Thank you for this terrific review! Just watching you handle this camera and go through its features brought back so many memories for me. I was watching some TH-cam videos on old compact film cameras this morning and I immediately thought of my first ever proper camera that I bought with my own money. And no, despite the way I just wrote that so proud of myself, I wasn't 14 years old at the time - I was 21 😂 Its actually amazing to me that just as my brain reminded me it was a Ricoh it also instantaneously came up with FF9. So I immediately Googled and was kind of stunned to see my old camera looking back at me as honestly at 56 my memory is awful these days. I have a 55 inch Samsung tv I bought 2 years ago but although I researched it to death pre purchase, I honestly couldn't tell you the model series number now. So its incredible to me that FF9 has been etched in my memory for like 34 years or so. Although maybe its not actually so incredible as it meant so much to me at the time. I was fresh out of Uni and had left my native Glasgow for Hong Kong and a job teaching English to some unfortunate students. I knew absolutely nothing about Hong Kong but the advertisement in a graduate recruitment newsletter painted a picture in my mind of a colonial building with high ceilings and fans in every classroom, with expansive views perhaps to their harbour. Yeah, it wasn't like that 😬 It was a bolier room type set up, a windowless maze of cubicle rooms on the 1st floor of a run down 1950's building in Mong Kok. A teacher sat in each cubicle room waiting for students like a working girl waiting for clients. It smelled of mildew and drains and had Aircon so feirce it chapped your lips. Which was just as well as it was 35c and 90 percent humidity outside. It was August 1989, I'd never been out of Scotland in my life so this was like landing on the moon to me it felt so alien. I had massive culture shock and I think its fair to say I loved HK immediately. I guess I must have because 34 years later and I'm still here. Anyway one thing I knew straight away was that I needed to document everything and I had no camera. There were billboards everywhere at the time advertising the latest iteration of the FF9 and one of my fellow teachers had just bought one and was raving about it. So it was that I immediately ransacked my meagre emergency fund, meant to sustain me until my first pay cheque, and went off to Tsim Tsa Tsui and camera shop street to snag my FF9. After a bit of bargaining from memory ( which as I said earlier is wholly unrealiable so take this with a pinch of salt) I paid around 800 HKD, which was about 65 pounds at the time. I was earning less than 500 pounds a month at the school of which my accommodation alone was 200 so 65 quid was a bit of an investment to me back then. Anyway it was well well worth it. I absolutely fell in love with that camera. Not just the excellent pictures it took ( I used night mode a lot and also shot quite a few films in monochrome which came out really well) but how it felt in my hands. I loved its slightly bulbous look, the whole diamond/ triangle lens housing aesthetic and that sound it made when auto rewind kicked in and I would rush over to the one of a gazillion processing shops and see what I'd got. And what I got and still have thankfully are about 25 full photo books in little folders you got free with the processing complete with a cute Asian model on the cover in day glo Jane Fonda work out gear and big loosley permed hair, Flashdance style. The FF9 itself went AWOL 5 years later on a backpacking trip to Northern Thailand and was replaced by a much more feature rich Canon I can recall nothing at all about. One of many Canons I've had since. Objectively a far superior camera, but the Ricoh FF9 was the one that started my love affair with photography and recorded the start of my love affair with this City. So its got a place in my heart that nothing since has surpassed. For less than a tenner I feel like you did ok😁. ( oh and sorry for this long ass essay you didn't ask for, nostalgia kicked in after watching the video and I guess I got carried away)
I just found my mothers old Ricoh FF-9d, from what I can tell - the only difference is the date selector on the back. She kept it in incredible shape, and I'm just waiting on a new battery before shooting my first roll of film. Can't beat the price of "find it in the basement and it's yours"
I was so surprised by this camera! I went out with two of these (one white, one black) on a phototour testing my point and shoots (L35AF, Yashica T3, Canon MC and 2 x Ricoh FF9). The Ricoh's were the only cameras where all exposures were spot on (the others seemed to have shutter issues) and the overall image quality was surprisingly good. The images were all sharp and contrasty. Sure, the 2.8 lens of a Yashica T3 had a bit more oomph and depth - but the Ricohs really delivered. I was first worried about the full plastic appearance and feel but somehow they were the most reliable out of the bunch. Maybe I was just lucky and had pristine FF9s but everything I find online just points to these cameras just being very solid. That is wild given how cheap they are compared to a Nikon or Yashica. One of these + a 3 pack of Kodak Gold 200s will be my go-to gift for anyone interested in photography or travel - they are also very portable, light and easy to use.
