Ricoh SLR questions.

[Keith]

While at a new years day celebration yesterday I was given some SLR camera gear by a local. A Ricoh KR-5 Super with two Hanimex lenses ... an 80-200 macro zoom which has some nasty looking fungus inside and a 28mm F2.8 which seems to be ok! I don't know zot about Hanimex lenses and was curious about the quality of the 28mm ... it seems well made?

The camera itself is in very good nick with a working meter and I notice it has a copal type shutter. This is a very plain no frills SLR and is quite small... it appears to be well made, has rather a nice feel to it and uses a simple match needle metering system which is activated when the advance lever is moved out a little ... this also unlocks the shutter release!

In the info I've managed to find on line about the camera it says it uses K mount optics and listed Rikenon as the genuine available lenses which I've never heard of. I know nothing about later Pentax SLRs but aren't they also K mount ... what else uses K mount lenses?

Does anyone still use one of these on a regular basis ... to be honest I wasn't even aware that Ricoh made an SLR as I don't recall ever hearing one mentioned on this forum!

 

[bmattock]

Most Sears cameras/lenses were Ricoh. They made good stuff. K mount was Pentax, Ricoh, and a few others, including Cosina (as Vivitar in the US, Hanimex in Australia). Good camera and fine lenses.

 

[ChrisN]

Keith, K-mount is the Pentax bayonet mount standard, and while the mechanical mount and linkages are similar throughout there have been several levels of capability in the different versions over the years - for a good explanation have a look at this page on Bojidar Dimitrov's site. Your camera should probably be able to use any of the Pentax lenses in -M, -A versions (manual focus) and even the auto focus FA series lenses in auto-focus* mode (yes, even the excellent Limited series lenses).

*Did you spot the obvious mistake? Of course I meant that the you could use the FA lenses in manual-focus mode.

 

[Doug]

Keith, I think the Ricoh SLRs are fairly decent. We bought a new XR-5 (not sure how this may differ, if at all, from your KR-5) in the Spring of 1984 as a backup for my wife's Pentax ME-Super. It cost $200 at retail. Within a few days it needed repair to the film counter under warranty. Four years later it was unserviceable, and the repair shop gave us $5 for it as a parts donor. My wife is pretty hard on her gear, having trashed an ME Super also with a Coca Cola spill.

 

[lorenzo1910]

Hello Keith,
a friend of mine is who is "Ricoh-addicted" says that the XR Rikenon are the best (Ricoh) lenses available.
I have a KR-5 and a KR-10 Super and the optic quality of their lenses is fairly good...but when I need (???) the best result I twist-on a SMC Pentax 50mm f/1.7 (hi-quality / dirty cheap lens)

 

[btgc]

I just discovered all my SLRs are Ricoh (bayonet only). I will not claim they are better than Pentax'es for less price (because I don't own any Pentax SLR) or Rikenons are best lenses though they give all I want. And I can't imagine myself spending hundred or more(!!!) for SLR body like with those cult things and yet fight battery drain or what else issue. I appreciate they are cheap, functional, sturdy enough and have special appeal originating in technological approach of company.

 

[ChrisPlatt]

In addition to my Pentax cameras I have owned and used several Ricoh and Ricoh-made Sears K-mount SLRs.
Though I liked some of their features, I found the Ricoh bodies were not as sturdy and reliable as Pentax.

Some of the XR Rikenon lenses are very good.

Chris

 

[Vince Lupo]

I have a beautiful black Ricoh TLS-401 (Pentax screw mount) that a local camera shop gave me about 8 years ago. Their customers used to bring in their old SLR's when they wanted to 'upgrade' to a digital camera ('well I don't have any use for this old thing, so you may as well have it'). Needless to say, the camera shop accumulated quite a few cameras.

The Ricoh seemed to work perfectly fine, and the next day I found a wide angle Vivitar lens at another camera shop for $15 (so now we're up to a Ricoh TLS-401 with a 50/1.4 and a 35/2.8 - total investment $15). I shot a roll of film with it, and everything looked great. Coincidentally, a local magazine contacted me about an assignment. I decided to shoot the story with my new acquisition. The assignment paid me $400 + expenses, and they ran 3 shots in the magazine.

Not bad for a $15 investment?