Ricoh Auto Half S/ Auto Half SE
Ricoh giveth and Ricoh taketh away.
That is one way to think about the Auto Half SE, at least.
Throughout the 1960s and into the 1970s, Ricoh ran a surprisingly prolific string of spring-wound, motor-driven, auto-exposure, half frame cameras out to the public, beginning with the Auto Half of 1960. By the time 1967 rolled around, they were releasing their latest update in this family of cameras with the Auto Half SE. The Auto Half SE adds in a self-timer but, strangely, takes away the flash shoe that had been added with the previous model - resorting to an accessory that attaches via the tripod socket if the user is interested in flash work.
The Auto Half SE features a wind-up, spring-driven, film advance motor. A full wind is sufficient for 25-30 exposures. The camera retains the fixed-focus 25mm f/2.8 lens that had been present since the first model of Auto Half. Shutter speeds can be set to either 1/125th, where the camera's selenium cell meter would automatically pick the correct aperture, or to 1/30th, which is intended for use with flash. In this latter case, aperture is manually set via a dial atop the camera to achieve correct flash exposure based on distance to subject.
za/sd
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