Can a Ricoh 35 FM rangefinder shoot at night, and what film should I use?
Asked 3/24/2023
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I’m new to film photography and recently picked up a Ricoh 35 FM rangefinder. It appears to have very limited controls: I can set the focus distance in meters and the ISO dial, but not much else. I’d like to shoot at night and I’m unsure how to get usable exposures. Does setting a lower ISO help in low light, or should I use a different film? What kinds of night scenes are realistic with this camera?
Originally by Photography Stack Exchange contributor. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
Photography Stack Exchange contributor
3y ago
2 Answers
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You are shooting with a film camera. The ISO dial only tells the camera the speed of the film you have loaded so the camera meter can set the aperture. You will need to use a fast ISO 400 film but even at that, the information available online says that the Ricoh 35 FM has a fixed shutter speed (of 1/125s) and varies the aperture to set the correct exposure. This means that in all likelihood you won't be able to take any kind of useable photographs in dim light... ISO 400 at 1/125s at f2.8 (the fastest the lens can go) gives an EV level of 8. This might give you a useable image of a downtown cityscape, Times Square, or a brightly lit stadium, but not anything with less lighting..
A thought is to use film -faster- than ISO 400 (there are some faster color and B&W films available- some going up to ISO 3200). You'd need to experiment, but that's when the fun begins! You would set your camera at ISO 400 for these faster films. *Note that if you expose a film that is rated faster than ISO 400 in a well-lit environment, it will likely be overexposed...
Originally by user11772. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
user11772
3y ago
0
Generated from our catalog & community — verify before relying on it.
On this camera, the ISO dial does not change the film’s sensitivity. It only tells the camera meter what film speed you loaded so it can choose exposure accordingly. If you load ISO 25 film, the camera will expose for ISO 25; turning the dial alone won’t make the film faster.
For night shooting, use faster film, such as ISO 400 or higher. However, the Ricoh 35 FM is very limited for low light: based on available information, it has a fixed shutter speed around 1/125s and adjusts exposure mainly by aperture, with a widest aperture of about f/2.8. That means it likely won’t do well in dim night scenes.
What may work: very brightly lit locations such as downtown streets, illuminated signs, stadiums, or similar scenes. What likely won’t work: darker streets, indoor low light, or most handheld night photography.
So the practical advice is:
- load high-ISO film, not low-ISO film
- set the ISO dial to match the film actually loaded
- expect best results only in bright nighttime environments
- for darker scenes, this camera may simply not be suitable
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