Tag Archives: Ricoh

To Boldly go where No Fixed Focus Has Gone Before – Ricoh Auto 35

The 1960’s was the decade that Japan transitioned into the worlds major Camera maker usurping the century old strangleholds of European makes. It was a also a period of rapidly changing camera design with increasingly compact & futuristic designs. But is Ricoh Auto 35 Enterprise class or space junk ?

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The Ricoh that’s a Nikon made by Mamiya – Welcome to the Ricoh Singlex

Ricoh developed a bit of a reputation for good SLR bodies and lenses using the M42 & Pentax K Mount. The company still makes K mount dSLR under the Pentax brand. But weirdly their first SLR the Singlex wasn’t developed by them. In fact it is basically a rebranded Nikon.  But a  Nikon that wasn’t even made by Nikon.

Curious ? Read on.

Continue reading The Ricoh that’s a Nikon made by Mamiya – Welcome to the Ricoh Singlex

Budget Zoom-Off – Vivitar Mega 200 Versus Ricoh RZ-728

As the Poundland Challenge 2019 has proved again you can actually buy a lot for a quid. So why don’t we take 2 AF compacts for a walk that cost around a quid and see what you get for your buck.

Continue reading Budget Zoom-Off – Vivitar Mega 200 Versus Ricoh RZ-728

1 roll good one roll bad -Tentative Ricoh Myport 330 Super Review

This was a chance finding on eBay earlier this year and on paper what’s not to like. Also known as the RZ-3000, the Shotmaster 130Z, or the Q-130Z, this is a Ricoh compact but in zoom format.   it’s as cheap as chips and feature laden including Passive AF.  But did it live up to the promise of being a bargain for those of us who can’t afford a GR1 ?  Sadly on the 2 rolls I shot, it’s a bit of a Jekyll and Hyde number.  And that’s not just down to the optics.

Continue reading 1 roll good one roll bad -Tentative Ricoh Myport 330 Super Review

Battery Replacement in the Ricoh L-20/YF-20 Super Date

yup I got another of Ricoh’s YF-20 series. A full review will be coming for this later model that adds a distance focus but this one came with the Data back. Although you can see the standard manual online, I couldn’t find any info about the data back. Having almost wrecked the camera in trying to replace the battery, I click it was quite easy and hopefully this will be of help

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Rehash Flash – Ricoh FF-9S Review

The Ricoh FF series has a bit of a cache especially around the fixed focus models released in the late 80’s and early 90’s. But how does this (aka Shotmaster AF Super or One Take AF Super) 90’s restyling of the FF-9 work out against the rivals of its day ? Continue reading Rehash Flash – Ricoh FF-9S Review

K-mount Lens carnage with the infamous Ricoh Pin

I almost goofed badly when selling a lens. I’d picked up a Ricoh KR-5 Super with a few lens for relative peanuts but decided to sell on a Tokina 25-70mm lens as I already had a Pentax SMC KA zoom of similar length. It was only at the last minute I twigged the lens had the infamous Ricoh Pin issue. If you shoot with Pentax  K mount cameras then it’s one you’ll want to know about. Continue reading K-mount Lens carnage with the infamous Ricoh Pin

Ricoh 500RF Review : The Control Freak’s Compact Rangefinder

Ricoh 500RF
Ricoh 500RF compact Rangefinder

The 1970’s were the heyday of the fixed lens compact rangefinder. Truth be told there can be little to pick from these beauties with the Konica C35 series leading the pack. The Ricoh 500RF and its posher brother the 500G manage to stand out from the crowd as they offer some of the best user control of exposure in the class. Continue reading Ricoh 500RF Review : The Control Freak’s Compact Rangefinder