Pentax Super A1983

History

Pentax arrived at the PASM milestone slightly behind Canon (the A-1, 1978) and Minolta (the X-700, 1981), but the Super A's implementation was clean and the K-mount compatibility across a huge existing lens base gave it immediate relevance. The KA mount added five electrical contacts to the rear bayonet ring; lenses designed for KA (designated with an "A" aperture position on the aperture ring) allow the body to control aperture electronically for shutter-priority and program modes. Earlier K-mount lenses work in aperture-priority and manual modes with full metering.

The Super A was marketed to enthusiasts and advanced amateurs who wanted creative control without moving to a fully professional body. In Japan the "Super A" name was used from launch; Western markets received the "Super Program" designation. The body's clean lines — no motor drive bulk, no excessive plastic — gave it a reputation for understated elegance that older Pentax cameras also carried.

Why It Matters

The Pentax Super A matters as the pivot point in K-mount history when Pentax moved from purely mechanical (K1000, K2) and aperture-priority (ME, MX) bodies to the full four-mode system that defined the modern SLR. Every K-mount Pentax since — the Z series, MZ series, and digital K series — owes its exposure architecture to the KA mount introduced here. The multi-pattern SPD meter also represents a genuine advance over the center-weighted metering in earlier Pentax bodies, improving hit rates with backlit subjects and uneven lighting.

For users today, the Super A is a low-cost entry to the entire Pentax K-mount lens family, including the excellent SMC Pentax-A primes (28/2.8, 50/1.4, 85/1.8, 135/2.8), with a full PASM body in a compact aluminium shell. Its electronic dependence (no mechanical fallback) is a limitation but rarely a practical problem.

Lenses & Accessories

Pentax KA mount. All K, M, A, FA, and DA (with limitations) lenses mount. Best partners are SMC Pentax-A series: A 28mm f/2.8, A 50mm f/1.7, A 50mm f/1.4, A 50mm f/2 macro, A 85mm f/1.8, A 135mm f/2.8, A 200mm f/4. Older SMC Pentax-M and K lenses work in Av and M modes with full TTL metering. Accessories: AF280T and AF360FGZ flashes for TTL operation, motor winder available.

Sample Photographers / Notable Use

• Popular with advanced amateurs and college photography students in the mid-1980s who wanted creative mode flexibility.
• The SMC Pentax-A lens set paired with the Super A was a standard studio-portrait and event-photography kit in Japanese photography schools.
• Still used by film shooters who want the full K-mount lens range at minimal cost.

References

• Camera-Wiki: Pentax Super A
• Wikipedia: Pentax Super A