The Legacy of Ricoh and Sears

Throughout the history of photography, there were mergers, acquisitions, and buyouts of many companies. Not many people realize that a lot of outsourcing and re-branding was done as well. In the re-branding game, a few companies come to mind. Cosina, Petri, and Ricoh to name a few. These camera companies generally made cameras for department stores or larger camera retailers as the cheaper alternative or store brands. Sears was one of the first to do so, re-badging cameras from a multitude of companies as the Tower series up into the mid 1960s. But as soon as cameras started to increase in complexity, and the SLR camera started to be mass produced, a deal needed to be made to cash in on the new standard. Of the handful of companies making SLR cameras in the 60s, Ricoh was to be the exclusive Sears branded camera. This started with a couple of rangefinders and a leaf shutter SLR, but truly started with the 1962 Ricoh Singlex as the Sears SL-11. This partnership lasted until the early 1990s when the point and shoot camera reigned supreme and Ricoh presence was starting to fade from the annual Sears holiday catalog. This re-branding deal lasted around 25 years and produced around 30 Sears branded cameras, all from previous Ricoh designs. It has to be noted that the history for Sears and Ricoh was not easy to come by, nor complete. But given the information in some catalogs, manuals, newspapers, and photography magazines, I was able to piece together a comprehensive history and timeline to the best of my knowledge.

The Singlex Years

There were a couple of rangefinders and a leaf shutter SLR made for Sears from Ricoh, but they did not have much attention from the public let alone from the quintessential Sears catalog. They were relegated to side pieces, but that changed when the first standard Sears SLR was added to the catalog. To the best of what I could find, the Ricoh Singlex/Sears SL-11 was in a Sears catalog starting in 1967, about five years after it was initially released. This makes sense because it was right as the Singlex TLS was to be replacing it; and the original Singlex would have stock left over and was being discounted anyway. Some of the early Sears branded cameras did not come out at the same time Ricoh released them. They generally were at the tail end of a cameras life, or when it was being discontinued. There are mentions of the Sears SL-11 in the photography magazine ‘Travel and Camera’ from 1966, mentioning the Sears SL-11 as new, but I believe that was an issue toward the end of the year and close enough to 1967 to follow this mentality. The original Singlex was a bit of an outlier in the Ricoh family of cameras and worthy of a brief mention. This camera was the only Ricoh with a Nikon F mount and was not being made by Ricoh themselves. Early in the SLR game, Ricoh seemed to be behind in the technology leap, and was not quite ready to start creating a new type of camera from scratch. This led to outsourcing production to Mamiya, who also helped Nikon with the Nikkorex F, create an SLR camera for themselves. There were several variations of the SL-11, but it seems the first run had a Nikon F mount while later it switched an M42 mount. The particular model shown here is one of the later redesigns.

After the SL-11, the next camera in line for Sears was the Ricoh Singlex TLS, re-branded as the Sears TLS. This camera once again featured a few different variations over the years; the original Sears variation had the SEARS logo right on the prism, but later on was replaced by a butterfly or atom like design. Originally being released by Ricoh in 1967, you would think given the trend that five or so years would pass before Sears had a go at it. But diving deeper into the Sears and Ricoh relationship, I found an ad that specifically states that you cannot order the Sears TLS before November 1st 1966, as well as showing lenses that can be bought for both TLS and SL-11. I’m guessing they were marketed together, having the choice of different mounts, one with an internal meter, and one with a clip on meter. Although in the ad the lenses are the same price, I’m sure that the TLS would have been more expensive given the internal meter and standard M42 lens mount. Another oddity to the TLS, was that it was not exclusive to Sears at this point. Ricoh sold these cameras to Sears, Kmart, and Porst. Ricoh sold the designs to a few other manufacturers as well, most notably Cosina, who made a few versions for other brand names including the Argus 1000 example I have. A great camera and solid one at that, but not as well finished as the original Ricoh version was.

There were two more additions in the TLS line for sears that are worthy of note. There was a somewhat standard M42 SLR, the Ricoh SLX 500 re-branded into the Sears TLS 500 MX. A solid and standard M42 camera, but missing the slower shutter speeds past 1/30th of a second. The final TLS from Ricoh was a 126 SLR camera, the Ricoh 126C-Flex. Re-branded as the Sears 126 TLS Reflex, this camera had interchangeable lenses on a proprietary screw mount. A very interesting addition to not only Sears but Ricoh as well, and worthy of a look in the future. It needs to be mentioned that Mamiya also played a part in the TLS line for Sears. Mamiya had made a few cameras in the Tower line for Sears but also helped with creating a few of the later TLS models like the Sears Auto TLS and Auto CS to name a few.

The Rangefinder Re-Brand

Some of the best rangefinders Ricoh ever made were in the 500 series. These cameras were fully manual, had the option of shutter priority, built incredibly well, and were in a compact package. Consisting of seven different models, some rangefinder and some not, the first model (Ricoh 500 G) and the redesign (Ricoh 500 RF) were picked for Sears to release. Strangely enough, they were named the same, well mostly the same. They look incredibly similar, but when comparing them the key difference is in the logos. The 500 G was re-branded as the Sears 35|RF and the 500 RF was re-branded as the Sears 35rf. Of the two, arguably the better camera would be the original, featuring a more sturdy feel and less plastic than the redesign. Both cameras have the same features but have very minor differences.

