C41
Kodak Portra 400
Kodak Portra 400 is a professional C-41 color negative film known for flexible exposure latitude, natural skin tones, and fine grain.
View profile →slr-35mm
The Pentax ME F (1981) was the first autofocus SLR sold under the Pentax name and one of the very first phase-detection autofocus SLR systems to reach market anywhere. The autofocus system was implemented in a novel distributed manner: the phase-detection sensor and AF drive motor lived inside the dedicated SMC Pentax-AF 35-70/2.8 zoom lens, with the camera body providing only the AF trigger signal and confirmation display. This design meant that no other lens could autofocus on the ME F. The body itself is a close derivative of the ME Super, retaining aperture-priority AE, the same compact dimensions, and the same excellent viewfinder. Without the AF lens, the camera functions as a conventional aperture-priority manual-focus body.
Reference
Recommended film stocks for the 35mm format your camera takes.
C41
Kodak Portra 400 is a professional C-41 color negative film known for flexible exposure latitude, natural skin tones, and fine grain.
View profile →BW
Kodak Tri-X 400 is a classic black-and-white film known for strong tonality, visible grain, and documentary character.
View profile →C41
Kodak Gold 200 is a daylight-balanced C-41 color negative film with warm color, moderate grain, and a classic consumer-film look.
Develop 35mm film
Labs in our directory that process 35mm film.
Before you buy used
About this camera
The first Pentax autofocus SLR and one of the earliest phase-detect AF cameras ever produced, in 1981.
| Field | Value |
|---|
| Format | 35mm |
| Mount | Pentax KA |
| Years | 1981-1984 |
| Shutter | 4s - 1/1000s + Bulb, electronic vertical metal |
| Flash sync | 1/100s |
| Meter | TTL center-weighted SPC, EV 3-18 |
| Exposure modes | Aperture-priority AE |
| Autofocus | Phase-detect, lens-resident motor (AF lens required) |
| Viewfinder | ~95% coverage, ~0.97x |
| Weight | ~420 g (body only) |
| Battery | 2x AA |
Pentax announced the ME F alongside the SMC Pentax-AF 35-70/2.8 zoom in 1981, beating Minolta's Maxxum 7000 to market by four years and competing directly with the Polaroid/Nikon AF collaboration and early Contax RTS AF experiments. The lens-based AF architecture reflected the engineering constraints of the era - miniaturizing a fast, reliable AF motor and processor to fit inside a camera body was not yet practical. Pentax's approach placed the costly electronics in the lens, keeping the body price manageable. The system was commercially limited by the single-lens constraint, and when Minolta launched the Maxxum 7000 in 1985 with body-resident AF and a broad new lens lineup, the ME F's architecture was rendered obsolete. The Super-A (1983) provided the upgrade path for the K-mount system but did not extend the AF system.
The ME F's place in camera history is secure as one of the earliest practical phase-detection autofocus SLRs. Phase-detect AF - splitting incoming light to detect front- or back-focus directly rather than hunting by contrast - is the fundamental technology that still underlies fast DSLR and mirrorless AF today. Pentax's implementation was constrained by 1981 technology but the optical architecture of the system is recognizable in modern lenses. For historians of camera technology, the ME F and the concurrent Polaroid/Nikon SLR AF experiments are the direct ancestors of all subsequent SLR autofocus development. The ME F also demonstrates that Pentax was an innovator rather than a follower at this critical technological juncture - a fact often overlooked because the Maxxum 7000 later dominated the public narrative.
Pentax KA mount. All K, KA, KAF, and later Pentax K-mount lenses mount and function in aperture-priority AE. Only the dedicated SMC Pentax-AF 35-70/2.8 zoom lens enables autofocus on the ME F; this lens contains the AF motor, phase-detect module, and drive electronics. Manual focus works normally with any K-mount lens. The ME F accepts the ME Winder II for motorized film advance.
BW
Ilford HP5 Plus is a flexible ISO 400 black-and-white film with classic grain and strong push-processing tolerance.
View profile →C41
Kodak Ektar 100 is a fine-grain C-41 color negative film with saturated color and high sharpness.
View profile →Pentax ME F
Image coming soon