Chris Dodkin
West Coast Correspondent
It's month 4 of my 'year of film cameras' project - and this month it's the Ricoh 500 GX.
January was the Rollei 35 - http://www.realphotographersforum.com/film-conventional-cameras/9384-article-downsizing-again-rollei-35-a.html#post78392
February was the Werra 1A - http://www.realphotographersforum.com/film-conventional-cameras/9489-behind-iron-curtain-werra-1a.html#post79289
March was the Yashica Electro 35 GT - http://www.realphotographersforum.com/film-conventional-cameras/10266-yashica-electro-35-gt.html#post81488
I spotted the Ricoh on EBAY, and was immediately taken with it's rather stylish looks - It reminded me of the Canonet rangefinders, and that red GX and detailing really made it pop. It's the deluxe version of the 500G.
I hit the BUY IT NOW button, as it wasn't expensive at all.
Reality hit when the camera arrived in the post - things were not quite as advertised!
First thing I noticed was a cracked viewfinder - which was odd because I couldn't see a cracked viewfinder in the images on the EBAY auction!
I contacted the seller, and they blamed the postman - but the camera was well packaged and there was no packaging damage that would indicate an impact.
I checked further and found that the images the seller has used were someone else's camera - so I had been bidding based on shots of a nice mint camera - and not the one for sale
The second discovery came when I opened the rear door of the camera - to be presented with light seals which were looking very tired indeed.
This is a common problem with cameras from this era - the foam material used to provide a light-tight seal degrades over time, and eventually fails to provide a suitable seal on the film access door.
This is a fairly easy fix with sheets of self-adhesive foam available online - but it does take some time and effort - and it's good to know ahead of time.
Again, the seller had failed to describe the condition correctly - so a lesson to all of us on EBAY sales, you need to ask questions and not just take 'in excellent condition' as a true statement!
To be fair - this is the first camera purchase from EBAY where I've had issues - most sellers are very diligent in their descriptions and photos, so it's not a huge issue.
I was limited on time and felt I could work around the issues, so just gave the seller some **** about the issues and moved on.
The camera is a small rangefinder, (111×71×56 mm), with battery powered metering. The shutter speed maxes out at 1/500 which is typical for this era of camera, and the exposure system offers manual shutter speed selection, with the aperture controlled by the built-in CdS-meter or manually.
The battery is a 1.35 volt mercury battery PX675 - so a retrofit cell from Wein is required, as the modern 1.5v cells will mess with the metering accuracy.
The Rikenon lens is 40mm, so a little wider than the 'standard' 50mm, which I like - and is a moderately fast f/2.8.
The light meter cell is located in the front of the lens - which is a great feature as it then automatically adjusts for any filter you place on the lens.
You also set the ASA on the lens - which is a little unusual, but easy enough to accomplish using the knurled inner ring on the lens. Film speed cab be set from 25-800 ASA.
Aperture and shutter speed are in a more conventional location on the lens barrel - although aperture is hard to adjust as it's right up against the camera body, so is rather fiddly.
You can also set aperture to the auto A mode, where you hand over control to the built-in meter.
The top plate has a conventional layout, with film rewind crank, hot-shoe for flash, battery check button (this moves the exposure needle in the viewfinder to show battery level), and lockable release with it's own built-in soft release, and a smooth and fast film advance lever.
Film count is shown on the far right through a small viewing window, and the rear of the camera is suitably sleek, with just the viewfinder window.
Film loading was fast and easy - you lift the film rewind crank to pop the rear door, and load the film in the conventional way. (No DX Coding of course).
In use, the rangefinder patch is rather small, so focus takes some care and concentration - the exposure meter display in the viewfinder is good, and easy to read - the film advance and shutter release are smooth and quiet.
I tried both full manual, and the shutter priority modes for exposure - with mixed results.
At slower shutter speeds, working indoors with XP2 film, the camera did a lovely job - the exposures had lovely tonality, and the metering seemed to cope with the challenging illumination nicely.
Outside, in full sun, I wasn't ever convinced that the camera was exposing correctly - I initially tried a sunny 16 approach as a test
The exposure is ok, but I felt the walls of the house were blown-out a little, and the black level had to be added in during post processing.
Generally, relying on the in-camera metering also produced slightly over exposed shots with the XP2 - I'm thinking that maybe the shutter was a little slow due to age/lack of use.
Fitting a Yellow filter for B&W use, helped tonality a little, and the over all contrast and sharpness of the lens seems good - although perhaps not as good as the Yashica or Zeiss glass
The lens did have some issues with flare - which given the age/price was not that surprising - still, an interesting effect!
I did have multiple frames spoiled by light leaks when shooting with XP2, and given the state of the foam it wasn't unexpected. If I liked the camera more, I'd go through the exercise of removing the old foam, and cutting some new custom seals. There's a great how-to here: Ricoh 500G & 500GX Light Seal Replacement
All in all it's a competent snap-shot camera, although the lack of aperture priority is a deal killer for me. I don't think it's in the same league as the Canonet or Yashica models, but it costs substantially less, so maybe that's to be expected.
The f/2.8 lens is not fast enough for my tastes, as it limits both low-light use and narrow DOF photography - this has become a key issue for me when selecting cameras/lenses, and separates cameras into desirable and less desirable categories when searching online.
It's got a place on my shelf - but not in my camera bag.
