi-auto mode, it displays the selected shutter speed on the left display, and the level of over or under exposure (in EVs) on the right one. Pretty unique in this class of camera in 1983.

Of course, nothing is perfect: the LCDs are back-lit through a large window cut at the front of the prism cover, and become very difficult to read in the dark. The Super Program is equipped with a little lamp that the photographer can activate at the push of a button, but I found it totally useless and I don’t miss it here (one of the things that were removed from the Program Plus).

Pentax Program Plus – three exposure determination modes (named M, A & P on a modern camera) are present and selected by playing with the Aperture ring (A or an aperture value) and the mode selector (Auto or Manual) – for instance, P is obtained by setting the aperture ring and the model selector on A/Auto.

For the rest, it’s one of the good Pentax cameras – no horror stories when it comes to reliability, and because it was designed for the “KA” version of the Pentax lens mount, it operates with a very wide range of lenses – anything from Pentax K lenses of 1976 up to some of the most recent D FA models.

While not as nicely finished as an ME or a Super Program, it’s still a well build and solid camera – nothing to be compared with the plastic-fantastic cameras of the following decade that look so cheap today.

Like all the cameras of the ME series, it simply needs two easy to find and (relatively) cheap SR44 1.5 batteries, that it does not seem to tax too rapidly.

As a conclusion

Eight years separate the Pentax ME from the Program-Plus. Being based on a similar platform, they’re not that different of course, but the Program-Plus is definitely a better camera for an amateur who is interested in photography – in addition to the Aperture priority mode of the ME, there is a very useful Program Auto Exposure mode, and a real semi auto mode to use when the exposure is too tricky to trust the automatism. The focusing screen is probably a bit finer as well, and the fragile mechanical selfie timer has been replaced by an electronic one that should be more durable.

*Pentax Program-Plus (top) and Super-Program – some cost cutting is visible on the Plus, but the commands are not as cramped.*

At $21.00 (good lens included), my copy is probably on the cheap side (I admit I was lucky on this one), but even from a reputable seller, you should not pay more than $50.00 for a nice one.

The Program-Plus sits with a few other cameras of the same vintage (the Nikon FE2, the Olympus OM-2 and the Canon AT-1) at the top of my very personal list of preferred manual focus film cameras. And it’s definitely one of my keepers.

[*] I don’t know why the Japanese camera makers were using different names for models sold in the US – “to reflect the local preferences” is often mentioned as an explanation (for instance, naming a model “Rebel” would be perceived positively in the US but would not in other parts of the world). I suspect there are other reasons as well – like protecting the US distributors from grey imports, or (maybe), helping the Japanese revenue service make the difference between cameras destined for local consumption (and subject to sales tax), and cameras destined ultimately to be taken out of the country and sold to tourists or Army personnel in the duty free shops or in the PX.

More about Pentax film cameras in CamerAgX

*Pentax Super-Program – a very compact camera.*

*Nikon EM and Pentax ME – ultra light SLRs for beginners*

*Atlanta – Centennial Park – Pentax Program-Plus – Ilford FP4 Plus*

*Atlanta – Centennial Park – Pentax Program-Plus – Ilford FP4 Plus – May, 4th, 2025 – May the Fourth be with him.*

*Atlanta – Centennial Park – Pentax Program-Plus – Ilford FP4 Plus. Centennial Park – all 4 photos developed with the Lomo Daylight Developing Tank and digitized with the JJC adapter.*

Pentax ME – a deeper look at a very likable film camera

I rediscovered the Pentax ME and its close family of derivatives recently, after having been disappointed by the Pentax P3 (also know as the P30).

I would have loved to like the Pentax P3. When it works, it’s a great camera. But I bought three copies of them (a P3, a P3n, a P3t) at different times, and they all failed me. Always an issue with the film advance. But if I could not rely on a P3, what about shooting with the Pentax cameras of the following or previous generations?

*Pentax ZX-M: the bayonet mount is in polycarbonate, like almost everything else in this camera*

I’ve burned a few rolls of film with a plastic-fantastic ZX-M (also sold as the MZ-M), a motorized entry-level autofocus camera that Pentax had deprived of its autofocus system to make it a “learner’s camera”. Launched in 1997 to replace at the same time the venerable K1000 and the P3, the ZX-M was one of the last film SLRs released by a major vendor before the amateur photographers switched to digital, and for that reason it did not sell in large quantities.

