EP233: Focus Disaster — Ricoh R1 30mm f3.5 / 24mm f8 with Ilford Delta 400 Professional

Roll #233 — bought a Ricoh R1 with a lens that won't focus

Film: Ilford Delta 400 Professional
Developed & scanned: Li-lai Photo, 2024/10/5
Camera: Ricoh R1 30mm f3.5 / 24mm f8

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There are three major risks when buying a used point-and-shoot, in ascending order of severity: motor failure, shutter or metering problems, and focus problems.

Motor failure is the most common. Sellers usually don't mention it. The way to catch it is to load a roll and listen as the camera advances — if it sounds increasingly strained toward the end, the motor is aging and may jam mid-roll while you're out without a changing bag. I once had a camera jam in Japan. I ended up crouched inside a hostel wardrobe in complete darkness trying to free the film. The whole camera came back to Taiwan and I had Li-lai Photo extract it.

Shutter problems can sometimes be caught by listening to the shutter open and close under different lighting conditions, but without a working reference camera to compare against, it's hard to know what normal sounds like. The worst cases only reveal themselves after development — entire rolls overexposed from a shutter that won't close, or underexposed from one that's running too fast. You pay with irreplaceable memories to find out.

And then there's the worst one: lens focus problems. Nearly impossible to detect before you shoot. Which brings us to this roll.

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#1
I aimed at the film box. The lens locked onto the blower brush behind it.

 

#2
A song I was listening to while driving. This out of focus — can you read the title? The Ricoh R1 date display is also not great — not as much character as the classic digits on Konica Big mini or the disposable cameras.

 

#3
Empty parking lot in the morning.

 

#4
A place I part-timed during university. A long time ago. Five percent of the scenery remains; one hundred percent of the people are gone.

 

#5
I was in a bicycle accident right at this bus stop as a kid. My leg broke. I watched my own foot at an impossible angle and had no idea what to do.

 

#6
Book club today — took the train.

 

#7
What did people actually do on public transit before smartphones? I genuinely can't remember.

 

#8
Next stop: Taipei Main Station.

 

#9
The Ricoh R1 can focus down to 35cm — I'd intended to test that. The camera had other plans.

 

#10
Book club — everyone's minimum order drink. Hot cappuccino for me today.

 

#11
This month's read: I May Be Wrong by Björn Natthiko Lindeblad. Genuinely enjoyed this one.

 

#12
The sky on the way home after book club.

 

#13
Hiking with the family — tried the close focus test again on the R1. Messed it up.

 

#14
Wide-angle cameras are not good for landscapes.

 

#15
Fuyuan Trail today — entering from the Taoyuan side.

 

#16
Inspirational poster material — but the R1 at close focus is just what it is, given the 30mm lens.

 

#17
I hike at the back of the group, watching my son's silhouette ahead.

 

#18
Destination: the century-old banyan tree at Shihkuikeng. Douhua at the top.

 

#19
Photographing the trail marker to remember roughly where we were.

 

#20
Wide-angle really doesn't work for landscapes. My personal limit is 35mm.

 

#21
The douhua stall at the banyan tree.

 

#22
A beetle encountered on the trail — I believe this is a red-and-black stag beetle.

 

#23
It drizzled during the hike — we had our umbrellas out.

 

#24
After Fuyuan Trail — all of us.

 

#25
Every single one out of focus. Infuriating.

 

That's the full roll — Ricoh R1 30mm f3.5 / 24mm f8 with Ilford Delta 400 Professional. Thanks for reading.