Ricoh???

FotoPete · 03-29-2007, 10:12 PM

Hey I know you must be thinking...hey what the heck, this is a pentax forum. Ages ago, Ricoh grew up with Pentax and Ricoh adopted first the M42 system and then the K-Mount. They produced many fine cameras and lenses. Some..even rebadged like the Pentax M 200mm. They had KR series when Pentax had K slrs. XR SLRS and Lenses when Pentax went into their "M" generation and then finally Ricoh P (Program) lenses very much like our beloved/hated/plasticky "A" series.

Then the trail goes cold...

I still see their name etched on photocopiers and what not but whatever happened to their legacy of film cameras. Each new digital camera gets beat up by critics more than the previous...are they on their last legs here? I mean, there was alot of anticipation with the GR-D as it gave film GR users, wide angle and urban shooters a great digital camera but it faded and now the body's been 'refreshed' with the GX100. The specs sound nice too but I'm afraid it may fail like its predecessor.

But in between all those years, what happened to that bond it shared with Pentax? Its funny cuz there's the following..in the house.

RICOH XR-2 (dads) - XR 50/2 (dads) - XR 135/2.8 (mine)
Pentax MZ-M (mine) - M 50/2 (mine) - M 135/3.5 (dads)

Both cameras are very similar in function. Actually my dads camera collection was literally half Ricoh and half Pentax. He owns the Ricoh XR-2 and a Pentax ME and used lenses from both. I guess the Pentax ME would have been more fitting in the comparison.

Sigh, I wish Ricoh would pull out its dusty KMount SLR designs, stick 'em Sony CCDs or KodaK CCDs or whatever decent sensor it can get and come back into the SLR scene. That XR 135 does wonders right now and I can't help but to think that Ricoh's days are numbered. Ebay "Ricoh SLR" and the lists are getting shorter and shorter. All those good solid alternative camera and lens buys are fast disappearing.

vinzer · 03-30-2007, 05:50 PM

i do believe Ricoh still makes cameras, but they release it for certain countries only (at the very least, i'm not seeing Ricoh stuff here in the Philippines). dpreview.com posts news of new Ricohs every now and then. what i see are hobbyist moderate-zoom cams, though (along the likes of Canon's G-series).

Ricoh GX-100

slip · 03-30-2007, 08:03 PM

Originally posted by vinzer

i do believe Ricoh still makes cameras, but they release it for certain countries only (at the very least, i'm not seeing Ricoh stuff here in the Philippines). dpreview.com posts news of new Ricohs every now and then. what i see are hobbyist moderate-zoom cams, though (along the likes of Canon's G-series).

Ricoh GX-100

Ricoh does sell digital point and shoots here in canada but are very hard to find, at least in my area.
the model that is build for construction type of shooting situations looks very cool, but the reviews say the noise level is just to unacceptable.

I have the Ricoh XR-M body and home and have taken the rikkor (spelling) 35-70 4.5-5.6 off it and have it in my bag to use occationally with my K10
the camera did take some really nice nature/landscape shots when using slide film
I also have a Sakkar 60-300 zoom for the XR-M but doesn't seem to fit the pentax mount. not sure if I want to take a chance and modify it to fit the k10
The 35-70 is a very suprisingly sharp lens when used at around F5.6-8.0 range. being all manual, having to manually change the shake reduction focal length evey time I want to zoom in or out is a pain, though.
doesn't come out of the camera bag too often

cheers

randy

DAP · 03-31-2007, 03:11 PM

It is too bad that Ricoh faded out of the slr/dslr game. Their cameras were probably some of the best "bang for the buck" bodies in the K-mount realm. the build was a bit cheesier than Pentax branded cameras but the functionality was awesome. Their lenses were hit or miss - a number of average ones with a few top quality "sleepers" such as the xr 55/1.2, 50/2 P and the 50/1.4 P (the 50/1.4 program model - not the xr version - was THE hot lens a number of years ago. It was supposedly sharper than any of the pentax 50/1.4's wide open and the bokeh was reportedly better to boot. I don't know if the lens lives up to the hype - I've been hunting for one for awhile, but it is REALLY rare).

