The Ricoh 500G Goes To Washington

<p>Also appreciate your thoughtful essay on the sacrifice of soldiers, Louis. We often wrap the actions of soldiers with words of honour and dignity but we don't think enough of what the Nation has asked these soldiers to do in stark terms: kill the "enemy" and invade/occupy their country. High-minded words should not mask what we ask these soldiers to do. A country that simply glorifies its warriors without weighing the costs risks developing a coarse and hypocritical collective soul. </p>

I, for one, as an ex-Brit am quite grateful for the sacrifices made by the American military over the years, in rescuing Europe from the pit of horrors that two maniacs had turned it into.

I can't imagine how I missed this one the first time around.

The Ricohs were and are very capable, especially in the right hands like lou's.

I went on a short term 'jag' with Ricohs.

Ricoh 500G re-redux

I bought a 500G as a birthday present for my brother in 1979. I think he shot a maximum of 3 rolls of film over the next 10-15 years.

He gave the camera back to me about 15 years ago when he discovered digital PS cameras which suited his use case much better.

I dug out the 500G during a Covid lockdown to discover that the foam seals had degraded and the shutter wouldn't fire. (The battery had been removed many years ago thus no issues with leaking battery). Time to dig it out again and attempt a resuscitation. From what I have read, 1mm foam is required. The unresponsive shutter could be a bit of a worry. If I get it sealed up and firing again I'll initially try zinc-air hearing aid batteries for the meter.

I bought a 500G as a birthday present for my brother in 1979. I think he shot a maximum of 3 rolls of film over the next 10-15 years.

 

He gave the camera back to me about 15 years ago when he discovered digital PS cameras which suited his use case much better.

 

I dug out the 500G during a Covid lockdown to discover that the foam seals had degraded and the shutter wouldn't fire. (The battery had been removed many years ago thus no issues with leaking battery). Time to dig it out again and attempt a resuscitation. From what I have read, 1mm foam is required. The unresponsive shutter could be a bit of a worry. If I get it sealed up and firing again I'll initially try zinc-air hearing aid batteries for the meter.

Martin, I recently pulled out my own 500G and re-foamed it among other things:

See this short writeup.

I used 1.5mm foam but 1mm is probably better. I used less foam than what was originally used and my test film shows that the back is still light tight. If I find the time I'll take a photo. .

The unresponsiveness of the shutter could be a problem as it is mechanical and should work without battery.

Can you advance the advance lever or is it jammed?

@martinjones

Not super pretty but a lot less foam than originally used. Along the edge to the right would have benefitted from thinner foam or thin felt and I may redo that. However, a test roll has proven it light tight.

I like to economise with my foam because my source of very nice foam is in the UK and having it Custom cleared and shipped to mainland EU is not only a pain but also quite expensive after Brexit.

@NHSN, thanks for the tips on resealing the 500G. I'm away from home at the moment, (Sydney Aust based but 950km away in the Scenic Rim area of SE Queensland). From memory I was able to wind on the shutter and at that point the shutter wouldn't fire and, of course, I couldn't wind on again. The wind on mechanism would appear to be ready to fire the shutter but unless the shutter is fired the wind on remains locked up. I'll go further into it when I return home.

Most of my camera repair experiences to date have just involved disassembly of lenses to clean and replacing light seals, with a lot of success. I haven't yet delved into the mechanical components of any camera. Would like to get it going again as it's had very little use. Will report back in a couple of weeks.

I bought a 500G as a birthday present for my brother in 1979. I think he shot a maximum of 3 rolls of film over the next 10-15 years.

 

He gave the camera back to me about 15 years ago when he discovered digital PS cameras which suited his use case much better.

 

I dug out the 500G during a Covid lockdown to discover that the foam seals had degraded and the shutter wouldn't fire. (The battery had been removed many years ago thus no issues with leaking battery). Time to dig it out again and attempt a resuscitation. From what I have read, 1mm foam is required. The unresponsive shutter could be a bit of a worry. If I get it sealed up and firing again I'll initially try zinc-air hearing aid batteries for the meter.

One of these I bought recently has a firing shutter ok, but the annoying thing is the aperture opens wide before the shutter fires, so every shot is at f:2.8. The shutter button / pole is obviously well worn internally, and dragging on the aperture mechanism through a misplaced or worn linkage.

Something to beware of, even when one of these looks good, it might be past it.