RICOH HALF FRAME CAMERAS
This popular model was released in 1960. The features that made it popular were its small size, automatic exposure and built-in spring-motor drive. It had a trusty four element, three group 25mm (f2.8) fixed-focus lens that would appear on Ricoh (and other) half-frames for years to come. The shutter had two speeds of 1/30 (for flash) and 1/125. The selenium meter around the lens controlled the exposure at 1/125. The spring drive could advance 25 - 30 exposures before winding was needed (It did not offer motorized rewind, like the Canon Dial cameras) Tripod socket and PC contact on the side. A cold flash shoe was available as an accessory and screwed into the tripod socket. Ricoh also made several flash units that screwed into the tripod socket and made contact with the PC contact (which is next to the tripod socket) -- a nice setup that they used on several of their cameras, not just half-frames. Also sold as the Standard Gatling 72, the Ansco Memo Automatic and perhaps other names. You can easily tell if you have this model because the shutter release is on the front of the camera. A flash and strange, rectangular filters that snapped on over the lens, meter and viewfinder were available as accessories.
(1964) This slightly updated version of the Auto Half came to be used in a number of interesting ways. It still had the same trusty 25mm (f2.8) fixed-focus lens with four elements in three groups. It still had two shutter speeds. The speed of 1/125 was used for regular photography while 1/30 was used for flash. For normal use, the built-in selenium meter -- same square design around the lens -- automatically controlled the aperture setting. ISO from 25 - 400. For flash use, the f-stop is set manually with a little f-stop dial on the top of the camera. This automatically sets the shutter speed to 1/30. The viewfinder had a special mark to aid in correct exposure settings. It is a dot right in the middle of the viewfinder which is normally yellowish -- meaning "adaquate light". If it appears reddish, it means inadequate light -- use flash. Crude, but effective. Tripod socket and PC contact on the side. A cold flash shoe was available as an accessory and screwed into the tripod socket. The camera had a built-in spring motor for film advance. One wind of the spring advances 25-30 exposures. Another "improvement" was this model came with various flashy, colorful designs on the faceplate. You can easily tell if you have this model because the shutter release is on the top of the camera. The faceplate of the camera just says Ricoh Auto Half, but there is a big "E" on the top of the camera. A flash and strange, rectangular filters that snapped on over the lens, meter and viewfinder were available as accessories.
Same as the Auto Half E except that they finally added a flash shoe to the top of the camera. You no longer had to buy an accessory adapter -- hooray! Also sold as the Ansco/GAF Memo II .
(1967) The Auto Half was not dead yet!. Ricoh came out with an updated version of the Auto Half E. This model has a self-timer added to the front of the camera. But no flash shoe on this model. A flash and strange, rectangular filters that snapped on over the lens, meter and viewfinder were available as accessories.
Same as the SE
Same as the SE
An updated version of the SE
(1970) This was basically the deluxe version of the Auto Half. It used the same body as the earlier models, but added some nice featurs. It had a focusing, 35mm (f1.7) lens (7 elements in 4 groups) with speeds of 1/30 - 1/250. Close focusing to 0.8 meters. The lens has a focusing scale on the lens marked with distance and idiot symbols. 30.5mm filter thread. Ricoh made UV, Y2 (yellow), Skylight (1A), and an ND4 filters. A CDS meter replaced the selenium meter of the other models. Exposure was similar to the other models, and designed to be automatic. The ISO film speed was dialed in (25 - 400), and the CDS meter set both the shutter speed AND the aperture. Since the camera now needed a battery, the camera had an OFF switch. The viewfinder had a special mark to aid in correct exposure settings, just like the SE. It is a dot right in the middle of the viewfinder which is normally yellowish -- meaning "adaquate light". If it appears reddish, it means inadequate light -- use flash. Crude, but effective. For flash use, the f-stop could be set with a scale on the top of the camera, like the previous models. This sets the shutter speed to 1/30. It still had the spring drive which was good for 25 - 30 exposures. Built-in self-timer (probably the "S" in "SL"), PC contact, tripod socket, cable release socket, and shutter release lock (probably the "L" in "SL"). Available in chrome or black, both with sylish front -- just like the other models. Also sold as the Standard Gatling f1.7.
The Ricoh 25mm (f2.8) fixed-focus lens with four elements in three groups was back, this time in a camera with a built in flash. This camera was the same setup as the Auto Half E, but with a built-in flash. In non-flash mode, the shutter speed was 1/125 and the selenium cell selected the aperture. In flash mode, the shuuter speed was automatically set to 1/30 and the aperture was manually selected based on the distance and guide number. Built-in flash guide number of 12 (meters at ISO 100). The flash required two AA batteries for power. Built-in self-timer, tripod socket and cable release socket. The viewfinder had marks to indicate adequate light (yellow) or inadequate light (red) -- use flash. The camera had a built-in spring motor for film advance. One wind of the spring advances 25-30 exposures. With all these features -- in such a small package -- it's surprising that it wasn't a better seller. Strange, rectangular filters that snapped on over the lens, meter and viewfinder were available as accessories.
(1971) This is another example of how the Ricoh Auto Half E was used. This was a pair of binoculars with a Auto Half E attached to one of the binocular lenses. The features of the camera were the same as the Auto Half E, except the speeds were increased to 1/60 - 1/250. The optic was the 165mm (f3.5) focusing binocular lens. A beam splitter in the binoculars diverts the image to the camera. Also sold as the Nichiryo Nicnon and the Nichiryo Teflex. Not to be confused with the Teleca 16mm camera by Toko.
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