Category: Japan

Riken 35 / Ricoh 35 Going back in time are the Ricoh 35 / Riken 35. The Riken name goes back to the early last century when a quasi-government body was established under this name to promote scientific research. Riken Optical was established in 1927 and branched into camera-making in 1936. Like the later Ricoh 500 models, Ricoh used the...

Ricoh 300 In 1958, together with the high-end Ricoh 500, Ricoh introduced the mid-tier Ricoh 300. I say mid-tier and not entry-level, as the 300 has what an advanced hobbyist would ask for, yet no fancy frills. While the 500 was aimed to compete with the German cameras, The 300 is typical Japanese hardware, not much different from other compact...

Ricoh 500 and family To Ricoh 500 camera page Ricoh 500 variants Ricoh kept recycling camera model names, which look haphazard and seem to have no clear rationale. The Cameras presented under the ‘Ricoh 500’ name variants are a typical example. The first in the series, the 1957 Ricoh 500, was a rebrand of the Ricoh 35 Delux of that...