Ricoh XR-1 first roll

[olroy2044]

Shooting a roll thru some of my never-used cameras, to see what they will do. This time it's my XR-1. I read in a thread some time ago that the XR Rikenon f2 50mm was an extremely sharp lens, so thought I would find out for myself. Here are some examples:

Fall colors--A lot later than you folks in the frozen north, but they finally got here



A misty morning at home


Up close



Mo at work, and a helper Should have used bounce flash--not the fault of the camera


"Who? Me?" Tight crop of Mocha


Lens looks pretty sharp to me. What do y'all think? Overall, I really like the way the camera handles and performs. Feels very good in my hands, and the finder info is bright and easy to read. These photos are right off the on-board meter, with the exception of the flash shots. Ready to be a user just as it stands. ;D Roy

[minoltaman]

Nice shots Roy. IMO, the lens is sharp as a tack. Happy shooting, hope to see some more with this camera.

[doubs43]

Roy, those are very sharp and the meter seems to be right on. I've made no secret of the fact that I think Ricoh cameras are very much underrated and thus great value. In K-Mount, the XR-1 is an excellent choice IMO and the later version of that model also takes a winder that can usually be found for not a lot of money.

I'd say you have an excellent user in the XR-1.

Walker

[Reiska]

I have a Ricoh xr2s with Rikenon f2/50mm in my collection. When I was looking after an information about it, this was also mentioned: "This is rumored to be one of the sharpest lenses ever made for 35mm cameras." true or not this lens seems to be a real performer. I thought, that it was only a slogan.


www.thecamerasite.net/01_SLR_Cameras/Pages/ricoh%20xr%202s.htm

[olroy2044]

A couple more from the XR-1, this time with a Vivitar Close-focus 75-150 zoom by Kiron. As shot, again right off the on-board meter

Mistletoe in a black walnut tree I thought this stuff only grew in oak trees 150 mm


Opposite extreme of the lens-almost as close as it would go



The more I shoot with this rig, the better I like it. Roy

[doubs43]

Roy, IMO you're on your way to being hooked by that Ricoh. The Rikenon lenses are also very good and you can use the Pentax K-Mount lenses on it too. I like the match-needle metering system that allows me to set the aperture and then select the closest shutter speed or select the shutter speed and then match it with the correct aperture. All three of my examples (two Sears models) have fully functional meters and they are accurate when checked against a hand-held meter. The XR-1 has a solid feel and the heft of a well-made camera. They also use common and widely available batteries.

My single complaint is the same for all metal shutter cameras; they're not very quiet when tripped. In most cases that's a very minor thing.

Walker

[olroy2044]

P-I-I-I-N-G!! Very distinctive sounding shutter! Roy

[John Parry]

All superb !!

Mistletoe grows on apple trees too. Over here that's where most of it comes from. Parasites, sucking your life blood away - they're called children!

Regards - John

[olroy2044]

John--You made me choke on my coffee! ;D ;D LOL Didn't see that one coming at all! Got a couple of those myself!

Thanks everybody for the kind comments.

Walker, you are right, this critter is habit-forming! All the controls fall right under my fingers, and feel natural. I really like the diagonal split image. Met that one first on my Kr5 Super. One quibble--the multi-exposure button is placed right where I want to put my right thumb, prompting a couple of unintentional double exposures, before I realized what I was doing .

My KR5 carries a 50mm f1.7 lens badged Auto Sears MC, that I have never used, always substituting a Takumar. Is this Sears lens a Rikenon?

The shutters on my Pentax P3n's have the same "ping", but even louder, leading me to believe that they also are Copal. Roy

[doubs43]

John, I have two sons, two daughters-in-law and two granddaughters coming for Christmas. They do tend to absorb money but it'll be worth it to have the grandchildren here. We don't see them often enough. But, your point about parasites also got a laugh from me too.

Roy, the Sears lens is a Rikenon in all probability and was likely sold with the Sears KS1000 which is the XR-1. Give it a try and I think you'll be pleasantly surprised. They're very good lenses.

The double exposure feature is one I could do without. Two of mine have the chrome push button and the other - a later model - has a black slide switch which is a better idea IMO.

Walker

[Randy]

Fantastic shots Roy. Very crisp and clear.

[pancake]

Rikenon is as much as a sleeper as the Chinons. These lenses are quite superb. I love the cat shot, its eyes seems to have a pattern in it