Ricoh 35 a cursory review

[lxmike]

Well the Ricoh 35, (circa 19550 arrived today and my initial thoughts/feelings are favourable. Build quality wise it is very impressive and weighs 'hefty' due to its all metal finish. The engraving on the top plate is very good and not a transfer, the 35mm 3.5 lens is multicoated and although the the shutter speed is limited the shutter is very quiet. The big plus with the Ricoh 35 is the rapid winder, this is very smooth and qucik, (but a litle noisey, but not ever handling any other rapid rinder I cannot compare it with others). Best of all the ricoh 35 is cool looking and looks great next to my Leica IIIF. Anyway, these are just my initial thoughts and are in no way meant to be definative.

 

[lxmike]

Although slightly bigger than a IIIF it is quite similar in looks and also quite similar to the Canon 'screw thread' cameras

 

[kzphoto]

It's a bottom loader? Neat!

 

[lxmike]

the more I handle it the more I am inpressed with the build quality, obviously not up to lieca standards but way way ahead of say the Zorki 4. Ine impressive thing is that the viewfinder is quite bright and the rangefinder very contrasty

 

[lxmike]

Hi KZ, the back comes off like on a Rollei 35, the back is locked on voa two locking knobs/dials on the bottom plate

 

[Ranchu]

I like it. It looks better made than ebay pictures I've seen indicate. Not clumsy.

 

[lxmike]

Ranchu the build quality took me by surprise, its built to a very high standard, far far better than most and as for ergonomics, its quick to focus and smoth and quick to wind on, grab one if you can. As a way of comparison, its also better built than a Kodak Rerina IIa

 

[lxmike]

with regards to size, well its not as compact as a IIIF with a colapsable elmar but it is certainly more compact then my Yashica 35 GT