Great lens on this camera and fun to use. But I have encountered several of these that has some electrical problem where it will loose power after firing the flash, and then resetting and winding several frames. So I don't know about reliable. But if you find a good one (or never use flash) they are great. I would actually say the lens is at least as good as the T3.
you should try the Ricoh FF90. They can be had for less than $50, have a 5 element 35mm f2.8 lens, and most importantly they have manual DX override, a feature that is insanely rare among compact cameras and typically drives up their price massively. I think the ff9 isn't going up simply because its an f3.5 compact. There are so many unloved f3.5 compacts and this one doesn't do much to stand out besides having a strangely nice lens.
Yeah, I find it odd that people immediately sniff over a stop's extra speed on a lens. If you're shooting on a compact, chances are the amount of shots at maximum aperture are going to be limited anyway. I've not got my hands on an FF-90 yet but very much a fan of the FF range so far.
Thank you for this terrific review! Just watching you handle this camera and go through its features brought back so many memories for me.
I was watching some TH-cam videos on old compact film cameras this morning and I immediately thought of my first ever proper camera that I bought with my own money. And no, despite the way I just wrote that so proud of myself, I wasn't 14 years old at the time - I was 21 😂 Its actually amazing to me that just as my brain reminded me it was a Ricoh it also instantaneously came up with FF9. So I immediately Googled and was kind of stunned to see my old camera looking back at me as honestly at 56 my memory is awful these days.
I have a 55 inch Samsung tv I bought 2 years ago but although I researched it to death pre purchase, I honestly couldn't tell you the model series number now.
So its incredible to me that FF9 has been etched in my memory for like 34 years or so. Although maybe its not actually so incredible as it meant so much to me at the time.
I was fresh out of Uni and had left my native Glasgow for Hong Kong and a job teaching English to some unfortunate students. I knew absolutely nothing about Hong Kong but the advertisement in a graduate recruitment newsletter painted a picture in my mind of a colonial building with high ceilings and fans in every classroom, with expansive views perhaps to their harbour.
Yeah, it wasn't like that 😬 It was a bolier room type set up, a windowless maze of cubicle rooms on the 1st floor of a run down 1950's building in Mong Kok. A teacher sat in each cubicle room waiting for students like a working girl waiting for clients. It smelled of mildew and drains and had Aircon so feirce it chapped your lips. Which was just as well as it was 35c and 90 percent humidity outside. It was August 1989, I'd never been out of Scotland in my life so this was like landing on the moon to me it felt so alien. I had massive culture shock and I think its fair to say I loved HK immediately. I guess I must have because 34 years later and I'm still here.
Anyway one thing I knew straight away was that I needed to document everything and I had no camera. There were billboards everywhere at the time advertising the latest iteration of the FF9 and one of my fellow teachers had just bought one and was raving about it. So it was that I immediately ransacked my meagre emergency fund, meant to sustain me until my first pay cheque, and went off to Tsim Tsa Tsui and camera shop street to snag my FF9. After a bit of bargaining from memory ( which as I said earlier is wholly unrealiable so take this with a pinch of salt) I paid around 800 HKD, which was about 65 pounds at the time. I was earning less than 500 pounds a month at the school of which my accommodation alone was 200 so 65 quid was a bit of an investment to me back then.
