The Ricoh XR Rikenon 50mm f/2 S vintage lens is a budget friendly addition to any photographer's kit. John Riley puts this manual focus Pentax K mount lens that's easily to adapted to most Mirrorless cameras to test, providing sample photos along with MTF & CA charts too.
Posted: 11/01/2024 - 10:17
Handling and Features
Performance
Verdict
Specification
Utilising the Pentax K mount, Ricoh produced 35mm SLR cameras and lenses from the late 1970s onwards. The XR Rikenon 50mm f/2 standard lens was provided with cameras as a starting option, although not really called a “kit lens” in that era. That term came much later. Manufactured between around 1977 and 1982, the XR lenses were initially made by Tomioka, and later, as with this review sample, by Nitto Optics. When using Ricoh K mount lenses, it is very important to check whether or not they have an extra “Ricoh pin” on the mount, as this can become jammed on Pentax SLR and DSLR cameras. Fortunately there is no such pin on the XR lens, although if there had been it is common for users to remove it. For this review, we couple the lens up to the 36MP Pentax K-1 full frame DSLR, curious to see if it can possibly live up to the sometimes quoted distinction of it being the “poor man's Summicron”.
XR Rikenon 50mm f/2 S Handling and Features
The initial impression of the lens is favourable, a bit plasticky maybe in its construction, but extremely well put together and weighing in at just 141g. Dimensions are quite compact, measuring 60mm x 31mm approximately. The push on lens cap is very thin, but also very secure. No lenshood is provided, but generic hoods can be sourced from many manufacturers. The filter size is 52mm.
The focusing ring is a delightfully smooth helicoid and it also turns in the same direction as Pentax lenses, an important point where manual focus is the only option and several makes of lens might be mixed. There is nothing more annoying than having one lens that operates in reverse, thus slowing photography down and causing possible handling errors. Ricoh get it right. Focusing is down to 0.44m, or 17 inches. There is a depth of field scale provided, which includes a red dot at the f/4 point to indicate the focus shift with Infra Red film. The white index dot is also provided that offers a tactile way of locating the right position for inserting the lens in the camera bayonet mount.
The aperture ring also turns the Pentax way, another well considered point for optimal speed of handling when different makes of lens may be used side by side. There are click stops at full stop intervals only and these are firm, if a bit notchy in operation and not really as slick as Pentax lenses.
The metal bayonet mount is a plain K bayonet, with no electronic contacts, and no Ricoh pin to become jammed into a Pentax K mount. The fit is smooth and positive. The plain mount means that the lens must be used in stop down mode on the DSLRs, to ensure correct exposure and the lens stopping down to the correct aperture.
The metering process with the Pentax K-1 and other DSLRs is simple enough. Switching on the camera, first it asks what the focal length is for the purposes of the shake reduction system. Then set the mode dial to M, set the aperture required on the lens and press the green button on the back of the camera. The camera will meter and set the appropriate shutter speed. When the shutter is released the lens will stop down correctly to the set value. This soon becomes second nature and makes the use of plain K mount lenses absolutely viable.
Ricoh XR Rikenon 50mm f/2 S Sample Photos
Optical construction is a conventional 6 elements in 5 groups, with a diaphragm comprising 6 blades. The lens is reputed to be single coated, but the look and performance of this copy makes it look far more likely to be multi-coated at least to some degree.
Overall handling of the lens is excellent, admittedly not quite as convenient as having a lens with an “A” setting on the aperture ring, but still a satisfying experience. Focusing manually with an f/2 lens is fairly straightforward for those used to manual focus, although for maximum accuracy using Live View and magnification soon reveals how variable focusing via an optical pentaprism viewfinder can be. It does depend very much on the acuity or otherwise of our vision.
It is also true that many of the features that modern zoom users take for granted are not there. There is no weather sealing. The focus point is nowhere near as close as the zooms that commonly almost reach macro distances. However, there are also fewer elements so contrast in the images may be much higher, and sharpness may well be on a totally different level.
XR Rikenon 50mm f/2 S Performance
Central sharpness is very good all the way through the aperture range, rising to excellent at f/8 and f/11. The edges are fairly soft at f/2, good at f/2.8 and thereafter very good all the way through from f/4 to f/16.
Ricoh XR Rikenon 50mm f/2 S MTF Charts
How to read our MTF charts
The blue column represents readings from the centre of the picture frame at the various apertures and the green is from the edges.
