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Ricoh XR Rikenon 50mm F1.7 Review RSS Feed

Ricoh XR Rikenon 50mm F1.7

Sharpness 
 9.3
Aberrations 
 8.7
Bokeh 
 7.7
Handling 
 8.0
Value 
 9.3
Reviews Views Date of last review
11 66,668 Thu February 22, 2024
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Recommended By Average Price Average User Rating
100% of reviewers $21.00 9.18
Ricoh XR Rikenon 50mm F1.7
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Description:
A manual K mount lens (focus and aperture) offered as a kit lens on Ricoh (and Pentax cameras in some markets) during the late 1970s and mid 1980s. This lens, in common with other XR Rikenon models, has a white bump on the depth of field scale ring, similar to numerous Pentax lenses.
Focal length: 50 mm
Filter size: 52 mm
Minimum aperture: f16
Maximum aperture: f1.7
Minimum focal distance: 450 mm
Focus mechanics: Non-rotating front element, Focus ring travels 180° in normal Pentax direction
Iris type: 6 blade straight edged set in one stop increments
Diameter: 62 mm
Length (excluding mount): 40 mm + 8 mm at minimum focus
Mass: 229 grams
Construction: Metal with well recessed front element
Origin: Japan
Price History:



Add Review of Ricoh XR Rikenon 50mm F1.7
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Sort Reviews by: Date | Author | Rating | Recommendation | Likes (Descending) Showing Reviews 1-11 of 11
New Member

Registered: November, 2013
Posts: 14

1 user found this helpful
Review Date: February 22, 2024 Recommended | Price: $30.00 | Rating: 9 

 
Pros: very sharp single lens, stopped down to f 4.5 - f 11
Cons: very few CA's - disappearing when stopped down
Sharpness: 10    Aberrations: 9    Bokeh: 6    Handling: 8    Value: 9    Camera Used: pentax k-5 k-s-1 k-x k-200D samsung nx20 fuji x-e1 x-t100   

As expienced in teaching students at a private school in analogue and digital photographiy i've tested approx. 200 different lenses. Third party lenses aren't worse as brand lenses.

RICOH is one of the most famous Japaneese producers of cameras and lenses - an you can trust them.

+ wide open good sharpness

O wide open some flare against the light

O bokeh is okay, but not outstanding

O/+ few corner CAs, diappearing stopped down

++ neutral color rendition

++ high contrast, stopped down

++ very good sharpness with Pentax k-5 (16 MP = 65 LP/mm f 4.5-11)

++/+++ very high sharpness with samsung NX 20 (20 MP = 80 PF/mm f 5.6-8)

+++ extremely sharp with FUJI x-t100 (24 MP = 95 LP/mm f 5.6) - values approx., self tested.

These are professional values for a vintage lens.

((I am trusting only to Imaging resource and ephotozone testers))


Highly recommended by me
   
Inactive Account

Registered: May, 2016
Posts: 1
Review Date: May 12, 2016 Recommended | Price: $15.00 | Rating: 10 

 
Pros: Very sharp (even at 1.7), cheap, K mount, aberrations
Cons: flat contrast
Sharpness: 10    Aberrations: 10    Bokeh: 8    Handling: 10    Value: 10    Camera Used: Pentax k500   

For that price a must have, well built, very sharp and without the (in)famous Ricoh Pin

photo shooted at TA

   
Junior Member

Registered: October, 2013
Location: Blacktown
Posts: 34
Review Date: January 27, 2014 Recommended | Price: $25.00 | Rating: 9 

 
Pros: Cheap, Great Bokeh, Sharp from f/5.6 onwards
Cons: Sharp from f/5.6 onwards

I am yet to fully use this lens in outdoor photography but I have been using it indoor on my K-5 to shoot my newborn son. I wanted to post some photos to show how good the bokeh is...Thanks.
   
