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Ricoh KR-10 Super: manual and user guide

The K-mount Ricoh SLR that picks the shutter speed by itself. Its original manual, then the essentials for using it.

View the manual on butkus.orgOriginal scanned manual · 36 pages in English, 29 pages in French and German

Manual scanned and put online free of charge by Mike Butkus, whose library runs on donations. The link opens his model page, where you can download the PDF.

Getting started

Batteries Unscrew the battery compartment cover with a coin, anticlockwise. Stack two LR-44 alkaline batteries (about 6 months) or SR-44 silver oxide batteries (about 12 months) in the holder on the cover, after wiping them with a dry cloth. Without batteries, the camera doesn’t work normally.
Loading Out of the sun, pull up the rewind knob: the back opens. Put in the cartridge, push the knob back down, slide the film leader into a slot in the take-up spool and advance the film, checking that the sprockets engage the perforations. Close the back by pressing firmly, unfold the crank and turn it gently in the direction of the arrow to take up the slack.
Getting to frame 1 Set the shutter speed dial to a fast speed rather than A: otherwise the camera may choose a long exposure, up to 16 s. Wind on and release until the counter reads 1. The rewind knob turns when the film is advancing properly. Then set the dial back to A.
Sensitivity Lift the outer ring of the film speed setting and turn it to bring the index to your film’s value, printed in ASA and DIN on the box: 100 for 100 ASA film. The scale runs from ISO 12 to 3200 (ASA).
Your first photo With the dial on A, choose the aperture with the aperture ring, then press the meter button: the viewfinder shows the speed it has chosen. If ▲ or ▼ appears, change the aperture. In the orange band, the shutter speed is slow: open up more or hold the camera very still.

What it can do

Automatic exposure: you choose the aperture, it chooses the shutter speed, from 16 s to 1/1000 s. In manual, you set the speed yourself over the same range, plus Bulb.
Exposure compensation from +2 to −2, in third stops.
Self-timer of about 10 s: wind on, then press the self-timer switch, and the lamp blinks until the shutter fires. To cancel it, turn the shutter speed dial to L or B.
With the XR Winder 2, the film advances by itself, and you can shoot bursts at 2 frames per second.

Which lenses?

K mount. The standard lenses in the manual are three 50 mm lenses: XR Rikenon f/1.4, Rikenon f/1.7 and Rikenon f/2.
To mount the lens, line up its red dot with the one on the body and turn clockwise until it locks. To remove it, press the release button and turn the other way.
Metering is at full aperture, automatically coupled to the aperture.

The flash

With the Speedlite 180 and 240, switch the flash on: once it’s charged, the red LED lights up and the viewfinder shows 1/125 s, the sync speed.
If you release the shutter before the LED lights up, the camera keeps the speed shown in the viewfinder.
With any other flash, set the dial to 1/125 s. In automatic flash mode, set the aperture ring to the aperture the flash calls for.
Don’t use another brand’s flash with signal pins specific to its own cameras: the exposure would be wrong and the body’s circuits could be damaged.

Good to know

A blinking BAT indicator in the viewfinder means the batteries are low: replace them as soon as you can. In cold weather, keep a spare set warm in your pocket.
The liquid crystal display in the viewfinder comes on when you press the meter button or release the shutter, and turns off 8 minutes later. In the cold, it reacts more slowly: that’s not a fault.
Self-timer on A: close the eyepiece shutter, otherwise light coming in through the viewfinder throws off the exposure.
The film is rewound by hand, with the rewind crank. The back opens when you pull up the rewind knob.
Take the batteries out if the camera won’t be used for a long time.

KR-10 Super specifications

Format: 35 mm film, 24 × 36 mm frames
Mount: K, 50 mm f/1.4, f/1.7 and f/2 standard lenses
Shutter: vertical-travel metal focal-plane, electronic, from 16 s to 1/1000 s in both auto and manual, bulb
Focusing: central split-image rangefinder and microprism collar
Metering: through the lens, at full aperture, centre-weighted, EV 0 to 18 at ISO 100 with a 50 mm f/1.4
Sensitivity: ISO 12 to 3200 (ASA)
Viewfinder: 93% of the image horizontally and vertically, 0.88× magnification with a 50 mm f/1.4, liquid crystal display
Flash: direct-contact hot shoe with flash-ready signal, X sync socket, sync at 1/125 s
Power: 2 × 1.55 V SR-44 silver oxide or 1.5 V LR-44 alkaline batteries
Dimensions and weight: 136 × 86 × 51 mm, 460 g (body only)