Ricoh
Ricoh is a Japanese company that is still in existence (in 2009) and currently produces digital cameras as well as office equipment.
Contents
History
The Riken research institute (abreviation of Rikagaku Kenkyūjo, 理化学研究所, meaning Physico-Chemical Research Institute) and the Riken foundation exist since 1917.[1] In 1927 was created the Rikagaku Kōgyō Kabushiki Kaisha (理化学興業㈱, meaning Physico-Chemical Development Co., Ltd.) to market products derived from the research of the institute.[2] In 1936, the photographic paper division became Riken Kankōshi K.K. (理研感光紙㈱, meaning Riken Sensitized Paper Co Ltd) and was placed under the responsibility of Ichimura Kiyoshi (市村清), who is thus considered as the founder of today's Ricoh.[3] The factory was located in Tokyo, Ōji (王子).[4]
In 1937, Riken Kankōshi bought the trade company Asahi Bussan and its associated manufacturing facility, producer of the Olympic and Super Olympic cameras.[5] This company had started the distribution of Olympic cameras in 1934 and released the Super Olympic in 1935 or 1936. Riken transformed the manufacturing facility into the dependent company Asahi Kōgaku Kōgyō (unrelated to the other Asahi Kōgaku predecessor of Pentax).[6]
In 1938, Riken Kankōshi itself became Riken Kōgaku Kōgyō K.K. (理研光学工業㈱, meaning Riken Optical Industries Co., Ltd.).[7] The same year, it announced the Riken No.1, a 3×4cm camera with focal-plane shutter, which was actually released in 1939 as the Gokoku, the first camera produced by the company itself. It was followed by the Ricohl, Roico, Ricohflex B, Gaica or Kinsi before the production was ended by the war.
In parallel, Riken Kōgaku Kōgyō took over the camera distribution activity of Asahi Bussan, and soldcameras made by various subcontractors, whose identity is not always known. The subcontracted models were sold with lenses and shutters made by Riken, but the degree of involvement of the company in the assembly of these cameras is unknown. Riken sold a few lenses to other manufacturers as well. During the same period, the subsidiary Asahi Kōgaku Kōgyō continued the production of bakelite cameras and leaf shutters in a semi-independent way.
In 1941, the subsidiary Asahi Kōgaku Kōgyō became Asahi Musen Kōgyō K.K. (旭無線工業㈱, meaning Asahi Wireless Co., Ltd.), based in Tokyo, Ōmori.[8] In 1942, the two companies Riken Kōgaku Kōgyō and Asahi Musen Kōgyō left the Riken Foundation which was the last link remaining between the Riken Institute and its offshoot companies.[9] The production and sales of cameras was stopped during the war, perhaps around 1942 or 1943.
After the war, the subsidiary Asahi Musen introduced the Steky in 1946 or 1947, but its development was later transferred to Riken Optical Industries. Asahi Musen became Asahi Seimitsu Kōgyō (旭精密工業, meaning Asahi Precision Industries) and perhaps made the Ricoh Six around 1952 before it was merged into the parent company in 1953.[10]
The main company Riken Optical Industries launched the Ricohflex III in 1950, and was again fully implicated in camera production. It met considerable success with the various geared-lens Ricohflex models, initiating the 1950s "TLR boom" in Japan. Its first 35mm camera was the Ricolet, released in 1953, followed by various viewfinder and rangefinder cameras. The Ricoh Auto Half half-frame camera with spring motor, released in 1962, was another commercial success, made in various versions until the early 1980s.
The company finally took the name of its products, becoming Ricoh (K.K. Rikō, ㈱リコー) in 1963. From 1964, it made a few 35mm SLR with interchangeable 42mm screw lenses, most of which were called Singlex. In 1977, it switched to the K mount introduced by Pentax, for a series of cameras called XR, made until the 1990s. The only autofocus SLR cameras made by the company were the various Mirai, with non-interchangeable zoom lenses.
In 1994, Ricoh released the Ricoh R1, a compact camera with panorama mode. It was followed by various other deluxe compact cameras, such as the GR1, and the company continued this trend into the digital era with the GR Digital.
