I recently tried a Ricoh point-and-shoot camera and loved it. So I kept my eye out for another Ricoh to try, one with an f2.8 lens. I got this one on the bay for £30. I thought that was a good deal considering it came with a close-up adaptor and a tele-conversion lens. It was in great condition for a camera released in 1985, look:

Do you see that button on the top? You can set your own ISO, perfect for expired film. Plus there is quick BLC/+2 button for back-lit shots. AND it has a sliding door that covers and protects the lens, this also acts as the on/off switch. Oh, and the film door has the extra safety of a push button to avoid accidental opening.

Given that I could reset the ISO, I first tried some very expired Orwo NP27 and set it to 50. You can see in the shots below that the film had some age damage, but it proved the camera functions worked.

Considering the damaged film, I think you can still see they are really quite sharp and well-exposed. I didn’t use any of the attachments during this roll.

I did find that it sometimes took a while to react to the shutter button. I would depress the button and it would lock onto the distance, evident with the display in the viewfinder. Then it would not take the shot. I determined that if the situation needed flash and it had not finished cycling, the camera would not fire. You can deactivate the flash if you decide not to use it, which is always a bonus. You do this by pushing the flash indicator back down when it pops up. You have to do this while still pressing the shutter halfway. Then fully press the shutter when it is back down. The exposure will seem longer as the camera takes into account the extra light needed. You can see in the technical details here that the exposure times go from 2 seconds to 1/500th. You can definitely feel and hear that longer exposure ability if you do turn off the flash.

I loaded the camera again, with a roll of gifted Kodak T-Max then took it to a couple of places in North Yorkshire and Nottingham. You can see this time I used the close-up attachment. I also used the BLC/+2 on the photo of Brian Clough.

This is a great little camera, with definite 80s styling. It has just enough features, but not all the bells and whistles that can overwhelm a user. I think it is a perfect camera for someone getting into film or a street photographer. A camera with a low-light, 35mm lens and the ability to override the ISO and flash. What more do you really need?

The prices vary quite a bit, but they can still be found at bargain prices. Happy hunting 🙂