Ricoh's low-cost 6x6 TLR — fixed-lens twin-lens reflex with geared focusing, waist-level finder, 1950.
The Ricohflex is a fixed-lens medium-format twin-lens reflex from the Japanese maker Ricoh, produced from around 1950 in several variants. It was made in large numbers as a low-cost TLR and helped popularise roll-film photography in post-war Japan, using a simple geared-lens focusing design to keep costs down.
It is a twin-lens reflex shooting 6x6cm square frames on 120 roll film, twelve per roll. The lens is fixed, with a separate taking lens exposing the film and a viewing lens feeding the mirror and ground-glass screen. Focusing is done by geared rings around the two lenses that turn together, the leaf shutter sits in the front standard, and composition is through a waist-level finder used from above.
The Ricohflex is an inexpensive entry into square-format medium format, suiting general shooting, portraits and landscape work at a slow, deliberate pace. Its geared-lens focusing is simple and distinctive, though less refined than knob or lever systems. As a basic fixed-lens TLR it offers no lens changes and the reversed viewing image common to all TLRs takes practice.
On a used Ricohflex, inspect the taking and viewing lenses for haze, fungus and separation, and check the geared focusing rings turn together smoothly without slipping. Test the leaf shutter at several speeds, watching for sticky slow speeds common on cameras of this age. Confirm the film-wind and counter work, and inspect the ground glass for brightness. These simple bodies have no meter to fail but benefit from a shutter service.