The Retro Ricoh "35"

   If you're old enough to have driven cars that had no power brakes, no power steering, and no air conditioning, you'll probably relate to the Ricoh "35," truly a minimalist's dream if ever there were one. With its fixed 3.5/45mm lens and shutter speeds that top out at only 1/200, it certainly won't leave anyone gasping with anticipation. But as Tevya often said in the film Fiddler on the Roof, "On the other hand..." it does have much to recommend it to the thinking photographer who enjoys the process of creating images as much as he enjoys the results of his efforts.
      Manufactured in the mid fifties, this camera is at least as well-crafted as any other camera of its time. Interestingly, it features not only a knurled knob to advance the film and cock the shutter, but also a trigger wind to perform the same functions. The integrated viewfinder/rangefinder window is bright, and the rangefinder patch is well defined. The leaf type shutter is satisfyingly quiet. The back slides off for easy film loading.  But if you were to ask me about those two humps at 12 o'clock and 9 o'clock in the photo (above), I'd have to admit that I have no idea what they're for.

     In the photo (right) you can see the trigger wind lever at the bottom of the camera (yellow dot), the focusing knob (red), the old timey flash connector (purple) and the two large knobs that hold the removable back in place. The white dot at the left rests on the tripod socket.
     As I recall, I paid about $60 for this camera not too long ago. Curious about its current value, I checked with collectiblend.com where it's listed at $240-$520 depending on its condition. Then I consulted my 1995-1996 copy of McKeown's price guide where it's listed at $30-$45. Well, I thought, maybe I should have bought a dozen or so Ricoh "35"s when I bought this one.

    Seen from the side (photo right), the shutter speed indicator ring is shown by the blue dot. The thin knurled ring (red) next to it is the shutter speed adjusting ring. The purple dot denotes the f stop values, while the green dot marks the click stopped diaphragm adjusting ring. The yellow dot shows the focusing ring with its adjusting knob. Not shown in the photo is the depth of field scale, which appears on the front of the camera.

   Viewed from the top (photo left), you can see the film advance knob, film counter, and shutter release at the traditional right-hand side of the unit. The small button near the film advance knob disables the advance mechanism when it's time to rewind the film.  In the photo you can also see the integrated viewfinder/rangefinder window, which wasn't always present in many other cameras during the fifties.

    Some photographers claim that an f3.5 lens, a top shutter speed of 1/200, and no provision for electronic flash are a handicap. I suppose that's true in many cases. But during the more than sixty years I'd been active in photography, it wasn't true for me. In fact, I probably used an f stop wider than 5.6 and a shutter speed slower than 1/30 or faster than 1/500 no more than two dozen times during all those years. What's more, I rarely used a flash unit.
    Although I must admit that I'm not crazy about its trigger wind,  I really like everything else about the Ricoh "35." And I'd like it even better if it had strap lugs. I never could figure out why some designers omitted them from their cameras.

COMING SOON: The Ricoh S-2