Yesterday I tried out a Ricoh XR-P in the camera store ($150, the going rate). I hadn't realized that the XR-P lets you see the aperture in all modes, like the Pentax K2, KX, LX, and MX. Hmmm. How bright would the viewfinder be?
I mounted my 400/5.6 PKA. The XR-P's brightness blew me away! Then I removed the 400, attached my 1.4X-L, and remounted my "560/8". The XR-P's viewfinder was still plenty bright, inside the store. The 45-degree split-image rangefinder did not even completely dim out! Then I mounted my Vivitar 135/2.3. The brightness was so dazzling, I felt I was cheating or using a 50/1.4! Looking back at the 1984 review in Amateur Photographer, I see that "a new type of screen has been used by Ricoh giving a brighter, sharper image and its certainly an improvement on the old type." Yet in a message titled "Off topic, need comments on Ricoh bodies," PDML's Alan Chan wrote of the XR-P (1999-06-12), "The screen was relatively dark". Alan added, "but the viewfinder was well designed (the display is still the best IMO.)." I'd have to agree. There's no need to tap the shutter button to update the readout. Imagine a vertical LCD shutter-speed array that constantly reflects the exposure value, combining the fluidity of the KX's match needle system with the digital readout of the LX. I had read that the XR-P was loud, but the salesman pointed out that the noise was chiefly from second mirror slap, which comes after the exposure is made. Indeed, I did not find vibration objectionable; it was below that of my Super Programs. Would anyone else care to comment on the XR-P's brightness? Freedom from vibration? Paul Franklin Stregevsky - This message is from the Pentax-Discuss Mail List. To unsubscribe, go to http://www.pdml.net and follow the directions. Don't forget to visit the Pentax Users' Gallery at http://pug.komkon.org .
