Ricoh 500G

This one's a little more sophisticated than those I've written about earlier on. Scratch that. It's a fully-featured rangefinder, with shutter priority and manual override, self-timer, flash sync and all. And he's - surprise, surprise - quite small. And pretty. And that's why I decided that I should get one.

The camera is pretty recent, since it was introduced by Ricoh in 1972. I've never seen one in bad shape, so it's either really heavy duty, or maybe it's just that it completely falls apart when it breaks. Mine is minty, even though it served another photographer before me quite well.

The fixed Rikenon 40mm f/2.8 lens is sharp and produces a slightly swirly blur in the areas that are out of focus. The rangefinder is bright and easy to focus -- much easier than my Bessa R2A, but also less precise. With shutter speeds ranging from 1/8 to 1/500s you can achieve pretty much anything in available light without the need for a tripod. The additional B setting allows you to use longer exposure times as well. The shutter is quiet and the release button is well placed. This little, light camera was made to be used in the streets.

One drawback that I found quite tiring was the lack of a shutter release lock. The shutter button is extremely easy to accidentally press, so I've had my share of situations when I took the camera out of my bag, only to notice that the shutter had been released while inside.

Another thing I don't really like is the way the lens performs. It's sharp-sharp and a bit hard to my eye. I definitely prefer much smoother lenses, especially in OOF areas. Nonetheless, I have to admit that it exposes well, yelding good, classic contrast. It's a good lens, just a bit too technical to my tastes.

Bottom line? I'll be selling this Ricoh guy once he gets back from a friend that I lent him to. Hey, I got an Olympus XA in the meantime and I like it better. But that's another story...

Btw., here's the manual.