Lucy Walker
Pentax ME SE, 50mm f/1.7 SMC Pentax-M
Foma Fomapan 200 @ EI 125
Ilford ID-11 stock
2021
It’s unusual for me to test a new-to-me old camera and not immediately review it here on my site, as I’ve done with this Pentax ME SE. But this isn’t the first Pentax ME I’ve owned. It’s more like the third or fourth. I’ve written two reviews of the base ME.
I find but two improvements in the ME SE over the regular ME. The first is a smooth brown leatherette covering, which feels good to the touch. The second, which I like a lot, is a split-prism viewfinder patch canted at -45 degrees. The regular ME’s split prism is horizontal, which means tilting the camera slightly to focus horizontal subjects. It’s not a big deal to do that — but the canted split prism all but eliminates that need as next to no subjects are canted at exactly -45 degrees.
I made this photograph in the welcome center in Metamora, Indiana. It’s the most pleasing photograph I’ve made with the ME SE so far. The 50mm f/1.7 lens never disappoints. And Fomapan 200 sings in ID-11 developer.
I’m sure I’ll write a review of the ME SE in the new year, after I’ve put a few more rolls through it. I intend this ME SE to be one of my handful of go-to cameras.
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