My Father's Camera: Ricoh KR-5

When I started to get interested in analog photography, I asked my father to give me his camera. I fell in love with it! The Ricoh KR-5 is considered by many to be a great starter camera for novices. It's a standard 35 mm SLR camera made by a Japanese company that is still in existence and currently produces digital cameras as well as office equipment. It was manufactured in 1975 and its only electronic component was the exposure meter — users have to learn to manually set everything else. The fact that so many people still use this film camera is a testament to the camera's quality and durability. Once a photographer knows how to use this, it makes using other cameras easier.

It offers superb optics and outstanding mechanical performance and reliability. The KR-5 featured a built-in, through-the-lens, full aperture CdS exposure meter which measured the light coming through the lens, enabling the photographer to set the proper exposure for a given lighting condition. The correct exposure is obtained by setting the shutter speed and f-stop in the right combination for the type of film, subject, and lighting conditions. The KR-5 was originally equipped with a Riconar 55 mm f/2.2 standard lens made of 4 elements arranged in 4 groups. The camera had a mechanical metal focal plane shutter with speeds from 1/8 to 1/500th of a second.

Here are some photos:

Technical Specifications

Camera Type: 35 mm SLR
Format: 24 × 36 mm
Film Size and Capacity: 35 mm perforated film in 12, 20, 24 or 36 exposures.
Filter size: 52 mm screw-in type
Lens Mount: ''K" type bayonet with 65° rotating angle
Shutter: mechanically-controlled, vertical-travel, shutter with speeds from 1/8 to 1/500 second plus B (bulb); flash X sync was from 1/8 to 1/60th of a second
Viewfinder: Fixed eye-level pentaprism
Focusing screen: Diagonal Split-image spot in microprism-image band surrounded by Fresnel field
Exposure Meter: Two CdS photocells TTL full open metering for center-weighted average light reading coupled to shutter speeds, film speeds, and f-stops.
Film Speed Range: ASA 12 ~ 3200 (DIN 12 ~ 36)
Exposure Meter Power Supply: Two 1.5V silver-oxide batteries
Flash Contact: "X'' contact on hot shoe for a cordless electronic flash unit
Exposure Counter: Additive, automatic resetting.
Dimensions: 139.9 (width) × 91.3 (height) × 48.0 (depth) mm (Body only)

The KR-5 is very easy to use. Just load the film, set the ISO, focus on your subject and adjusts the exposure by playing with the shutter speed and f-stop. That's all! The camera does not allow double exposures, but by rewinding the film, you can get some beautiful photos.

This is a review submitted by Community Member tsingtao

Scritto da tsingtao il 2012-06-12 in #gear #persone #film #35mm #review #camera #old #vintage #manual #camera-review #easy #doubles #lomography #ricoh #user-review