03-29-2007, 10:12 PM	#1
FotoPete Veteran Member Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: Toronto Photos: Gallery Posts: 1,774	Ricoh??? Hey I know you must be thinking...hey what the heck, this is a pentax forum. Ages ago, Ricoh grew up with Pentax and Ricoh adopted first the M42 system and then the K-Mount. They produced many fine cameras and lenses. Some..even rebadged like the Pentax M 200mm. They had KR series when Pentax had K slrs. XR SLRS and Lenses when Pentax went into their "M" generation and then finally Ricoh P (Program) lenses very much like our beloved/hated/plasticky "A" series. Then the trail goes cold... I still see their name etched on photocopiers and what not but whatever happened to their legacy of film cameras. Each new digital camera gets beat up by critics more than the previous...are they on their last legs here? I mean, there was alot of anticipation with the GR-D as it gave film GR users, wide angle and urban shooters a great digital camera but it faded and now the body's been 'refreshed' with the GX100. The specs sound nice too but I'm afraid it may fail like its predecessor. But in between all those years, what happened to that bond it shared with Pentax? Its funny cuz there's the following..in the house. RICOH XR-2 (dads) - XR 50/2 (dads) - XR 135/2.8 (mine) Pentax MZ-M (mine) - M 50/2 (mine) - M 135/3.5 (dads) Both cameras are very similar in function. Actually my dads camera collection was literally half Ricoh and half Pentax. He owns the Ricoh XR-2 and a Pentax ME and used lenses from both. I guess the Pentax ME would have been more fitting in the comparison. Sigh, I wish Ricoh would pull out its dusty KMount SLR designs, stick 'em Sony CCDs or KodaK CCDs or whatever decent sensor it can get and come back into the SLR scene. That XR 135 does wonders right now and I can't help but to think that Ricoh's days are numbered. Ebay "Ricoh SLR" and the lists are getting shorter and shorter. All those good solid alternative camera and lens buys are fast disappearing.

03-30-2007, 05:50 PM	#2
vinzer Veteran Member Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Philippines Posts: 1,399	i do believe Ricoh still makes cameras, but they release it for certain countries only (at the very least, i'm not seeing Ricoh stuff here in the Philippines). dpreview.com posts news of new Ricohs every now and then. what i see are hobbyist moderate-zoom cams, though (along the likes of Canon's G-series). Ricoh GX-100 Last edited by vinzer; 03-30-2007 at 05:51 PM. Reason: fixed formatting

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03-30-2007, 08:03 PM	#3
slip Veteran Member Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: 2 hours north of toronto ontario canada Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 3,535	Originally posted by vinzer i do believe Ricoh still makes cameras, but they release it for certain countries only (at the very least, i'm not seeing Ricoh stuff here in the Philippines). dpreview.com posts news of new Ricohs every now and then. what i see are hobbyist moderate-zoom cams, though (along the likes of Canon's G-series). Ricoh GX-100 Ricoh does sell digital point and shoots here in canada but are very hard to find, at least in my area. the model that is build for construction type of shooting situations looks very cool, but the reviews say the noise level is just to unacceptable. I have the Ricoh XR-M body and home and have taken the rikkor (spelling) 35-70 4.5-5.6 off it and have it in my bag to use occationally with my K10 the camera did take some really nice nature/landscape shots when using slide film I also have a Sakkar 60-300 zoom for the XR-M but doesn't seem to fit the pentax mount. not sure if I want to take a chance and modify it to fit the k10 The 35-70 is a very suprisingly sharp lens when used at around F5.6-8.0 range. being all manual, having to manually change the shake reduction focal length evey time I want to zoom in or out is a pain, though. doesn't come out of the camera bag too often cheers randy

03-31-2007, 03:11 PM	#4
DAP Senior Member Join Date: Feb 2007 Posts: 151	It is too bad that Ricoh faded out of the slr/dslr game. Their cameras were probably some of the best "bang for the buck" bodies in the K-mount realm. the build was a bit cheesier than Pentax branded cameras but the functionality was awesome. Their lenses were hit or miss - a number of average ones with a few top quality "sleepers" such as the xr 55/1.2, 50/2 P and the 50/1.4 P (the 50/1.4 program model - not the xr version - was THE hot lens a number of years ago. It was supposedly sharper than any of the pentax 50/1.4's wide open and the bokeh was reportedly better to boot. I don't know if the lens lives up to the hype - I've been hunting for one for awhile, but it is REALLY rare).