Ricoh R1

[dazedgonebye]

I've got a Ricoh R1 on the way. Just looked too interesting not to have.
If you're not familiar with it, here's a short article.

http://classicameras.blogspot.com/2009/02/ricoh-r1.html

Now, I realize the 24mm won't be sharp at the corners with the pano feature disabled (which I intend to do) and that's ok. I see this thing as primarily a high end vivitar uws (plastic 22mm lens).
What I'd like to know from anyone that has experience with one of these things is, how good is the 30mm f3.5 lens?

Picture? Opinions?

 

[ian_w]

Hi

I'll start by saying that it was my brother that owned one, not myself, but I've seen plenty of pictures and used it a little also, hence no scans to add. The 30mm lens setting is really pretty decent. Sharp, good contrast and so on. The focussing could be a little hit and miss, and sometimes pretty slow if the light was low. The 24mm setting isn't truly another lens - it engages a mechanism that inserts an internal auxiliary arrangement (two elements from memory) into the light path. Even in panoramic mode the ends of the prints were notably softer and a little blurred. I'm not sure how good the images will be without the panoramic shutters engaged... That said, he took it to India and Sri Lanka and came back with some great stuff.

Hope that's useful
Ian

 

[petronius]

The first three pictures in my blog, that you mentioned above, are shot with the 30mm setting. I think it can compete with the mju-II lens. I´ll post some 100% crops if you want.

 

[nosmok]

ricoh R1-- love it!

ricoh R1-- love it!

I just got this about 6 months ago-- it's a great camera, even without the fukk-frame 24mm mod. The landscapes I've taken are sharp and the color rendition is amazing. Have gotten many compliments on the images it produces. My only complaint is, mine usually takes a few tries to get the film engaged when loading. This also affects battery life. But aside from this, it's an amazing camera, truly a take-anywhere machine.

--nosmok

 

[sevo]

It is a decent little camera, and two of them were my permanent companion for several years. If the LCD would not die that often and if the Silvi did not have a even better lens covering the same focal range, it would still be my favourite compact.

 

[dazedgonebye]

That's all encouraging. I plan to primarily use it for 24mm. I like fuzzy edges...just wanted to know if it was decent as a regular point and shoot.

 

[chubasco]

I have the R1E and it's one of my fave Point and Shoots:

I think you'll have a lot of fun with the R1.

 

[BillBingham2]

My R1 tested gravity from a TV set to a hardwood floor. Sadly at that moment in time gravity was still working very well and it broke. I remember the 30 as being a fine lens and the 24 worked very well too. Over all it was the predecessor to the GR line and now the GRD line of wonderfully fun little digital P&Ss.

My only complaint (other than it having a mind of it's own in science) as the autofocus was slower than I liked, but with prefocusing things worked well most of the time. It was my main camera for my son's first year and a half of life or so.

Great shots, thanks for sharing.

B2 (;->

 

[dazedgonebye]

The shots all look very encouraging.
Unfortunately, I still haven't received the thing, more than 3 weeks since buying it. The seller is in the UK. A few days ago he assured me it had been sent.
We'll see.

 

[btgc]

On 22.12 I've purchased rechargeable AAA's from UK seller - still have not arrived. Seller assured delay is because of pre-Christmas backlog at Royal Mail and tons of snow they have got.

 

[BillBingham2]

The weather is really messing with stuff going across the pond more than usual this year.

B2 (;->

 

[lilmo]

Hello,
long time lurker, first time poster..
First of all, I found a great help on this great site on various things. After reading about the R1 I got one but there seems to be a problem with winding.

The film is pre-winded properly (I tested this with 12 and 36 exp. films)
The camera seems to focus properly, the shutter fires, but when it tries to wind the film to the next frame I get strange buzzing sounds and the LCD dies. Seems like it cannot wind the film to next frame.
Anyone had this problem? It is worth to repair it or should I look for a new one? I'm puzzled.

Thanks in advance
p>

 

[nosmok]

You could try changing the battery. My R1 seems to be a battery hog. It may be all those delicate little linkages gumming up and taxing the battery, so perhaps a cla or atleast a cl is in order, though I wouldn;t know where to send you (or me!).

--nosmok

 

[RFH]

The R1 is a great camera. I took mine to India as a backup for my M6, and I was very surprised by the high image quality the little lens delivers. And it's Hexar AF-silent, so perfect for stealth shooting. By personal opinion, I would rate the Ricoh lens above the Oly Mju. Lots of contrast and colour saturation. This one is shot in 24 mm mode.

 

[fidget]

I'd had the R10 (30mm fixed camera) some years ago and had enjoyed using it. I regret selling it. Just recently I looked for an R1, but found they were selling a little too expensively for me. I found a nice R10 very cheaply. It's working pretty well.
Here's a couple off the first roll, more a test than keeper pics.

I look forward to seeing a few more from the 24mm configuration of your R1s.

 

[muf]

that first pic looks like oldham town center looking down to the old town hall on yorkshire street. yes?

 

[fidget]

that first pic looks like oldham town center looking down to the old town hall on yorkshire street. yes?

Well spotted! One of the parish church and one from the church looking across Yorkshire street. I recently discovered that I like rainy day photography. This is fortunate because there are plenty of them here!

 

[muf]

Well spotted! One of the parish church and one from the church looking across Yorkshire street. I recently discovered that I like rainy day photography. This is fortunate because there are plenty of them here!

Tell me about it!!! I love rain. Have to I suppose 🙁 Most of my camera's don't though, so I have to be considerate. I always carry a weatherproof camera 'just in case'. But yeah, the North of England is not a place for sun worshippers...

Paul

 

[ajuk]

I'm thinking of getting one of these, why is is so much cheaper then the GR-1?

 

[Greyscale]

I bought a "mint condition" R1 on eBay a few months ago, unfortunately I had to return it, as it was not as advertised. Mine had a dead LED display (a common problem, I understand) and the weatherproofing gasket around the lens was damaged. It also sounded like a wood-chipper when winding. I probably could have used it, but I paid too much for it to have a semi-functional camera. It is a lovely little thing, I hope that you have better luck than I did.