I was sent this camera, along with another that I will write about soon, just before Christmas. To say I was shocked by the reader’s generosity is an understatement and a very big thank you goes out to him.

Look at this lovely 6×6 TLR.

To be fair, it looks even better now as I have glued the skin back down and given it a bit of a shoe polish. The sender said it was in great condition and it was, but me being me…I could not help but have a look inside the mirror box. The mirror was still useable, but I had a slightly better one in in my junk box. So I switched them over.

I loaded some HP5 and headed out towards Tadcaster, for once, it wasn’t raining. When I developed the results, something wasn’t quite right. The focusing was off, as you can see in some of these shots.

It must be the mirror, I had done something wrong. I opened it back up, had a look and compared it to the photo I took…I had put the clips in backwards. What an idiot, how on earth had I done that?? I put them back in the right way, loaded some more HP5 and headed to Lichfield. This time it was much wetter, the rain had returned and the area was a bit flooded.

Well, that made a difference. I took the ivy covered wall photo specifically to check the focusing and it is spot on. I also used the built-in, uncoupled, light meter and that worked great too. It works by giving you the EV value based on the ASA rating of the film. You then match the dial around the lens to the same EV. There is a tiny line shows the chosen aperture, you can then adjust the speed and aperture together. You can choose a wider aperture and get a faster speed or vice-versa. That will keep the same EV. You can set the aperture and speed seperately, but the EV system means it is a little awkward and I found it best to use the system provided.

I had a little trouble researching the camera as I didn’t find an example of a camera that only said “Ricoh Dia” on the front. I thought it might be a different model. Then I read this website which said, “This camera exists with 3 different front plates: Ricoh Dia, Ricoh Diacord or just Ricohflex.” That means this camera is the Ricohflex Diamond L from 1957, the name being shortend to Dia.

The focusing of the camera is acheived by a “see-saw” type mechanism or Duo-lever as Ricoh called it, on each side of the lens barrel. That means it is easy to use for left and right handed people. There is a moving arrow under the lens which gives the distance reading.

The newer mirror made a difference to the brightness of the viewfinder, but I noticed an obstruction on one side when I picked up the camera for this review. I took the top off again to expose the mirror box, thinking one of the clips had shifted or come loose. But it wasn’t that. When I looked closely at the focusing screen, there was something I hadn’t noticed before…there were two plates. There was a focusing plate and a protective cover. Some rain had gotten inbetween the two sections and was causing the obstruction I noticed. They were seperate, not glued, so I split them and carefully wiped them down. I took the opportunity to change the screws on the hood to Philips as the original flatheads were starting to strip. OK, and the return of a bright viewfinder. Hopefully I put the two piece back in the right way and the camera is still focusing.

Conclusion – I love this camera and won’t be putting it away any time soon. The rough look of the camera means I am happy to throw it around a bit 😉 Kidding.

Here are some other reviews from people who love this camera:

https://www.filmshooterscollective.com/analog-film-photography-blog/in-praise-of-the-humble-ricoh-diacord-howard-sandler-8-3

https://www.markcassino.com/b2evolution/index.php/hands-on-with-the-ricoh?blog=2

Ricoh Diacord L (1957)