The scale on the left side is an indication of actual image resolution and sharpness as LW/PH and is described in detail above. The taller the column, the better the lens performance.
For this review, the lens was tested on a Pentax K-1 using Imatest.
CA (Chromatic Aberration) is centrally very well controlled, but the edges do show a fair bit of colour fringing on difficult subjects, such as bare branches against a bright sky. This can be tackled in software, although for most subjects and for monochrome shooting it is not particularly obtrusive.
Ricoh XR Rikenon 50mm f/2 S Chromatic Aberration Charts
How to read our CA charts
Chromatic aberration (CA) is the lens' inability to focus on the sensor or film all colours of visible light at the same point. Severe chromatic aberration gives a noticeable fringing or a halo effect around sharp edges within the picture. It can be cured in software.
Apochromatic lenses have special lens elements (aspheric, extra-low dispersion etc) to minimize the problem, hence they usually cost more.
For this review, the lens was tested on a Pentax K-1 using Imatest.
Distortion measures just -0.96% Barrel, which is very acceptable. Further correction in software can be made if required.
Bokeh is the smoothness of the out of focus areas in an image, and in its day was not something often discussed, not being formally named till much later. Depite having only 6 diaphragm blades the bokeh here is rather smooth and pleasant, giving an attractive overall feel to the images.
Ricoh XR Rikenon 50mm f/2 S Aperture range
Flare is not really a problem in general photography and we have to set up quite severe lighting conditions to generate artefacts.
Vignetting is there to be seen, particularly wide open, but thereafter it soon settles down to a more reasonable level.
| Aperture | Vignetting |
| f/2 | -1.9 |
| f/2.8 | -1.3 |
| f/4 | -1 |
| f/5.6 | -0.8 |
| f/8 | -0.8 |
| f/11 | -0.8 |
| f/16 | -0.8 |
Value for Money
The going rate for the S version is around £20 on eBay, and who could complain at that price for what is basically a very fine lens. Excellent VFM and provided a good sample is obtained, very probably a “keeper”.
XR Rikenon 50mm f/2 S Verdict
There is a certain joy of discovery with vintage lenses and the sheer variety of types gives us a very diverse range of optical qualities. The 50mm lens is one that even in the 1960s or 1970s had already been honed by decades of experience and it repaid manufacturers well to make sure that the quality was high, whetting the appetite for more of the same quality from the camera maker.
There are pitfalls as well, manual focus not being fast, especially when stop down metering has to be used. Some may find focusing through the viewfinder difficult, and indeed when tested it is well proven that the point of focus chosen can vary somewhat, depending on the individual. Using Live View plus magnification makes for far better, critical accuracy but this is slower and may ultimately be best for considered use on a tripod.
However, for those used to manual focusing and for those who are prepared for a degree of practice, the rewards are clearly there, with superb images that have the magic ingredient of character. This is not something we can measure easily, but it is something that we can recognise when we see it and decide that we like a lens and it turns out to be a keeper.
A lens like the XR Rikenon 50mm f/2 S has all the potential to be a keeper, an ultra-low price and is Highly Recommended as a low cost option that could well hit the spot.
XR Rikenon 50mm f/2 S Pros
- Very good overall sharpness
- Compact and light
- Full frame format
- Superb value
- Beautifully made
- Images show character
- Generally good flare resistance
- Low central CA
- Smooth handling
- Value
XR Rikenon 50mm f/2 S Cons
- Manual focus
- Stop down metering
- Edge CA
Ricoh XR Rikenon 50mm f/2 S Specifications
| Manufacturer | Ricoh | |
| General | ||
| Lens Mounts | Ricoh PK-R |
|
| Lens | ||
| Focal Length | 50mm | |
| Angle of View | No Data | |
| Max Aperture | f/2 | |
| Min Aperture | f/16 | |
| Filter Size | 52mm | |
| Stabilised | No | |
| 35mm equivalent | 50mm | |
| Internal focusing | No | |
| Maximum magnification | No Data | |
| Focusing | ||
| Min Focus | 44cm | |
| Construction | ||
| Blades | 6 | |
| Elements | 6 | |
| Groups | 5 | |
| Box Contents | ||
| Box Contents | No Data | |
| Dimensions | ||
| Weight | 141g | |
| Height | 31mm | |
Members photos with related tags: pentax,50mm
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