[Matt Friedman]

I recently acquired a Ricoh KR-5 Super II with a shutter issue. (I know it's not a Pentax, but I have a Pentax-M 50mm f/1.7 on it, and I have a couple of other Pentaxes, so please indulge me.) The problem is that it seems to be stuck at one shutter speed -- it sounds like 1/60 or 1/125 -- regardless of what I have selected on the shutter speed selector -- including B. Is this something that can be fixed with my moderate camera repair skills?

I like the KR-5 Super II. I had one back in the 1990s, and I would like to add this one to my catalogue of teaching cameras. But I got it for nothing, so I don't want to put any money into it. If it's just a paperweight, then it's a paperweight.

And if the mods determine that this message about a non-Pentax camera has crossed the line, please accept my apologies.

[cooltouch]

Unfortunately, these days, the most practical answer to your problem is to just buy another camera and hope for the best with it.

If the Ricoh has a mechanical speed that works without a battery, perhaps it is stuck on this speed for some (unknown) reason. If this is the case, it is suggesting that the electronic speeds are not available, probably because of a failure of this "module."

[Matt Friedman]

The funny thing is that the KR-5 Super II has a fully mechanical shutter. The battery is only necessary for the TTL meter. So, in theory, it should work. The camera itself was manufactured by Cosina, and is very similar to other late-model back-to-basics all-manual SLRs from the 90s. I know Pentax had one (also made by Cosina), although I can't remember its name right now.

It's no great loss, since I paid nothing for it. But I like these cameras for teaching, and it's a little bit of a shame to just toss it out.

[cooltouch]

Well, since it's mechanical, chances are there's a lever or a spring, or maybe a cam, missing or out of place. I mean, what else could it be? If it were mine, I'd remove the base plate and poke around in there some, see if I could find anything that appears stuck or jammed up, etc.

[stevebrot]

As noted above, the KR5 Super is a fully mechanical camera. The speed dial works the mechanism through a mechanical linkage, part of which is likely damaged. This may be repairable, though the cost to do it professionally would likely be greater than the cost to simply buy a replacement body. If you like the size and balance, the Ricoh XR-2 and XR-2s share the same chassis and construction, but with an electronically-controlled shutter and the addition of aperture-priority auto-exposure (metered manual too) and full-information viewfinder. The XR-1/XR-1s might also be an option. Those models are virtual twins to the Pentax KX, both in dimensions and features with the Ricoh having the advantage of the vertical-run Copal metal shutter (1/125s sync).


Steve

[cooltouch]

Does the XR-1/XR-1s have mirror lock up, same as the KX?

[LesDMess]

Does the XR-1/XR-1s have mirror lock up, same as the KX?

Doesn't seem to have MLU -> http://www.butkus.org/chinon/ricoh/xr-1/xr-1.htm

Still looks desirable though.

[stevebrot]

The camera itself was manufactured by Cosina, and is very similar to other late-model back-to-basics all-manual SLRs from the 90s.

There is a common assertion that "some camera" was made by Cosina with a reference to the various CT-1 derivatives and quite often this is the case. However, Ricoh had been making the 1st generation XR/KR body cameras (all very similar and all having Copal vertical shutters) since 1977 and was generally regarded to be collaborating with Pentax at the time. Cosina's early K-mount cameras had horizontal-run cloth shutters with the Copal shutter CT-1 debuting in 1979. Based on timing, it is more likely that the "sharing" and/or "making" went in the direction from Ricoh to Cosina.

The strongest evidence for cross-pollination between the early K-mount Ricoh and Cosina CT-series are internal details in the film chamber and Copal shutters. Other than those, the first generation K-mount Copal-shutter bodies from each house are quite different physically. For one thing, the 1st-gen XR/KR series Ricohs are larger and heavier than the CT-1, have different strap lug placement, and different control mix overall. There is also an absence of similar models in the Cosina line-up.

All that being said, there are obvious Cosina-made Ricohs in the 1990s having all the signature CT-1 derivative features and parts (shutter release!), but the KR5 Super predates those by more than a decade.


Steve

(...was in the market to buy back then and Cosina was not a big player yet...)

[stevebrot]

Does the XR-1/XR-1s have mirror lock up, same as the KX?

Doesn't seem to have MLU -> http://www.butkus.org/chinon/ricoh/xr-1/xr-1.htm

Still looks desirable though.

No mirror lock-up

Here is the XR-2s (same form as XR-1) and KX side-by-side. The resemblance is scary (same size/proportions and similar weight), though many of "twin buttons" do different things.





Steve

[Matt Friedman]

I have a couple of other Ricohs -- two KR-10 Supers, and a KR-5 II -- that I use for teaching. I generally like Ricohs, primarily because they're well-made, use K-mount lenses (of which I have more than a few), and usually dirt cheap.

The thing that I particularly like about the KR-5 Super II is the mechanical shutter, the simplicity and the LED light meter display. (Which, BTW, is the dead giveaway that it's a Cosina, since it's the same light meter display in the Cosina-made Olympus OM2000 and Nikon FM10.) I had one back in the 1990s -- a gift from my dad -- so I have a sentimental attachment to the camera.

I'll probably open it up and see if I can fix it. I have repaired and maintained my Spotmatic II and Minolta SRT-202 for years, so I'm not totally in the dark. I guess I'll go look on Butkus for the technical manual.

---------- Post added 02-17-18 at 02:55 PM ----------

... And Ricohs are surprisingly good cameras for the price. When I broke my ME-Super a few years ago (the advance lever just when limp), I shopped around on eBay and at camera shops like Central Camera in Chicago and K&M in New York, and I could not BELIEVE what a used ME-Super with an indifferent lens was going for.

[LesDMess]

And Ricohs are surprisingly good cameras for the price.

It comes as no surprise since Ricoh has been making SLRs for quit awhile now.



It is interesting to me that I don't encounter many Ricohs.

Steve, that black Ricoh of yours is a beauty. But I think I say that every time you show it . . .

[stevebrot]

The thing that I particularly like about the KR-5 Super II

Oh...I missed the "II"...

Yes that is a Cosina product. My bad.


Steve