Digital Cameras
Fixed Lens
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35mm film
Viewfinder, fixed lens
- Super Olympic D and D III
- Ricolet
- Ricolet S
- Ricoh Auto 35
- Ricoh Auto 35V
- Ricoh Auto Shot
- Ricoh Super Shot 2.4
- Ricoh Hi-Color 35
- Ricoh Hi-Color 35S
- Ricoh Hi-Color 35BT
- Ricoh 35 ZF
- Ricoh FF-1
- Ricoh FF-1S
- Ricoh AD-1
- Ricoh A-2
- Ricoh 35EF-S
Rangefinder, fixed lens
- Riken 35
- Ricolet II
- Ricoh 35
- Ricoh 35 electronic
- Ricoh 35 Deluxe
- Ricoh 35 New Deluxe
- Ricoh 35S
- Ricoh 35 Deluxe L
- Ricoh 519 Deluxe
- Ricoh 519M
- Ricoh 500
- Ricoh 500 Deluxe
- Ricoh S2
- Ricoh 300
- Ricoh Max
- Ricoh Ricohmatic 35
- Ricoh S3
- Ricoh Jet
- Ricoh Wide
- Ricoh 300S
- Ricoh Mate
- Ricoh 35L
- Ricoh 35S
- Ricoh 35ZF[11]
- Ricoh Super Shot
- Ricoh Elnica 35
- Ricoh 800 EES
- Ricoh Elnica F
- Ricoh Elnica 35M
- Ricoh 500G
- Ricoh 500GS
- Ricoh 500GX
- Ricoh 500ME
Rangefinder, interchangeable lens
- Ricoh 999
Autofocus Point & Shoot
- Ricoh GR1
- Ricoh GR1s
- Ricoh GR1v
- Ricoh GR21
- Ricoh XF-30
SLR, lens shutter
- Ricoh 35 Flex
- Ricoh 35 Flex CdS
SLR, focal plane
- Ricoh Singlex
- Ricoh Singlex TLS
- Ricoh TLS 401 / Ricohflex TLS 401
- Ricoh Singlex II
- Ricoh SLX 500
- Ricoh Auto TLS EE
- Ricoh XR-1
- Ricoh XR-2
- Ricoh XR 500
- Ricoh XR-1s
- Ricoh XR-2s
- Ricoh XR 1000S
- Ricoh XR 6
- Ricoh XR-S
- Ricoh XR 500 Auto
- Ricoh XR 7
- Ricoh XR-P
- Ricoh XR-20SP
- Ricoh XR-X
- Ricoh XR-10M
- Ricoh XR-8
- Ricoh XR-7M II
- Ricoh XR-8 Super
- Ricoh XR Solar
- Ricoh XR-10PF
- Ricoh XR-10P
- Ricoh KR-5
- Ricoh KR-10S
- Ricoh KR-10x
- Ricoh XR-X 3PF
- Ricoh XR-X3000
Half frame
- Ricoh Caddy
- Ricoh Auto Half
- Ricoh Auto Half S
- Ricoh Auto Half E
- Ricoh Auto Half SL
- Ricoh Auto Half E2
- Ricoh Auto Half EF
- Ricoh Auto Half EF2
- Ricoh Auto Half SE
- Ricoh Auto Half SE2
- Ricoh Auto Half BT
Rapid film
- Ricoh EE Rapid Half
- Ricoh 35K Rapid
16mm film
- Hanken
- Steky I
- Steky II
- Steky III
- Steky IIIA
- Steky IIIB
- Ricoh 16
120 film
4.5×6 telescopic
- Semi Olympic or New Olympic (made by Asahi Bussan then by Asahi Kōgaku Kōgyō)
- Semi Olympic II or New Olympic II (made by Asahi Kōgaku Kōgyō)
- Semi Kinsi (made by Asahi Kōgaku Kōgyō)
4.5×6 folding
- Adler (various models)
- Gaica and Gaica II
- Heil and Heil C
6×6 folding
- Adler Six I and II (name variant of the Pilot Six by Tachibana)
- Ricoh Six
6×6 TLR
- Ricohflex A
- Ricohflex B
- Luminaflex (reusing the body of the Ricohflex B, assembled after the war by an unknown company)
- Ricohflex III
- Ricohflex IIIB
- Ricohflex IV
- Ricohflex VI
- Ricohflex VII
- Ricohflex VIIS
- Ricohflex VIIM
- Super Ricohflex
- Ricohflex Holiday
- Ricohflex Million
- Ricohflex New Million
- Ricohflex Dia
- Ricohflex Dia M
- Ricohflex New Dia
- Ricohflex Dia L
- Ricoh Diacord G
- Ricohmatic 225
- Ricoh Auto 66
127 film