Pentaxian

Registered: April, 2013
Location: Rovaniemi, Finland
Posts: 960
Review Date: May 28, 2013 Recommended | Price: $30.00 | Rating: 8 

 
Pros: Sharp, cheap with nice bokeh and sturdy metal make
Cons: No half-stops, only f/16

My first lens on my first Pentax, and i was really pleasantly surprised! Bit limiting 50mm, but hey, with this lens i get to blame the world for not always fitting in my FOV...
Fun to shoot, pleasant results, dirt cheap. Stopping down gives good sharpness, opening up gets it comfortably smooth. OK, wide open it is soft(ish), but even so, not in ugly way.
Sometimes i find myself wondering where did i put my Rike? And usually i find it sitting on my camera...

If you happen to stumble upon one of these, give it a go and you might not want get rid of it!
   
New Member

Registered: August, 2011
Location: LaPocatiere (Qc) Canada
Posts: 4
Review Date: October 11, 2011 Recommended | Price: $15.00 | Rating: 10 

 
Pros: great bokeh, fast lens, cheap
Cons: Manual

I get this lens on a Ricoh XR-1 body, after I try it, it became one of my favorite lens.
   
Review Date: July 13, 2011 Recommended | Price: $34.00 | Rating: 9 

 
Pros: Solid, sharp, well built, nice colour rendition
Cons:

Just bought a mint version of this lens from the internet, and am well pleased with it.

It is solidly built and has a lovely feel, and balances well on my K-7.

Aperture control is manual, but so what. I sometimes think people put too much emphasis on auto this and that. Having to make manual setting slows your photography down and makes you consider your composition more.

The 75mm equiv gives a magnification view which is pretty much as the human eye sees it (but not the same field of view, you'll need a wider lens for that).
This lens is perfect for portraiture, but may be too limiting for a general walk around prime.

Obviously doesn't let as much light in as the F1.4 version that you can find for around $50, which also has shallower depth of focus, but frankly there is just way too much bokeh out there these days, and F1.7 is plenty good enough for most portraiture.

Overall a potential bargain of a lens.
   
Loyal Site Supporter

Registered: February, 2011
Location: San Francisco
Posts: 128
Review Date: June 3, 2011 Recommended | Price: $10.00 | Rating: 9 

 
Pros: fast, sharp, cheap, neat bokeh
Cons: manual (not always a negative); aperture to f16 only

I was looking for an inexpensive 50mm f1.7 lens for my K-r. I bid on two cameras - one had this and the other the Pentax-A SMC 50mm f1.7. Unfortunately I won both. Fortunately I got this lens for dirt cheap (this, a Ricoh XR-10 and a Rikenon 35-70mm f3.5 lens was $24!). I've just started comparing them but at this point they're neck-in-neck for image quality and bokeh (which is sometimes very annoying for both, sometimes extremely interesting for both). But this one, right now, seems to be sharper fully open. And this is where more data is needed.

The four images starting here give an idea. The first is a B&W of the next; you get an idea of the bokeh in both B&W and color (bokeh in one often seems more interesting than the other), then a couple shots to compare the Rikenon with the Pentax-A. Unfortunately I blew the Pentax-A 1.7 shot and didn't realize it until too late. So there's an f3.2 shot to compare it to. I'll rectify that when I get around to it and update this review.

One potentially significant difference is that the aperture on this goes to f16; the Pentax-A to f22.

Bottom line - right now I see no reason NOT to have this lens sitting around. It appears to be a star performer for a fraction of the (relatively low) cost of the Pentax-A (or even -M) version.
   
New Member

Registered: January, 2008
Location: United Arab Emirates
Posts: 13
Review Date: April 2, 2011 Recommended | Price: $15.00 | Rating: 10 

 
Pros: Fast, well-built, beautiful images
Cons: Half-stops on the aperture ring would have been nice

Anyone with a Pentax DSLR should have one of these. It's my favorite lens in my bag.

