Ricoh 500 G rangefinder-Early 70′s rangefinder underdog: This is a machine that goes ping!

Ricoh 500 G rangfinder..1970's.

This is one adorable camera. I really like the black, separate leather parts that frame the camera well. A very unusual, cool 70′s style.The lens is a 40mm Rikenon.The viewfinder is a bit squinty and mine should be cleaned. It shows the meter on right side. Focus ring is on the outer side of the lens, and has a 50-60 degree rotation. The diamond is not very contrasty, but it gets the job done. I have a feeling that mine is slightly front-focussing, but it might just be the shallow DOF at 2.8 combined with a slightly foggy viewfinder. It’s an easy camera to use.All in all a great, compact rangefinder. I was really pleased with the exposures and got some really cool shots.The ratcheted winder is very smooth, and the shutter based auto-exposure works really well. All but only few photos came out well exposed on my test roll. Well, that its my to-day trial & error. Here are some samples:

India Street Mall in Kuching.

Street news paper vendor.

Crossing.

Sikh Temple in Kuching.

 The Ricoh 500 G is sexier anyhow........