“I’m not planning to shoot film,” I said for most of the last however long I’ve been interested in photography. Except, I started flirting with film with the Kiev 60. The seller suggested I hit up the Seattle Photography Show in Kent, WA.
So, I did.
While I was there, a few things caught my eye. On the digital front, old Olympus DSLRs with the 4/3 sensor, a few lenses for my current camera like a circular fisheye, a very complete Ricoh GXR system – which features interchangable sensor + lens modules rather than interchangable lenses like a normal system – wooo, and the ridiculous Sigma dp2 Quattro camera.
Naturally, all of these things commanded prices larger than I was willing to pay, because they are nice, and not just a lark.
But, there were a few bargain bin things that I was interested in. I wound up walking off with two different $5 cameras. (Spoiler: they’re both fun, and they both work!!)
Of the cameras I picked up, one was in a bargain bin full of $5 cameras. It was a tiny compact, and it caught my eye because it was a Ricoh. I’m super fond of their modest, but capable pocketable digital cameras, and I figured for five bucks I may as well explore their analog lineage.
The camera was a Ricoh 35 ZF – it had a 40mm f/2.8 lens. The seller had no idea as to whether it worked, but mechanically it seemed okay, and that’s all I needed.