It works well, but it’s plasticky, it’s loud, the exposure metering is a bit too primitive, and its pentamirror viewfinder is dark and narrow. People shooting with film nowadays do it at least partially for the gratifying experience of interacting with a nice piece of conventional machinery – and it’s definitely something that the MZ-M can’t provide.

At the other end of the timescale, pre-dating the K1000 and the P3, the Pentax ME and all its derivatives – ME Super, MV, MG, Super Program, Program-A – were a sales success, and are still abundant on the second hand market. They are all built on the same very compact platform. So compact there was no room for a conventional shutter speed selector. That’s the series we’re going to explore today.

The ME generation

In 1975, Pentax finally abandoned the 42mm screw mount for the “K” bayonet, and launched a new line of K cameras (KM, KX, K2) which were – to a large extent – similar to their screw mount predecessors, except for the bayonet mount, of course. The K1000 was not part of the initial launch – its turn came a few years later – essentially a KM with a few minor features removed.

*A Spotmatic F from 1973. From this angle it looks almost identical to a KM. The K1000 is a slightly decontented KM.*

One year after the KM-KX-K2 cameras, Pentax launched two completely new models, the semi-auto MX, and the Aperture Priority Auto Exposure ME. Both were technically advanced, and really represented the state of the art in the heart of the market. Except for their small size, the two cameras had little in common (their winders and motor drives were physically different and not inter-compatible, for instance).

*Pentax MX and ME – from the sales brochure (1976) – Courtsey of Pacific Rim Cameras*

The Pentax MX is what an Olympus OM-1 Mark II could have been if Olympus had bothered updating the technology content of their camera. The MX is a super compact, semi auto SLR, with a huge viewfinder. It was my main camera in my younger days. Its electronics ultimately failed, otherwise I’d probably still be shooting film with it. But while it worked (a good 15 years) it was a great little camera.

The MX remained unchanged until Pentax sent it into retirement in 1985, with no direct successor. In the meantime, the buying public had shown it was more interested in cameras offering auto exposure modes, and it was the ME and its derivatives that brought the money to Pentax’s coffers.

When it was launched, the Pentax ME had a singular characteristic: contrarily to almost every single lens reflex before it, it did not have a shutter speed selector – just a rather difficult to move four position switch (off, auto, synchro flash and B). It could only operate in auto exposure mode (you set the aperture, the camera picks the shutter speed), and in totally manual mode at 1/100sec (no meter indication to guide the photographer).

*A new category of SLRs without a shutter speed selector rapidly followed the formula inaugurated by the Pentax ME (Nikon EM, Olympus OM-10, Canon AV-1, for instance).*

A simplified MV model was launched at a lower price point in 1979, followed one year later by the ME-Super, which offered the ability to select the shutter speed by pushing two small buttons on the top plate. Then came the MG (spec’d like the original ME), then the Super-Program and the Program-Plus [*], with the same tiny shutter speed push buttons already seen on the ME Super, and more automatic modes (Program mode for the Program-Plus, Program and Shutter priority modes for the Super-Program). All models were developed on the same technical platform, and could share accessories like winders and motor drives.

* [Like most Japanese camera companies, Pentax was selling its cameras under different models names in different geographies – the camera sold as the Super-Program in North America was sold as the Super-A in the rest of the world, and the Program-Plus was simply known as the Program-A outside of North America]

Shooting with the ME

Shooting with a Pentax camera such as the ME is a pleasure. The camera is small, light, reactive, and provided you control from time to time that the shutter speed (determined automatically by the camera) is still the desired range, you’ll be fine. The viewfinder is extremely large, but I was surprised by how difficult it was to set the focus though – I know I’m getting older (aren’t we all) but I found the glass plane rather dark and the micro-prism telemeter difficult to use. I was shooting with a not very luminous zoom (and not very good if I judge by the results) Pentax A 35-70 f/3.5-4.5 zoom, on a camera that was originally designed and sold for more luminous prime lenses such as the 50mm f/1.7, so it could explain some of that.

