Ricoh GR1, common problems, prices etc.

Cezar

Cezar

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Cezar
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Hello,
Recently I have found a Ricoh GR1 Date in a charity shop for £3(£3 got me a helios 44-2, pentacon 50mm 1.8 and this Ricoh)

I was soooo excited to test it out so I ordered a battery the same day. It came and I shot a roll of film through it. And it's a fantastic camera to use. (Bare in mind that I'm a student, so to get such a premium camera is Gods gift)

However, there are problems and here come my questions.

- The top screen is confused, not showing all the information and only parts of the number of shots left are visible,
- The flash seems a little burned but works, perhaps someone went on a mad one with flashing until it got too hot?
- The shutter button sometimes doesn't fire, focuses but when i press all the way the lens moves out of focus and stays there.(sometimes it takes a few tries before the shutter fires) This only happened on 3 frames of the film.
- The film winding motor is really noisy, not a smooth sound but sort of 'geary' sound. I read this means the motors are tired.
- Lastly, The viewfinder information is not really visible, only the numbers on the left and the focus points in the middle, I read there should be more?

And my question is, how much roughly would I have to pay for a service in the UK(Bristol)? I got it for so cheap that I think its worth repairing (if service is decent £££)
Also, what are the common problems with the camera, anything else I should look out for?

Taken on Expired Tesco 400 film.

Thanks
 
Common problems are pretty much what you have. From my fairly extensive research:

- Noisy motor (the motor is fairly loud as standard, but exceptionally loud / clicking often means it's on it's way out)
- LCD screen is known to go
- foam inside, which surrounds the window on the back often wears out (probably the cheapest fix
- rubber surround often goes around the viewfinder.

in the viewfinder you pretty much get frame lines, shutter speed on the left, and focus icon's at the bottom (macro sign, person sign etc - all showing distance) and the little focus rectangle in the middle too.

I'd certainly look into getting it fixed. I'm not sure about UK prices but Ricoh Japan have always been reported to come up trumps with repairs. Bellamy hunt (japancamerahunter.com) should be able to help you out, and maybe even find a place of service in the UK. he's from the Uk but lives in Japan selling cameras.

They often sell for £200 - £300 depending on condition. I've got two GR1V's and the price doesn't seem to differ too much between the GR1, GR1S, and GR1V, only the GR21 commands a much higher price.
 
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Thanks for the reply guys, hmmm I'm glad the problems are the common once maybe there's some hope of getting it fixed for a good price.

In fact I already contacted a guy in Poland I know, he is fantastic with cameras and he will contact me back within few days to let me know about the prices and parts. Apparently Ricoh branch in Poland can source parts for their cameras so hopes are high!

I'm aware of the fact this camera goes for a lot of money, the camera is in a great condition 'on the outside' so might be worth quite a lot.

Thanks for the info!
 
Cezar said:
In fact I already contacted a guy in Poland I know, he is fantastic with cameras and he will contact me back within few days to let me know about the prices and parts. Apparently Ricoh branch in Poland can source parts for their cameras so hopes are high!
Click to expand...

Oh, would be nice if you can let me know how you get on with guy in Poland. I've contacted plenty of places and most don't repair Ricoh anymore, not even Ricoh themselves (part of another company now?) Anyway the only places I can find is in Japan and posting it there plus return and the actual repair is high and most say they can't guarantee a fix (apart from Japanhunter)
 
That is a steal, normally in good condition the price tend to fetch £200+. I think if the total cost for repair is less than £100 then you might give it a go
 
Complete bargain! I sold mine on Ebay some years ago and really regret it. I took mine to all kinds of places and it never let me down. Well worth repairing I would think.
 
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