Difference between revisions of "Ricoh 500"
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| − | The '''first type''', from 1957, is based on the Ricoh 35S. It has a dropped section at the each end of the top housing. At the left-hand end, the rewind knob is taller than on other versions of the camera. It doesn't have a film-type reminder, which other versions do (on the bottom). It has a [[Seikosha-MX]] shutter, with speeds 1 - 1/500 second, plus 'B', and a coated, five-element Riken Ricoh 45 mm f/2.8 lens made by [[Tomioka]].<ref>[http://www.ricoh.co.jp/camera/cameralist/ricoh35S.html Ricoh 35S] in the camera list at the [http://www.ricoh.co.jp/ Japanese Ricoh website]; presumably the same lens as on the first-type Ricoh 500.</ref> | + | The '''first type''', from 1957, is based on the [[Ricoh 35S]]. It has a dropped section at the each end of the top housing. At the left-hand end, the rewind knob is taller than on other versions of the camera. It doesn't have a film-type reminder, which other versions do (on the bottom). It has a [[Seikosha-MX]] shutter, with speeds 1 - 1/500 second, plus 'B', and a coated, five-element Riken Ricoh 45 mm f/2.8 lens made by [[Tomioka]].<ref>[http://www.ricoh.co.jp/camera/cameralist/ricoh35S.html Ricoh 35S] in the camera list at the [http://www.ricoh.co.jp/ Japanese Ricoh website]; presumably the same lens as on the first-type Ricoh 500.</ref> |
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Revision as of 00:22, 27 November 2011
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| Ricoh 500, first type with Seikosha MX shutter. image by David Broglin (Image rights) |
The Ricoh 500 is a 35 mm rangefinder camera with fixed lens made in Japan by Ricoh from 1957. Four different main types were marketed between then and 1960.
All models have some features in common :
- The Triggermatic winding system; a folding advance lever mounted on the bottom of the camera, operated with fingers of the left hand.
- A detachable back (i.e. not hinged: the back and base, including the winding mechanism, come off for loading).
- A coupled rangefinder, combined with the viewfinder.
- Light Value system for setting the exposure (the Ricoh 500 was the first camera in Japan to adopt the LV system); an external selenium light meter, fitting in the accessory shoe, was available (it is not coupled to the camera).
The first type, from 1957, is based on the Ricoh 35S. It has a dropped section at the each end of the top housing. At the left-hand end, the rewind knob is taller than on other versions of the camera. It doesn't have a film-type reminder, which other versions do (on the bottom). It has a Seikosha-MX shutter, with speeds 1 - 1/500 second, plus 'B', and a coated, five-element Riken Ricoh 45 mm f/2.8 lens made by Tomioka.[1]
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The second type, from 1958, is the most common one. It has a flat top plate, and the rewind crank and other controls are more-or-less flush with this. It has a Seikosha-MXL shutter, with speeds 1 - 1/500 second, plus 'B'. The lens is either a five-element Ricomat 45 mm f/2.8, made by Tomioka,[2] or a Rikenon 45 mm f/2.4, made by Nitto Optical (on the deluxe model).[3] The camera has dimensions 140mm x 83mm x 67mm and weighs 670 g.[2]
The Japanese Ricoh website shows an all-black example of the camera.[2]
The third type is very similar, but has the Seikosha-SLV shutter, again with speeds 1 - 1/500 second, plus 'B', but now with a self timer. The lens is the same.
The fourth type has a Riken Ricoh (not Ricomat) 45 mm f/2.8, and again a Seikosha SLV shutter. The top housing has been restyled, to accomodate a larger viewfinder, with a bright-line frame. This camera, but with an f/1.9 lens, was sold as the Ricoh Jet.
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| Ricoh 500's Triggermatic Action on the wall of an old camera store in Springfield, MA. image by Mike Zeis (Image rights) |
Notes
- ↑ Ricoh 35S in the camera list at the Japanese Ricoh website; presumably the same lens as on the first-type Ricoh 500.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Ricoh 500 entry in camera list on the Japanese Ricoh website.
- ↑ Ricoh 500 deluxe model (in Japanese) on the Ricoh website.
Links
- User's manuals at Mike Butkus' Orphan Cameras:
- Ricoh 500 cameras at Sylvain Halgand's Collection d'Appareils (text in French):
- First type
- Second type
- Third type (with Seikosha SLV shutter)
- Fourth type (with brightline viewfinder)
- Ricoh 500 (first type) at Karen Nakamura's Photoethnography.com.