3×4 telescopic
- Olympic A (made by Asahi Bussan before its absorption by Riken)
- Olympic B (made by Asahi Bussan then by Asahi Kōgaku Kōgyō)
- Olympic Junior (made by Asahi Bussan then by Asahi Kōgaku Kōgyō)
- Olympic C (made by Asahi Bussan then by Asahi Kōgaku Kōgyō)
- Zessan (made by Mori)
3×4 focal plane
3×4 pseudo TLR
3×4 strut folding
4×4 telescopic
- Olympic Four I and II (made by Asahi Kōgaku Kōgyō)
- Letix (made by Asahi Kōgaku Kōgyō)
- Roico
- Seica
4×4 folding
- Adler Four (made by Proud, name variant of the Baby Rosen and Rosen Four)
4×4 TLR
4×6.5 telescopic
- Regal Olympic (announced by Asahi Bussan before its absorption by Riken)
- Vest Olympic
- Vest Adler
126 film
- Ricohmatic 126
- Ricoh 126C Automatic
- Ricoh 126C Auto CdS
- Ricoh 126C EE
- Ricoh 126C Flex
110 film
- Ricohmatic 110X Pocket Deluxe
- Ricohmatic 600M
Other
- Olympic D enlarger[12]
- Riken Ultrazin filters
- Riken Luminous filters
Riken or Ricoh lenses mounted on other cameras
- Liebe 75/4.5 (three elements, on the Semi Osamo)[13]
- Toa 75/3.5 (four elements, on the Taroflex)[14]
Notes
- ↑ History page of the official website of the Riken Institute.
- ↑ History page of the official website of the Riken Institute.
- ↑ History of Riken Kankōshi, in the June 2000 issue (N°228) of the Riken News bulletin; history page of the Ricoh official website, 1936–45 period.
- ↑ Arimura, p.6 of Kurashikku Kamera Senka no.14. The exact address in 1943 was Tōkyō-to Ōji-ku Kamiya-chō 1–760 (東京都王子区神谷町1–760). Source: "Kokusan shashinki no genjōchōsa" ("Inquiry into Japanese cameras").
- ↑ Arimura, p.6 of Kurashikku Kamera Senka no.14.
- ↑ Arimura, p.6 of Kurashikku Kamera Senka no.14; article of IR Magazine about the history of Ricoh.
- ↑ Arimura, p.6 of Kurashikku Kamera Senka no.14; history page of the Ricoh official website, 1936–45 period; article of IR Magazine about the history of Ricoh.
- ↑ Arimura, p.6 of Kurashikku Kamera Senka no.14. This source gives the name "Asahi Musen K.K." but the full name is given by the April 1943 governement inquiry and by this article of the Riken News bulletin. The address in 1943 was Tōkyō-to Ōmori-ku Magomechō Nishi (東京都大森区馬込町西) 4–3085. Source: "Kokusan shashinki no genjōchōsa" ("Inquiry into Japanese cameras").
- ↑ See this article of the Riken News bulletin.
- ↑ Ricoh Six made by Asahi Seimitsu: see this page of the AJCC.
- ↑ http://www.flickr.com/photos/heritagefutures/2980689779/[1]
- ↑ Advertisement published in Camera Art February 1937, reproduced in Kokusan kamera no rekishi, p.63. Advertisement by Asahi Bussan published at the end of 1937 in The British Journal Photographic Almanac 1938, pp.694–5.
- ↑ "Kokusan shashinki no genjōchōsa" ("Inquiry into Japanese cameras") (lens item Lc12).
- ↑ "Kokusan shashinki no genjōchōsa" ("Inquiry into Japanese cameras") (lens item Lb37).