A Pentax Program-Plus I was testing in parallel fared better in that regard – in the viewfinder the ring of micro-prisms offered more contrast and focusing was significantly easier.

The absence of a depth of field preview is not a problem for me (I seldom use it when a camera offers the option), and not having a conventional shutter speed knob at my disposal was not really a hindrance. But when the lighting of the scene becomes complex, and without an exposure memorization button and no semi-auto exposure mode, you have to play with the ISO settings dial for exposure compensation, which I’ve always found very difficult (I never know if I need to set the dial to +2 or -2). If only for that reason, I would not bring a ME with me if I knew in advance that the lighting conditions would be tricky.

*Viewfinder of the Pentax ME – a shutter speed scale on the left, split image and microprism focusing aids at the center. The 0.97 magnification ratio was exceptional .*

The camera is nicely finished with a few Pentax touches (red markers on the top plate, little indicator on the back of the camera to show that the film is correctly attached to the film spool). The film spool itself follows an original Pentax design (they called it “Magic Needles”) that makes loading film easier than with most contemporary competitors.

What about the reliability?

The ME and its derivatives are 40 to 45 year old, and as with any other camera of the same vintage, there are quite a few things that can go wrong: their electronics (in general), their exposure metering and their film advance mechanism to name the most obvious.

*Pentax ME – the receiving spool is composed of white “Magic Needles” that make film loading very easy.*

By very empirical means (counting the hits on Google for a question about film advance reliability) – I came to the conclusion that the ME Super definitely had an issue with the film advance as well. I’m on the fence for the ME, the MV and the Super-Program – there seem to be far fewer Google hits about reliability issues with those cameras, but they sold in smaller numbers than the ME Super. In any case, it’s highly preferable to buy a vintage Pentax SLR from a photographer who has actually used it to shoot film, as those film advance issues are often impossible to detect without having put a roll of film in the camera.

How much?

Film cameras are getting more expensive these days – but you can still find a nice ME for $50.00 on eBay, and probably for a bit less on various auction sites if you’re patient.

Of all major camera vendors, Pentax is the one that has maintained the inter-compatibility between new and old bodies and lenses for the longest time – anything – manual focus, autofocus – sold by Pentax until they launched their first digital SLRs in 2004 will work with the ME.

*Pentax Super Program and ME – the former benefits from an electronic self timer, a depth of field preview, and a removable grip.*

Pentax has been catering to amateurs more than pros, and it will be difficult to find on the second hand market the specialty lenses (ultra-wide angle, f/2.8 constant aperture zooms) that are relatively abundant in Nikon F or Canon EOS mounts. But as long as you look for lenses typically purchased by amateurs, the offer is plentiful and the prices reasonable.

As a conclusion

The Pentax ME was launched in 1976, at the beginning of a ten year period which saw a whole new generation of amateurs come to “serious” photography and buy their first SLR. Ultra compact, reactive, nicely finished, with a good (for the time) viewfinder and a simplified set of commands, the ME was the right camera at the right time, and sold in the millions.

But this new breed of photographers was demanding more convenience, program mode auto-exposure and zoom lenses, and as result the SLRs launched towards the end of the period of manual focus SLR supremacy (1983, 1984) are simpler to use and have more luminous viewfinders.

Prices on the second hand market do not necessarily follow a perfect logic – and cameras or lenses of the same family (in this case the ME, ME Super, Super Program and the Program Plus) can be had for roughly the same price – irrespective of the performance hierarchy between the different models.

So… the ME is a nice little camera, eminently likable, but if for the same $50.00 price you can find a Super Program or a Program Plus, I would recommend you pick the “Program” over the ME.

More about Pentax Manual Focus SLRs in CamerAgX:

Spotmatic F – the last model before the K mount

The Super Program – the most elaborate camera of the ME family

Pentax ZX-M. Plastic fantastic but great results

A few shots taken during the Inman Park festival a few weeks ago. The Pentax ME behaved – it’s very nice to use as a street photography camera, but the Pentax SMC A 35-70 lens disappointed me, again.

The film was developed in a Lomography Daylight Developing tank with Ilford Simplicity chemicals, and digitized on an APS-C camera using a JJC adapter.