The build quality is solid. The lens looks and feels just right. And the image quality is beautiful - 1.7 is good in low light and gets even sharper at 2.8 and 4.

It was one of Ricoh's standard lenses, bundled with their XR film film bodies for many years in kits, as did Sears. There are thousands of these lenses sitting in old camera bags on closet shelves all over the world, only lightly used at Christmas dinners and birthdays.

They're frequently sold on Ebay by people who pick them up at estate sales. They see an old obsolete film piece that might be worth a few dollars, unaware that it has considerable value to modern Pentax DSLR owners like us. So they're absurdly inexpensive for what they are and represent a great opportunity for us. At around $15 on Ebay, the lens is cheaper than some lens caps.

And worry not about the infamous Ricoh pin - this lens (the non-P version) doesn't have it.
   
New Member

Registered: October, 2008
Location: Oldham
Posts: 8
Review Date: February 3, 2010 Recommended | Price: $15.00 | Rating: 9 

 
Pros: Sharp, fast, multi-coated, little noticeable flare
Cons: Manual focussing

I bought this amazing lens on Ebay recently for very little money. It is sharp and contrasty with far less flare when shooting into the sun than the Rikenon f2 that I also have (plain Rikenon - not XR or 'P').

I've tested it against the Rikenon 50mm f2 and it is as sharp or sharper from f2.8 upwards. Wide open, it isn't *quite* as sharp as the f2 - but that's being really picky. If it had been, I'd have scored it a 10.

This is a definite keeper.
   
Senior Member

Registered: July, 2008
Location: Annapolis MD (USA)
Posts: 247
Review Date: January 7, 2010 Recommended | Price: None indicated | Rating: 10 

 
Pros: Sharp, fast, lightweight, versatile, durable
Cons: Manual focus

I got this lens with my first film SLR ( a Ricoh XR-7) around 1978. It's been used on multiple Ricoh and Pentax film cameras as well as my *ist-DS, K-10D and K-20D DSLRS with excellent results.

Enlargements up to 18 x 24 from the *ist-DS are amazing in sharpness, color and bokeh. Although I primarily use AF lenses to assist my 61-year-old eyes, this little Ricoh goes along on just about every photo excursion. I made a side-by-side comparison with the Pentax M 50 f1.7 and gave the Pentax back to the seller. It was also quite good but not notably superior in any way to my favorite old Ricoh.

THIS LENS IS NOT FOR SALE!
   
Site Supporter

Registered: February, 2008
Location: Hawkesbury
Posts: 1,897

1 user found this helpful
Review Date: July 13, 2008 Recommended | Price: None indicated | Rating: 8 

 
Pros: Sharp, nice colour balance, good build, works well on digital, nice bokeh.
Cons: Fully manual, unusual bright highlights, f16 is smallest aperture, some issues with flare.
Sharpness: 8    Aberrations: 7    Bokeh: 9    Handling: 6    Value: 9    Camera Used: K10D   

Another reasonably fast 50 that performs well on a digital Pentax.
I have mainly used this lens on a K10D when I needed the larger aperture for low light focusing. Also used with macro extension tubes.
I find that the results are usually sharp, well saturated and with a pleasing behind focus bokeh. Front of focus bokeh is also quite good.
Some bright highlights such as eye reflections can produce a six point star, presumably a function of the six blade aperture. This is most apparent when stopped down and could be used to good effect.
The build feels solid and the focus ring feels smooth and precise. The aperture mechanism feels solid although it can only be set at full stop increments. The recessed front element offers good protection of the glass.
Harsh light can cause the lens to flare in an ugly manner. This was easily controlled with a hood to shade the front element.
Overall, if you find yourself in possession of an XR Rikenon 1.7 50mm, give it ago. I think you will be pleasantly surprised.
Personally I no longer use it as I have a Pentax A50/1.7 which has similar sharpness and colour reproduction but is smaller, lighter and has "A" setting for aperture.
Add Review of Ricoh XR Rikenon 50mm F1.7



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