

One of the KR-10’s coolest features is the split-screen focus ring. (The MX uses a mechanical horizontal cloth shutter.) The KR-10 has a self-timer but lacks a depth-of-field preview, a feature that was reserved for its more expensive relatives, the Ricoh XR-1 and XR-2. (All three cameras top out at 1/1000.) Like the Nikon, the KR-10 features an electronically controlled vertical-travel metal Copal shutter, though that means it relies on its batteries to fire.
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Like the FE – and unlike the MX – the KR-10 has an aperture-priority automatic mode, and its slowest manual shutter speed is four seconds, versus one second for the MX. In 1982, when B&H Photo was selling the Pentax MX with a 50mm f/2 lens for $200, a KR-10 with a Ricoh (Rikenon) 50/2 could be had for $172.Ī better comparison might be the Nikon FE, which went for $295 with a 50/1.8.

Ricoh introduced the KR-10 in 1980, advertising it as a value-tastic camera that offered advanced features for a low price.

What I found was an underdog of a camera that actually turns out to be a superhero. Since it shared lenses with my Pentax KX, I decided to give it a try. The MX needed to go in for repair (shutter wouldn’t close), but the KR-10 seemed to be in fine shape – all it needed was a fresh set of LR-44 batteries. It was surprisingly clean, as opposed to the MX, which had more dents and dings than a New York City taxicab. I’m guessing Joe never gave much thought to the Ricoh either. Among them was the Ricoh KR-10 you see here.
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was the of its day.)īut I never gave Ricohs much serious thought until my friend Joe gave me his old Pentax MX and a camera bag full of accessories. (For those unfamiliar, Sears, Roebuck and Co. I was dimly aware of Ricoh cameras for many years, though my knowledge was limited: I knew they were cheap, I knew they used Pentax lenses, and I knew they were rebadged as Sears’ house-brand cameras. Since we’re celebrating the 101 st year of Asahi Optical, the makers of Pentax cameras, I thought it would be fun to look at a 35mm SLR that is almost a Pentax: the Ricoh KR-10. KF article top The KR-10: a Pentax for when you don’t haver a Pentax to hand (Pic: Aaron Gold)
