Number Please: Calling Ricoh Five-One-Nine

<p >This often-overlooked 1958 classic is a Ricoh Five-One-Nine fixed lens rangefinder camera. This model, along with the similar 519M, (same camera but with an on board Selenium meter) represent the top of the line of the Ricoh 500 series. The Ricoh 500, with the lower speed f/2.8 lens, is fairly common, but the Five-One-Nine,written out in script, is harder to find and the accessories are difficult to come by. I have seen an extremely rare black version as well.</p>

<p > It’s a beautiful camera that took its body design from Nikon rangefinders but added elements that significantly improve the handling such as Duo-Lever focusing and fast “Triggermatic” film advance. It’s reasonably light at 24.5 ounces.<br>

Mine came to me with nice cosmetics and clean viewfinder but a sticky shutter and trigger button. From my research I discovered a sticky trigger button is common with these cameras. A trip to master classic camera tech, Clarence Gass, in Mission, Kansas, resulted in a totally dialed in camera that is a joy to use. His depth of knowledge, skill and attention to detail boggles the mind.</p><div></div>

<p>With many high-end features and a gaggle of add-on accessories, this was a lot of camera for $99.95.</p><div></div>

<p>Boy, this camera feels great to hold! It has a longer, thinner profile than many similar cameras and is extremely well balanced. The workmanship, fit and finish, is very good. The top deck is a work of art with clean lines, eloquent black engraved script and a recessed, yet beefy, rewind knob. The entire back comes off easily to load film via two locking knobs on the bottom plate.</p><div></div>

<p>The bottom trigger wind works as advertised, easy and FAST. It folds up neatly out of the way till needed.</p><div></div>

<p >The lens is a fast, six element, Rikenon f/1.9 45mm in a Seikosha MXL shutter. It offers an aperture range from f/1.9 to f/16 and LV coupled shutter speeds from B, 1-1/500. It’s one of the quietest leaf shutters I’ve heard. The images captured with this fine, coated optic were sharp with good contrast across the aperture range. Some corner light fall off is seen wide open but gone by f/2.8. The sweet spot is F/5.6. The bokeh is quite smooth and pleasing. There is a flash sync on the body. I found the dual focusing levers gave more control in precise focusing.</p><div></div>

<p >Here is my Ricoh Five-One-Nine System. The camera was so good… I bought two! Included are two cameras, Ricoh BC 605 fan flash, The Ricoh f/1.9 wide and tele aux lenses and viewfinder (note: the aux lenses for the 500 series cameras won’t work on this camera), Ricoh clip-on meter, Ricoh Auto-Up I close-up attachment (rare as hen’s teeth) and the Ricoh 500 series self timer. There is no self-timer on the camera body so this is a nice accessory to have. <br>

Here are some pictures made with the camera on Fuji Superia 400 film.</p><div></div>

<p >#1 Portrait of photographer Ben Blackwell</p>

<p > <a href="http://www.benblackwell.com/">http://www.benblackwell.com/</a></p><div></div>

<p>#2 Texture-Jet Engine Turbine</p><div></div>

<p>#3 On Rosy Pond</p><div></div>

<p >#4 Striped Orchids<br>

Good sharpness with nice smooth OOF areas</p><div></div>

<p >#5 Young Love</p>

<p > I love the eye contact between these two. They never noticed me, or anything else for that matter.</p><div></div>

<p>#6 A Copse of Trees</p><div></div>

<p >#7 Portrait of Robin Myers</p>

<p > The “Mr. Wizard” of Imaging, color scientist and software developer.</p>

<p > <a href="http://www.rmimaging.com/">http://www.rmimaging.com/</a></p>

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<p >In all, a beautiful camera that is lightweight, silent and handles like a dream with image quality to match.</p>

<p > </p><div></div>

<p>The one I owned came with a lens hood, front lens cap, flash, exposure meter, wide angle accessory lens and finder. As I recall the whole package, including the camera itself cost around $85-$90 several years ago on the big auction site. I sold it last year as I began cutting back on the camera gear I accumulated over the years. My comparison shots with the normal lens of the 519 on B&W and color films very favorably compared with modern Leica gear in terms of both contrast and sharpness. I also ran a series of shutter measurements and everything was within about 13% of stated speeds.</p><div></div>

<p>Wow. I wasn't aware of that model. A beauty, for sure, and the results speak well of the camera and the photographer holding it.</p>