All XP2 images courtesy of CostCo cheapo dunk and scan.
January was the Rollei 35 - http://www.realphotographersforum.com/film-conventional-cameras/9384-article-downsizing-again-rollei-35-a.html#post78392
February was the Werra 1A - http://www.realphotographersforum.com/film-conventional-cameras/9489-behind-iron-curtain-werra-1a.html#post79289
March was the Yashica Electro 35 GT - http://www.realphotographersforum.com/film-conventional-cameras/10266-yashica-electro-35-gt.html#post81488
I spotted the Ricoh on EBAY, and was immediately taken with it's rather stylish looks - It reminded me of the Canonet rangefinders, and that red GX and detailing really made it pop. It's the deluxe version of the 500G.
I hit the BUY IT NOW button, as it wasn't expensive at all.
Reality hit when the camera arrived in the post - things were not quite as advertised!
First thing I noticed was a cracked viewfinder - which was odd because I couldn't see a cracked viewfinder in the images on the EBAY auction!
I contacted the seller, and they blamed the postman - but the camera was well packaged and there was no packaging damage that would indicate an impact.
I checked further and found that the images the seller has used were someone else's camera - so I had been bidding based on shots of a nice mint camera - and not the one for sale
The second discovery came when I opened the rear door of the camera - to be presented with light seals which were looking very tired indeed.
This is a common problem with cameras from this era - the foam material used to provide a light-tight seal degrades over time, and eventually fails to provide a suitable seal on the film access door.
This is a fairly easy fix with sheets of self-adhesive foam available online - but it does take some time and effort - and it's good to know ahead of time.
Again, the seller had failed to describe the condition correctly - so a lesson to all of us on EBAY sales, you need to ask questions and not just take 'in excellent condition' as a true statement!
To be fair - this is the first camera purchase from EBAY where I've had issues - most sellers are very diligent in their descriptions and photos, so it's not a huge issue.
I was limited on time and felt I could work around the issues, so just gave the seller some **** about the issues and moved on.
The camera is a small rangefinder, (111×71×56 mm), with battery powered metering. The shutter speed maxes out at 1/500 which is typical for this era of camera, and the exposure system offers manual shutter speed selection, with the aperture controlled by the built-in CdS-meter or manually.
The battery is a 1.35 volt mercury battery PX675 - so a retrofit cell from Wein is required, as the modern 1.5v cells will mess with the metering accuracy.
The Rikenon lens is 40mm, so a little wider than the 'standard' 50mm, which I like - and is a moderately fast f/2.8.
The light meter cell is located in the front of the lens - which is a great feature as it then automatically adjusts for any filter you place on the lens.
You also set the ASA on the lens - which is a little unusual, but easy enough to accomplish using the knurled inner ring on the lens. Film speed cab be set from 25-800 ASA.
Aperture and shutter speed are in a more conventional location on the lens barrel - although aperture is hard to adjust as it's right up against the camera body, so is rather fiddly.
You can also set aperture to the auto A mode, where you hand over control to the built-in meter.
The top plate has a conventional layout, with film rewind crank, hot-shoe for flash, battery check button (this moves the exposure needle in the viewfinder to show battery level), and lockable release with it's own built-in soft release, and a smooth and fast film advance lever.
Film count is shown on the far right through a small viewing window, and the rear of the camera is suitably sleek, with just the viewfinder window.
Film loading was fast and easy - you lift the film rewind crank to pop the rear door, and load the film in the conventional way. (No DX Coding of course).
In use, the rangefinder patch is rather small, so focus takes some care and concentration - the exposure meter display in the viewfinder is good, and easy to read - the film advance and shutter release are smooth and quiet.
I tried both full manual, and the shutter priority modes for exposure - with mixed results.
At slower shutter speeds, working indoors with XP2 film, the camera did a lovely job - the exposures had lovely tonality, and the metering seemed to cope with the challenging illumination nicely.
Outside, in full sun, I wasn't ever convinced that the camera was exposing correctly - I initially tried a sunny 16 approach as a test
The exposure is ok, but I felt the walls of the house were blown-out a little, and the black level had to be added in during post processing.
Generally, relying on the in-camera metering also produced slightly over exposed shots with the XP2 - I'm thinking that maybe the shutter was a little slow due to age/lack of use.
Fitting a Yellow filter for B&W use, helped tonality a little, and the over all contrast and sharpness of the lens seems good - although perhaps not as good as the Yashica or Zeiss glass
The lens did have some issues with flare - which given the age/price was not that surprising - still, an interesting effect!
I did have multiple frames spoiled by light leaks when shooting with XP2, and given the state of the foam it wasn't unexpected. If I liked the camera more, I'd go through the exercise of removing the old foam, and cutting some new custom seals. There's a great how-to here: Ricoh 500G & 500GX Light Seal Replacement
All in all it's a competent snap-shot camera, although the lack of aperture priority is a deal killer for me. I don't think it's in the same league as the Canonet or Yashica models, but it costs substantially less, so maybe that's to be expected.
The f/2.8 lens is not fast enough for my tastes, as it limits both low-light use and narrow DOF photography - this has become a key issue for me when selecting cameras/lenses, and separates cameras into desirable and less desirable categories when searching online.
It's got a place on my shelf - but not in my camera bag.
All XP2 images courtesy of CostCo cheapo dunk and scan.
