Just got a Ricoh 500 RF...

[Kent]

I seem to get a kick out of fixed lens rangefinder cams, esp. the "cheaper" ones. It's really amazing which fantastic results you can get from these "bottom-of-the-range" cam.
They are simply not the kid's stuff that they are sometimes seen as. It's rather an unpretentious, plain-vanilla kind of photography.

After an AGFA Super Silette Automatic, an AGFA Super Silette 2, a Minolta Hi-Matic F, an Olympus 35RC and a Minolta Hi-Matic E, the Ricoh 500RF has joined the team.

Just have inserted a battery and loaded an ISO 200 film and can't wait to see the first results...

OK, shooting with the exchangable lenses of my FED-3b is nice and the short time I had a Leica M3 with a Summicron 50 on loan from a friend was some kind of eye-opener, but these little fixed lens rangefinders are just perfect for the waistcoat pocket...

 

[Sonny Boy Havidson]

I have restaured an 500 GX for a friend and the Ricoh 500 G/GX/ME/RF serie seems to be a really underrated treasure. The lens is quite good (not as sharp as my Olympus 35 RC but quite fine) and this the only compact rangefinder camera I know that is lightmetered in manual mode. Moreover, it feels really robust.

 

[btgc]

Definitely would get Ricoh from this series if not too many cameras already in general, if not having also smallish Electro 35 MC and Oly 35RC.

Just can't justify getting one more if there's one who would use it more than me - but agree it's cute.

Looking forward pictures!

 

[daniel~]

These old Ricoh are nice shooters that don't cost a lot. Personally I just can't justify the steep price of GR1s/GR1v these days...