A zoom-lens point and shoot camera from Ricoh, that had some promise. Unfortunately, things didn’t turn out as planned.
The specifications for this cameras are not easy to find online. From what I can work out, the Ricoh RZ-735 is an autofocus zoom point and shoot film camera, with a 35mm – 70mm focal length. The ISO sensitivity appears to be between 100 ISO to 800 ISO. It has a built in flash, a macro mode and some kind of data back.
The camera has quite a ‘solid’ feel to it, and it is heavier than it looks. The controls are quite logically arranged and ergonomic. The lens zoom controls, for example, are very comfortable to use. If I have a quibble with the controls, it is that the on/off button is a little bit fiddly. Other than that, the zoom lens is fairly smooth in use and feels quite fast.
My one big complaint about the Ricoh RZ-735 is the viewfinder, which is probably the worst I have experienced in any modern camera (leaving aside the old Barnack Leicas). It is small and squinty and I found that I had to be very precise as to where I positioned my eye, to even get a look through it. However, I can’t really say a lot more about the camera, as things got a bit strange after about five or six images.
I loaded the camera with some Ilford XP2 Super and that went smoothly enough. However, after taking a few photos, the camera suddenly rewound the film, without any notice. Strange enough, on its own. Now, in my experience, most P&S film cameras rewind film and leave some of the film outside of the canister. However, this film was rewound tightly into the canister. And, thinking back, it had made a few ‘false starts’ whilst I was getting to know the camera.
I decided to give up on the Ricoh RZ-735. I had picked the camera up from a charity shop for about $7, so I can’t really complain about anything. But a shame as, apart from the viewfinder, it had the potential to be half-decent little camera.