Anyway it was well well worth it. I absolutely fell in love with that camera. Not just the excellent pictures it took ( I used night mode a lot and also shot quite a few films in monochrome which came out really well) but how it felt in my hands. I loved its slightly bulbous look, the whole diamond/ triangle lens housing aesthetic and that sound it made when auto rewind kicked in and I would rush over to the one of a gazillion processing shops and see what I'd got.
And what I got and still have thankfully are about 25 full photo books in little folders you got free with the processing complete with a cute Asian model on the cover in day glo Jane Fonda work out gear and big loosley permed hair, Flashdance style.
The FF9 itself went AWOL 5 years later on a backpacking trip to Northern Thailand and was replaced by a much more feature rich Canon I can recall nothing at all about. One of many Canons I've had since.
Objectively a far superior camera, but the Ricoh FF9 was the one that started my love affair with photography and recorded the start of my love affair with this City. So its got a place in my heart that nothing since has surpassed.
For less than a tenner I feel like you did ok😁.
( oh and sorry for this long ass essay you didn't ask for, nostalgia kicked in after watching the video and I guess I got carried away)
I just found my mothers old Ricoh FF-9d, from what I can tell - the only difference is the date selector on the back. She kept it in incredible shape, and I'm just waiting on a new battery before shooting my first roll of film. Can't beat the price of "find it in the basement and it's yours"
I just love this type of video, looking at vintage gear, I'm off over to ebay to see if I can pick one up, many thanks Stephen.
I was so surprised by this camera! I went out with two of these (one white, one black) on a phototour testing my point and shoots (L35AF, Yashica T3, Canon MC and 2 x Ricoh FF9). The Ricoh's were the only cameras where all exposures were spot on (the others seemed to have shutter issues) and the overall image quality was surprisingly good. The images were all sharp and contrasty.
Sure, the 2.8 lens of a Yashica T3 had a bit more oomph and depth - but the Ricohs really delivered. I was first worried about the full plastic appearance and feel but somehow they were the most reliable out of the bunch. Maybe I was just lucky and had pristine FF9s but everything I find online just points to these cameras just being very solid. That is wild given how cheap they are compared to a Nikon or Yashica. One of these + a 3 pack of Kodak Gold 200s will be my go-to gift for anyone interested in photography or travel - they are also very portable, light and easy to use.
Great lens on this camera and fun to use. But I have encountered several of these that has some electrical problem where it will loose power after firing the flash, and then resetting and winding several frames. So I don't know about reliable. But if you find a good one (or never use flash) they are great. I would actually say the lens is at least as good as the T3.
That camera has a large and bright viewfinder. Ricoh makes great lenses.
you should try the Ricoh FF90. They can be had for less than $50, have a 5 element 35mm f2.8 lens, and most importantly they have manual DX override, a feature that is insanely rare among compact cameras and typically drives up their price massively.
I think the ff9 isn't going up simply because its an f3.5 compact. There are so many unloved f3.5 compacts and this one doesn't do much to stand out besides having a strangely nice lens.
Yeah, I find it odd that people immediately sniff over a stop's extra speed on a lens. If you're shooting on a compact, chances are the amount of shots at maximum aperture are going to be limited anyway. I've not got my hands on an FF-90 yet but very much a fan of the FF range so far.
i just got one off ebay for £15! i’m so excited to use it 😊
That is a score and a half, Cafffrinn!
Thanks for the info Stephen.
Just purchased one for £20! 😉
I hope you have a lot of fun with it, Terry!
Thanks I’m sure I will. See you at Aperture Printing soon. 🤗📷👨🏻🎓
I still have my ff9s, bought from Argos in the 80s. Noticed it still has film inside. I wonder what's on it..lol
There's only one way to find out, Mark...
I have this camera in excellent condition. In London . Is there a chance I can sell it ?
I’ve just picked one up off eBay for a tenner. It’s like it’s never been used
That's a great deal. They really are a sleeping cult camera. I hope you enjoy shooting with it.
Which film do you used for the pictures?