Ricoh AF series point and shoot cameras / Ricoh AF-5

To Ricoh AF-5 page

Model	Year	Notes
AF-300	1990	One Take AF II
AF-35	1983
AF-100	1987	AF-500
AF-2	1981
AF-303	1983
AF-40	1983
AF-45	1987	AF-55
AF-5	1983
AF-80	1997	Wide-angle
AF-500	1987	AF-100
AF-505	1987
AF-55	1987	AF-45
AF-60	1986	AF-600
AF-60 S	1988
AF-66	1991	Shotmaster AF-P
AF-7	1987
AF-70	1984	AF-50
AF-77	1993	Panorama
AF-50	1998	AF-70, Myport ELLE
AF-66 S	1992	AF-66 with self timer

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Ricoh AF-5

I have gone through all the Ricoh models on my shelves and have done the compacts,  or at least that’s what I thought. Together with a fresh Yashica I won in an auction, another Ricoh came my way. The AF-5 is not within the scope of my collection, but I included it here for good order’s sake.

Photography has been available since the late 1800s. A few professionals used the initial models, and the users’ pyramid base grew wider with technology, ease of use, and available pastime. The last generation before smartphone photography was the era of point-and-shoot digitals, which were the same as the preceding film P&S, just with digitizing images instead of saving them on celluloid. In the late last century, in the golden era of film P&S, all manufacturers added such models to their product line, as available and cheap technology levelled the playing field. All were autofocus, automatic exposure, easy film loading and integral flash, true to the point-and-shoot concept. Further to the true camera makers, each store chain and whatever distributor added its brand, so P&S cameras became a commodity rather than a stand-alone, defined product.

Ricoh has made cameras since the early 1900s. Much like all other leading brands, it had evolved from luggable into compact models, and as all others had, were drawn into the pocket size point and shoot camera abyss. As with the other major brands, they catered to all market segments, from the coveted GR series to toy-like cheapies. The Ricoh AF series is one of the several dynasties they offered, prevailing from 1981 to 1998. I have not researched this line, but I would guess that other than the brand, the mode and the common name prefix, there would be little in common between the early and the late models. There were other Ricoh P&S series running at that time parallel to the AF series, which are subject to another article.

The camera on my desk is the Ricoh AF-5, which seems to be the most popular of that line. Introduced in 1983, it is the second AF model in this family, preceded by the AF-2. Not much information is found online or in print besides passing notes praising the lens quality.

The camera is a typical point-and-shoot model, although advanced in 1983 terms, hence its popularity. It has all the features available today in P&S digital, only on celluloid rather than saving pixels. Operating it is dead simple. Install fresh batteries, load the film, set the film speed and click what my stepfather used to call Eine Idiotenkamera. After dealing with models 60 years old and older, I found this camera playfully simple. All controls are well labelled, so there is no guessing work.

• The film leader loads into a friendly quick-load receiver with no complex finger acrobatics. Close the back and press the red trigger three times; the frame counter resets to 1.
• Set the film speed via the dial around the lens via the two proud serrated areas. This camera predates the DX, so it still takes this step.
• The viewfinder has a clear parallax frame. Red icons will appear on the viewer’s right at a half trigger press, showing what the camera thinks you are aiming for: a torso, whole body, or landscape. A lighting mark calls for using the flash.
• Use the slider under the flash lens to pop it up. Press the flash down once done.
• The timer slider is behind the trigger; pull right and press the trigger. Again, once done, slide it back.
• To rewind, press the release button at the bottom and slide the rewind lever on top. The film will coil back into the cartridge. The rewind will not stop by itself. Once done, slide back the rewind lever.
• A pinhead point at the bottom of the lens barrel senses the lens cover and shuts down the camera.

For the collector, it seems to be a sought-after model. Either it is a capable model or simply widely available, but if it is popular, stick with it.