Ricoh Auto Half

The Ricoh Auto Half is a half-format camera from the 1960s. Negatives with the analogue camera are half the size of a normal 35 mm camera. With this feature, Ricoh was able to offer a very compact camera that was also very economical with the film material. This made the camera very popular in Japan and was a bestseller. Further models followed, although they differed only in details. Outside of Japan, however, success was limited.

The camera comes with a fixed lens. With a focal length of 25 mm, the lens can be opened to a maximum of f/2.8. The focus of the lens is fixed. A distance of 250 cm from the subject is necessary to achieve a good result.

The 35 mm camera has an integrated light meter. It can be used with films from ISO 12 to ISO 200. The Ricoh Auto Half has an automatic exposure function and sets the aperture and shutter speed automatically. The camera allows the user to select the aperture according to individual requirements.

In automatic exposure mode, the shutter speed is 1/125 second. If a flash is used, the camera uses a shutter speed of 1/30 second.

Measuring 9 x 7.15 x 3.1 cm, the Ricoh Auto Half weighs 270 grams. The camera does not need any power to take pictures. The light meter does not need an external power source either. The selenium light meter works via a chemical reaction, although this can become less reliable over the years.

Films for the Ricoh Auto Half

If you can still find one that works, you can of course still use it today. The Ricoh Auto Half is a good choice for travelling.

Which film is suitable for the Ricoh Auto Half? The camera is designed to expose 35mm film. The 35mm format has undergone many changes over the years, but it remains one of the most widely used film formats, prompting some suppliers to manufacture for this format.

A good choice of film is the Kodak Portra 400* for colour images and the Ilford Delta 400* for black and white images. Both films are suitable for everyday use and perform well in test reports. There are of course many other films that are suitable for this camera.

The camera exposes an area of 24 mm x 17 mm. This means that a normal 35 mm film can hold twice the number of pictures indicated on the packaging. The disadvantage of the smaller exposure format is of course a lower quality compared to the “full format”.

In the 1960s, the price of a new model was 12,000 yen. Today you pay about 230,81 Euro for a second-hand model.