Bibliography
- Advertisement by Asahi Bussan in The British Journal Photographic Almanac 1938, edited by Arthur J. Dalladay, published by Henri Greenwood & Co., Ltd., London. Pp.694–5. (By its very nature, the 1938 Almanac was published at the end of 1937.)
- Arimura Katsumi (有村克巳). "Rikō Ryakushi" (リコー略史, Ricoh short history). Kamera Rebyū: Kurashikku Kamera Senka (カメラレビュー クラシックカメラ専科) / Camera Review: All about Historical Cameras no.14, October 1989. No ISBN number. Rikō kamera no subete (リコーカメラのすべて, special issue on Ricoh). Pp.6–7.
- Asahi Camera (アサヒカメラ) editorial staff. Shōwa 10–40nen kōkoku ni miru kokusan kamera no rekishi (昭和10–40年広告にみる国産カメラの歴史, Japanese camera history as seen in advertisements, 1935–1965). Tokyo: Asahi Shinbunsha, 1994. ISBN 4-02-330312-7.
- "Kokusan shashinki no genjōchōsa" (国産写真機ノ現状調査, Inquiry into Japanese cameras), listing Japanese camera production as of April 1943. Reproduced in Supuringu kamera de ikou: Zen 69 kishu no shōkai to tsukaikata (スプリングカメラでいこう: 全69機種の紹介と使い方, Let's try spring cameras: Presentation and use of 69 machines). Tokyo: Shashinkogyo Syuppan-sha, 2004. ISBN 4-87956-072-3. Pp.180–7.
- Tanaka Masao (田中政雄). "Rikō kamera no nagare" (リコーカメラの流れ, Evolution of the Ricoh cameras). Kamera Rebyū: Kurashikku Kamera Senka (カメラレビュー クラシックカメラ専科) / Camera Review: All about Historical Cameras no.14, October 1989. No ISBN number. Rikō kamera no subete (リコーカメラのすべて, special issue on Ricoh). Pp.8–11.
Links
Company history
In English:
- History pages of the global Ricoh official website (the original version of these pages is in Japanese and they also exist in French, in German, in Italian and in other languages)
- History page of the Riken Institute official website (the original version of this page is in Japanese)
In Japanese:
- History pages of the Ricoh official website (the Japanese version of these pages is more complete)
- History of Ricoh in the September and October 2002 issue (Vol.57) of IR Magazine
- History of Riken Kankōshi and its links with the Riken institute, in the June 2000 issue (N°228) of the Riken News bulletin published by the Riken Institute
- Website about Ichimura Kiyoshi, the founder of Ricoh
- History of Ricoh concentrating on its manufacture of watches, in the Hokkaidō Udetokei Kurabu (a site about wristwatches)
Riken and Ricoh cameras
In English:
- User manuals for most Ricoh cameras, including almost all SLRs, at butkus.org's Orphan Cameras
- Ricoh TLR information at Dan Colucci's camera site
- The Ricohflex page in Greg Erker's website
- Night Photography done with Ricoh KR5, by Ross Hillier
- US patent: Design of the Ricoh 16
- Ricoh camera's in Andrys Stienstra's camera collection
- The unnofficial guide to Ricoh cameras and Rikenon lenses
In French:
- Ricoh page at G. Even's site
- Ricoh Cameras at www.collection-appareils.fr
- Ricoh at Flickr.com
In Japanese:
- Ricoh camera list and Ricoh camera library at the Ricoh official website
- Ricoh cameras at Japan Family Camera
- Riken cameras using 127 film at Asacame
Asahi Bussan and Riken prewar and wartime cameras ( ) | ||
---|---|---|
rigid or collapsible | ||
Vest Adler | Gokoku | Semi Kinsi | Letix | Olympic | New Olympic | Regal Olympic | Semi Olympic | Super Olympic | Vest Olympic | Riken No.1 | Ricohl | Roico | Seica | Zessan | ||
folders | pseudo TLR | TLR |
Semi Adler | Adler III | Adler A | Adler B | Adler C | Adler Four | Adler Six | Gaica | Heil | Kinsi | Chukon Ref | Ricohflex | Ricohflex B |