Ricoh 500
by Karen Nakamura

Overview and Personal Comments

The Ricoh 500 is a 35mm coupled rangefinder camera with a non-interchangeable 45mm f/2.8 lens.

According to McKeowns (2001-2), the Ricoh was built between 1957-1959 by Riken Optical Industries. My manual however seems to indicate that it was printed "11/56."

I purchased mine in excellent condition at an antique fair in St. Paul in October of 2002 for US$40 including an everready case, strap, instruction manuals, and Ricoh BC605 "cordless"* flash (flashbulb type; it looks like it takes AG1 bulbs with the adaptor; or #5 bulbs without [thanks to Tom Krueger for helping me figure this out]).

*By "cordless" they meant that the camera has a hotshoe, so you don't need to use a PC cord.

The seller wanted $55 but it was a rainy Sunday and she wanted to go home, so I got it for $40. She's also the same person who sold me my wonderful Zeiss Contaflex IV for $55 so I know she prices below average. McKeown says it should have cost $60-90 so I think I got a deal especially given its excellent condition and fully operating shutter

The serial number of the body is #704x (my guess: the 4x unit built in 1957). The lens serial number is #207xx, 4.5 cm, f / 2.8. The shutter is a Seikosha with speeds 1/ 1 2 5 10 25 50 100 250 500 which is a bit annoying since most of my lightmeters (Minolta Autometer IVF and Gossen Digisix) use the 1/15 30 60 125 sequence which is about a 1/3 stop off. The focusing gauge is in feet which seems to indicate a U.S. export model.

My camera came with an Enteco Adapter Ring Ser. VI (No. 602; USA) with a "Kodak Daylight Filter for Type F Color Films No. 85C Series 6." Interesting. It's apparently a slight warming filter (1/3 stop compensation). Kodak says it's part of an "Amber series of conversion filters for color films. Used to provide significant changes in color temperature of various light sources." B&H notes that it's for using tungsten color film in daylight. The adapter ring has an outer diameter of 48mm, so I bought a push on lens-cap for it from B&H. Heliopan and B+W still make Series 6 filters but they cost $28-30 a piece new from B&H. I guess I'll look at swap meets for some (where they go for about $1-10 depending on condition).

The manuals came with a card from Duluth Camera Exchange which was on 207 West First Street, Duluth 2, Minn. The store was owned by a L. Shapiro. The card folds out and has a Film Rating Conversion Table (ASA, Weston, GE, Scheiner, and DIN) as well as the ratings for various films on the "ASA and Weston Film Rating Chart." I note with interest that Kodak had Royal Pan, Tri-X Panchromatic, Super Pancro Press Type B, Super XX, Panatomic Y, and a gazillion others. Wow. I should really scan this and put this on this page.

I have to say that I really like my Ricoh 500. I was walking around Stillwater, MN today taking some street photographs. The rangefinder on the Ricoh is very clear, better than the Petri 35 or Canonet 28 that I also own. There is the annoyance about the shutter speeds being unorthodox. Unfortunately, while the camer is nice to handle, the optics are clearly from the consumer end of the 1950s, very low in contrast. Nothing to write home about.

I do like the "Triggermatic-action" film advance.It's much more natural than hitting your eye with the film advance lever each time. This is similar to the Leica Leicavit, which now apparently will cost you at least five Yugos ($2000) to buy new. Note: Leica has just reissued the Leicavit (retail $995) for their new MP (retail $2495) camera.

The camera focuses "left-hand" (infinity is on the left side of the focus lever) which is the opposite of the Canon and Leica lenses that I have. That's about the only annoying thing for me. The wind action is smooth and the typical rangefinder leaf-shutter "click" is reassuringly quiet.

I did notice that the 1/500 shutter speed cannot be set after the camera has been wound. This is sort of typical for these older leaf shutters. The manual doesn't mention this. If you are at < 1/500 and you need to set 1/500, then you must do this before advancing the film. Once you cock the shutter, you cannot move from 1/250 to 1/500. I feel significant friction and think it would be a bad idea to force it.

That's about it for my initial thoughts. $40 well spent.

Interesting quirks

One of the first hotshoes?; the remote release picture on page 20 of the manual required a proprietary release cable as the shutter button is smooth; no self-timer.

Other Variations? The 500DX, Ricoh 519, etc.

The little known successor to the Ricoh 500 is the Ricoh 519. The same camera with a much better 45mm f/1.9 lens. I had never heard of it until Rory Litonjua wrote to me recently about it. With his permission, I enclose his e-mail message.

There are some Japanese websites on the 500DX, 519, and a 519 DX (DeLuxe), which I'm not familiar with. The DeLuxe series appeared to have a flatter top-plate than the regular series.

• Aya's 500DX
• Aya's 519DX
• Ricoh 519 Restoration

Technical Details

About Riken / Ricoh and the 500 series

Seems like a very interesting company. They first started in 1917 and started using the Ricoh name for cameras in '38. They continued making a whole variety starting with rollfilm cameras, to a line of rangefinders, TLRs, and then finally SLRs. I'm not sure when they stopped making things under their own name. A shame.

The 500 apparently had quite a history. According to McKeown, it was based on the Ricoh 35 DeLuxe L (1957) which in turn was originally based on the 1955 Ricoh 35 (45mm f/3.5) - I also own the 1953 model Ricolet. The 500 of 1957 then spawned the 500 of 1960 which had a stepped top but the same 45mm f/2.8 as mine. There apparently was a Ricoh Jet that had a f/1.9 lens which seems very interesting. From there, the camera got a CdS auto exposure and miniaturized into the 500G which was made in 1971 (dunno what happened between '60-71), then the 500GSX of 1976 and so forth. Looking at all, I think I like my 1957 model 500 unit the most. Yup.

On the Net

There's almost nothing on the net about the Ricoh 500. There are some links to the 500G which is the little brother to the 500. The 500G is very different, much more of a point-and-shoot while the 500 is oriented towards a slightly higher clientele.

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