I was given this with some other bits by a very nice person, in response to a talk I had given about shooting film. I was particularly delighted as my first proper camera, my Ricoh XR-2, appears to have died. The XR-2 was introduced in 1977 and the KR-10 Super in 1983, so what happened in those six years?
The KR (for short) still has a metal chassis under the plastic but has made more use of electronics. The slowest shutter speed is now 16 seconds. In comparison the XR goes to 4 seconds on manual and 8 on auto. The ISO range is the same at 12 to 3200. The meter on the KR may be a tad better, as it covers EV0 to 18 while the XR only goes to 17. What is notable though is the indication in the viewfinder. The older XR has a moving needle that either shows you what shutter speed you will get in auto or provides a match-needle for manual metering. The KR has a needle, but it uses an LCD and not an actual moving needle. Where the XR had a visually simple matching of needles, the KR has arrows that appear at the top or bottom of the scale to tell you if the exposure will be over or under. I’m not sure I will find it as quick in use, but I can always leave it in automatic mode. It’s odd though, that they chose to copy an analogue meter display rather than do something better. Pentax used just a few coloured LEDs on the MX and it works very well. But, to be fair, Ricoh went on to produce the Mirai, so we have to thankful that the quirks on the KR-10 were few and small.
The camera came with the original sales brochure, and this is interesting in itself. The range of lenses available was a surprise, and there are a few I’d fancy even now. There’s a 16mm fisheye, a 300 f4.5 and a 600 f8, for example. There is even a 50mm autofocus lens, with a bulky mechanism built into and around a modest f2 bit of glass. The camera has a clever feature that is not obvious, but is mentioned in the brochure, and that’s the mirror. Rather than just hinge up, the reflex mirror swings up and back in an arc. This lets them use a bigger mirror that still clears the back of the lens.
One thing that might be telling is that there is a switch on the front of the camera for the metering. The meter will turn-on with the usual half-press of the shutter button, but the brochure makes a point of the sensitive electronic release. I wonder if the shutter button is a bit too sensitive for an easy half-press, so they gave you a safer dedicated meter switch as well?
It’s worth mentioning this shutter release in more detail. The release button is in the centre of the speed selector, which is easy to do when you are using electronics rather than mechanical connections. It has a lock position. One click away from lock is auto, so it is easy to flick from safe to shooting mode. But the next click round is B, followed by the slowest shutter speeds. To get to the normal-range speeds you need to turn the dial back past lock to get to 1/1000, and then work your way down. To me this is another odd little ergonomic choice: the camera is intended to be used in auto mode, with less thought given to manual. There is no way to set the camera at say 1/125 and f8 ready to shoot and also lock the release against accidental triggering. It just says to me that this was a capable consumer camera meant to be used in automatic mode.
Anyway, what’s it like to shoot a 45 year old SLR? Well, before you can, you may need to replace the light seals. But because the camera had an optional data back, the standard back can be taken completely off the camera very easily. This makes the scrape-and-clean job much easier. With that job done, I can load it and take it for a walk. Nobody is going to care what sort of pictures it takes – the results are too dependant on other factors – but the general handling of the camera is of interest, and this can only really be determined by using it. The camera came with Ricoh’s 50mm f2 lens. It feels a bit plasticy, unlike the 50mm f1.7 from my older XR, which is definitely metal. It has nice clean glass though and a snappy aperture, so it was looked after and has aged well. The camera body is the same: clean and scratch free. The previous owner had even taken the batteries out before storing it. I’m a little ashamed at how much I hammer my own kit, but I still think cameras are tools, not jewels.
In use, it was much as I expected. The shutter button is quite hard to find, resulting in me taking one accidental shot and then looking first to make sure my finger was in the right position. Not a camera I would choose to shoot wearing gloves. The meter needle is also hard to see against a dark background. I wouldn’t seek out this camera myself because the ergonomics would annoy me, but if it was what I had I would happily use it.; But, saying that, it is a competent SLR with a good specification and they are not expensive. Worth a look if you have some K mount lenses that you want to use.
Fup Duck Photography 
Ricohs of this era were pretty good cameras. I’ve used a couple of them (branded as Sears) and found them to be perfectly functional. The Ricoh lenses are good, too. I did a comparo once of a couple 50mm Ricoh lenses vs. their SMC Pentax-M counterparts and I could barely tell the difference between them.
They’re great. My first proper camera was Ricoh and it did great service.