My little known TLR...

[deudeu]

So I just joined the Medium Format club just a week ago, when I received my Ricoh Diacord L.

I bought it mint from ebay for 175 dollars. I didn't want to make any comment on this camera until my first roll of film was returned. It is now the case, here is my review:

I LOVE THIS THING!

First of all, and that all 6x6s have in common, i love the square format, love the DoF.
Now, more specifically on the Diacord: The handling is very nice. The focusing levers on both sides of the camera are very convenient. A friend of mine, rolleiflex owner, raved about how convenient that system is... take that rollei!
He also told me that the viewfinder is brighter than his rolleiflex (one of the older models... this explains that). The viewing lens is a f3.2 which is quite helpful for the focusing.
As far as the IQ is concerned i am very pleasantly surprised. The lens is very contrasty. I only did B&W so I don't know about the colors, but it is sharp. Of course the corners are a little bit softer wide open, but not too bad.

Now on the down side: Only a f3.5... Oh well! For a f2.8 TLR you have to spend at least twice as much as I did! I can live with something a bit slower... My model is the Diacord L. It is metered but surprisingly (not) the celenium meter is a bit off. (Those don't last 50 years?) So I have to carry a hand meter! This slows down the process of picture taking quite a bit. Especially since when all costs are added it costs you more than 1$ a shot, you don't go around bracketing.
So if you want to buy one of the ricoh TLRs i actually recommend the Diacord G. It is not metered and as 10 aperture blades when the L has 5. Not that the bokeh is unpleasant on mine, the curved blades actually produce a very decent bokeh, but for a lower price you get better IQ in the end with the G model.

But as a conclusion: I am very pleased with the money I spent! I have a mint camera for a fraction of the cost I would have spent on a better known TLR in decent shape. The Image quality is very good, and I carry around a camera that most people have never heard of, let alone seen!
Sorry I don't have a scanner to show you the pictures... Some day in the near futur...

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[gtyler]

Congrats on getting a new TLR! I love to shoot with my ikoflex.