Friday, November 22, 2013

SFTC Results For November - Ricoh 500G Rangefinder

I took the little Ricoh 500G out to do some street shooting in NYC.
 
(Click Here) to read about the camera. I loaded it up with some Kodak iso 400 color print film and went for a walk. One practical point, this camera is so small that I was not able to mount my CV Meter II (auxiliary exposure meter); the hotshoe is too close to the rewind knob, which interferes with mounting the meter. But, the small size of the camera also made it essentially invisible to people I photographed on the street.
 
Glasses, by Reed A. George
Ricoh 500G, Kodak iso 400 Color Print Film
 
Gotta Let You Go, I'm Getting on the Subway, by Reed A. George
Ricoh 500G, Kodak iso 400 Color Print Film

Hairpin, by Reed A. George
Ricoh 500G, Kodak iso 400 Color Print Film
 
Shopping Buddies, by Reed A. George
Ricoh 500G, Kodak iso 400 Color Print Film
 
Highrise, by Reed A. George
Ricoh 500G, Kodak iso 400 Color Print Film
 
I was able to find a small shop on 32nd street that developed my film overnight, and made me a CD with high resolution images, for $9. That was convenient.
 
My hit rate with the 500G was not super high, mostly due to the fact that I needed more light. These were the only keepers out of 24 exposures. I shot most of them at 1/125 sec. and f5.6. I would have like to be able to push up to 1/250. Also, since I was shooting very quickly, I prefocused at about 8-10 feet and then just walked to that estimated distance from my subject and shot. Sometimes I got the distance wrong. A smaller aperture would have given me more tolerance for misjudged distance. I'm also sure that my own fast motions added blur to some of the images. But, I enjoyed these.

Finally, it seems that the transport mechanism in this old camera isn't 100% reliable, as I got non-uniform spacing between shots in some cases. I can probably remedy that by being more careful when I advance the film.

Anyway, I hope you enjoy these!

DMC-365.blogspot.com

 

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