A Ricoh XR2-S

<p>A couple of years ago I bought this at a car boot sale, mainly because it had a lovely Rikenon f1.4 lens. It's quite a large camera with a rather noisy vertical metal shutter, stop down preview (the silver button below the figure 2), and full viewfinder information including a needle showing the shutter speed, and a peep window for the aperture. Everything you need really except a memory lock. There is the usual aperture priority / manual system via a nice large dial, no fiddly buttons like an ME Super. I really think Ricoh and Chinon were the best of the "second string" SLR makers.</p><div></div>

<p>The knurled bit at the front of the shutter button is the battery check. I took it on a day trip to London ten days ago, we started at Camden Market on a bitterly cold day.</p><div></div>

<p>Another shot of Camden.</p><div></div>

<p>Camden Lock Market.</p><div></div>

<p>The following shots inside the market were done with a Miranda 24mm lens. Some stalls had "no photography" signs.</p><div></div>

<p>Some artwork.</p><div></div>

<p>Skulls.</p><div></div>

<p>Masks. One puzzle is that all the shots on two (slightly outdated) rolls of film from the same box seem heavily underexposed although the batteries are fine and the camera indicates the correct exposure compared to a T90. I suspect the processing but will have to run a different film through and get it processed elsewhere to be sure.</p>

<p>Forgot the picture.</p><div></div>

<p>Another market display.</p><div></div>

<p>Some dummies.</p><div></div>

<p>Last one - in Trafalgar Square. I took some more around the Houses of Parliament and the London Eye, but the underexposure has affected the scans a little too badly.<br>

Thanks for looking.</p><div></div>

<p>Great punchy colour, John, from a very sharp lens. I thing the XR-2s is a fine camera, solid and user-friendly with no frills, very similar to the Praktica-B's, right down to the peep window for the aperture. I used one as a back-up camera for several years, and the Rikenon glass is great. I'd agree with your sentiments regarding Ricoh and Chinon; the more I delve into Chinon the more I realise just how many of the "big name" lenses may have originated in their works.</p>

<p>Excellent images, as usual; I think the moment you've captured in "In Trafalgar Square" is terrific!</p>

<p>The lens is truly sharp. Wonderful day of shooting it seems!</p>

<p>Very nice John; I have an XR-2s and really like it. It also has mirror lockup, when the self-timer is used. The plastic self-timer lever on mine was extremely fragile, and broke the second time I used it, so I have replaced it with a metal one from a Yashica SLR (I don't remember which one).</p>

<p>Thanks for sharing!</p>

<p>Great job and thanks for posting. Like their fixed lens rangefinders, Ricoh SLR's are frequently overlooked by those seeking an inexpensive, but capable SLR. Top notch results. </p>

<p>Those are <em>really</em> nice, John. That lens seems to be very sharp and does very nicely with the colors. I may have to consider adding one of these to my camera family...</p>

<p>I bought one and on its first roll found out that it has some internal problems, sometimes you can double wind it (skipping a frame or two.) and the shutter would be ready to go after the first wind. It came with a motor drive so I am wondering if that had something to do with it. I have not yet dismantled it to find out what the problem is. I do like the fact that you can do multiexposures with it. Its issues have not deterred me from using. I do love how the meter works and like the way it shows the aperture in the viewfinder like the way the Minolta SRT 202 does.</p>

<p>This was my first camera, given to me from an aunt when I was college. I still have it and it takes the best pictures. I have several film cameras from different decades. This has the sharpest image quality. It is still my favorite even though it weighs a ton. In my opinion, great choice.</p>