<p>What beautiful pictures, Louis. I'm so accustomed to seeing your pictures in b&W that this color presentation surprised me. But what a great surprise. The "Portrait of Ben Blackwell" is outstanding and probably my favorite of the whole series, which is saying a lot because I tend to favor landscape shots (that's what I do mostly with my dslr) and choosing a portrait over a landscape is unusual for me. That's a good looking camera too, one I've thought of acquiring but just never did. Thank you for another superb presentation.</p>

<p>Spectacular. Now stop it.</p>

<p>Great photos with excellent sharpness. I own the Five-One-Nine's 'poor cousin', the 500. It also has the bottom trigger wind. What an amazingly effective way to advance the film. Thanks for sharing.</p>

<p>Nice, but like Gene M., I don't need more temptation, thank you very much.</p>

<p>You make a nice case for the camera. It does make me wonder. With these wonderful old RFs we see, why are so many old snapshots from the days when they were new so crummy?</p>

 

<p>I've wondered that as well, JDM. My theory- the combined tasks of focusing, setting exposure, composition may have been a little overwhelming for some users, at least at the beginning. Having looking at countless old photos ranging from Brownie snapshots to contact prints from LF, I've seen the good, the bad, and the ugly. Sometimes, even with a simple camera some users got good pictures. (Look at some of the work Gene has done with relatively simple cameras). RF focusing for people moving up from fixed or zone focus took some practice. Perhaps some users improved, others were satisfied. I recently printed about 70 old negatives (ranging from 6 x 9 down to 35mm) for a client recently. All of these ranged from 50 to 60 years old. Some were sharp and well exposed, some were barely printable. My dad allowed me to take photos with his Voigtlander Vitessa L when I was 11 years old, but he preset the focus and exposure. But as I got older, I practiced. By the time I was in high school I could focus a RF and had my own Konica Auto S-2.</p>

<p>I'm not much of one for fixed-lens rangefinders, but that's a seriously neat little camera. Kind of a prettier version of the original Canonet. :)<br>

JDM: Most people had (and still have) virtually zero photographic knowledge or ability, and a staggeringly low threshold for what they would consider an acceptable, quality photograph. (While I find pretentious "I've got a dSLR and I'm hot stuff!" kids incredibly irritating, more and more people today are making the effort to acquire at least a little bit of a photographic education. It might concentrate heavily on stuff like HDR, but they still know more about apertures and shutter speeds and so on than people who took Kodak's old slogan about "you press the button, we do the rest" to rather too literal heart.) Just look at cellphone cameras, or the old Kodak Disc things, to see just how awful of technical quality people will put up with for their snapshots. Add in somewhat unforgiving photographic materials, processing and printing of extremely erratic quality, and a couple decades of decay and degredation, and it's not too hard to see how the snapshots of yesteryear can look dreadful.</p>

<p><strong>Stephen-</strong> Good to know this camera compares well to the holy-of-holies Leica system<br>

<strong>Mark-</strong> Thanks, It's not a camera you run into every day but I have seen them for sale from time to time on the auction site.<br>

<strong>Andy-</strong> I appreciate the feedback. I like B&W but use color when I feel it helps the picture.<br>

<strong>Gene-</strong> Thanks. I would like to stop but I'm a complusive snapshooter. Keeps me off crack anyways<br>

<strong>JDM-</strong> Sorry about the temptation but I understand. Actually, these all manual, meterless cameras are not the easist to use. Perhaps that's why some early snapshots are not that great. Then again many modern, auto everything snapshots are not that great either.<br>

<strong>Mike-</strong> The 500 seems every bit as nice, and a lot more available. I like the trigger wind, too, though it took a roll to get my thumb trained not to advance the phantom top wind lever.<br>

<strong>Michael-</strong> Thank you for the comments. I agree they are like Canonets, or Minoltas, or Aires or (insert your favorite flavor of fixed lens rangefinder here). They are all nice picture takers. If you haven't shot with one in a while, try one, or four! They are portable, inexpensive and fun shooters. If it falls off a cliff, or takes a swim in the lake, no worries.</p>

<p>Great photos Louis. Love the portrait and the orchids. Did you use the tele attachment on the orchids and the young lovers? What is the minimal focusing distance on the lens?</p>

<p>What a delight learning about a new to me classic camera and looking at your awesome pictures. The first portrait is just perfect; you can frame it. Thanks for sharing your work, Louis.</p>

<p>My comment on bad snapshots was more a rhetorical question, and was meant as a compliment to the <em>current</em> shooters here on this forum. :)</p>