There is a fair bit of conflicting information on when the Ricoh 500 G and 500 RF came out, varying between 1971 and 1972. The real release date of the Ricoh 500 G must be 1971, being regarded as new in a photography journal of the same year. As for the 500 RF, the date written online must be off by over a decade. The 500 RF uses the same body style as the later released cameras in the 500 series, from the early to mid 1980s, so it’s safe to say it was released somewhere around there. A bigger problem was how hard it was to find a mention of either the Sears 35|RF or 35rf in any online resources. The closest I could find was a mention of the camera from a 1979 Sears catalog, as well as a mention in a 1977 consumer report index. Not the most definitive answers or dates, but for the original 35|RF we can at least say it was put into the catalog around 1977, give or take a few years.

The KS camera revolution

With the success of the Singlex and the even greater success of the Singlex TLS, over the years Ricoh was willing to license more and more cameras to Sears for re-branding. After Sears licensed a few additional cameras from Mamiya in the 70s, they switched back to Ricoh for most of the remaining cameras. With the new upgrade from M42 to K mount, this was a significant boost in technology for Ricoh and they did not hesitate to send the first of their updated cameras to Sears. The Ricoh XR and KR lines came out at around the same time in 1977 and lasted up into the late 90s. The XR and KR series are very similar in design, function, and even name. Consisting of over 40 different cameras between the two, Ricoh produced a majority of them but the later cameras were outsourced to Cosina for manufacturing.

The first foray of these new K mount cameras for Ricoh was in 1978. At this time in the Sears and Ricoh relationship, they were releasing cameras at just around the same time, give or take a few months to a year. The first mentions of a K mount camera from Sears appeared in a multitude of different ads inside magazines and newspapers in 1979. A Sears camera specific catalog from 1977-78 also confirms this, with no mentions of any K mount cameras. Coming from both of the Ricoh camera lines at the time, there was a significant difference between the new Sears KS 500 and KS 1000. The lower end model, the KS 500, was the no frills and somewhat basic Ricoh KR-5. Once again a solid camera with some of the slower shutter speeds cut back. As for the KS 1000, this was the higher end and very capable Ricoh XR-1s. This camera had all shutter speeds up to 1/1000th of a second, along with a depth of field preview button, you were able to see the aperture selected through the viewfinder, the ability for multiple exposures, and an optional motor drive. It seems whenever I was looking at ads in magazines and newspapers up to the mid 1980s, while other Sears branded cameras were discontinued, the KS 500 always seemed present. It was likely relegated to the budget SLR, while most of the subsequent models had auto exposure, computers, and the like.

After the KS 500 and 1000, there was the introduction of the Sears KS and KS Auto, the Ricoh XR-2, and XR-2s respectively. Dates for these two Sears cameras are somewhat lost to time for the moment. I managed to find an ad that states they were from 1979, but I would hazard a guess and say more along the lines of early 1980s. Most of the ads you can find for Sears cameras come from before or after 1980-81, so I imagine that is where the KS and KS Auto happen to lie, and when they presumably were discontinued. The XR-2 was similar to the XR-1 in every way but had the addition of an aperture priority exposure mode. The only real difference between the KS and KS Auto was the ability for an optional motor drive. This makes some sense as to why it was a short time, given it was only a slight upgrade from the KS 1000 and there were new cameras on the way from Ricoh in 1980-81.

Around the time the KS was introduced in the Sears catalog, the first entry in the alternative KSX line was released, as an ad from a 1980 newspaper confirms. The KSX was originally the KR-10, an update to the Ricoh KR-5/Sears KS 500, but with a full range of shutter speeds from 1/1000th of a second to 4 seconds and the addition of an aperture priority mode. It makes sense that this would be the replacement for the KS 500, but there is little to no mention of the original KSX after 1980. It must have been quick to be forgotten, being absent from the 1981-82 Sears camera catalog once again in favor of the KS 500. There were a few more models in the KSX series after the original, but they were small upgrades from the original KSX. The Sears KSX-1000 was the Ricoh KR-5 Super, and the KSX-Super was the Ricoh KR-10 Super respectively. Mostly featuring only faster shutter speeds.

As time went on, Sears decided not only to license another camera from Ricoh but to modify it slightly as well. The Ricoh XR-6 was a middle of the road camera for Ricoh and somewhat underwhelming on features. Sitting right in between the XR-2s and the XR-7, the XR-6 is another outlier in the Ricoh camera family. There was little to no interaction with the user and the camera, more automatic then not. On the original XR-6 there were three modes you could put the camera into. The main aperture priority mode, an X flash sync, and bulb. These modes got the job done and must have appealed to the rising ‘auto everything’ crowd. I’m sure this camera was cheaper to manufacture and a perfect candidate for a low cost store brand camera.

The XR-6 was split into three distinct models, the Sears KS-1, KS Super, and KS Super II. Each model within the three was essentially the same camera but with fewer and fewer functions. The original XR-6 was made as the Sears KS-1, no different from the original Ricoh camera. The KS Super and Super II were a different story. For the KS Super, they cut the max shutter speed from 1/1000th to 1/500th, and did the same with the KS Super II along with removing the bulb speed. Not too much of a hindrance when shooting today but probably cut back on the price for people who did not need those features at the time. The KS-1, KS Super, and KS Super II were featured heavily in ads and the Sears catalog, the KS-1 becoming the best model and front runner for a couple of years. These ads spanned from 1981 up until the end of the Ricoh cameras in the catalog, in the late 1980s.

After the initial re-branding of the XR-6 into multiple cameras, there where only two more Ricoh cameras that Sears decided to bring over, as first shown in ads around 1983. The KSX was succeeded by the KSX Super, an update to the original Ricoh KR-10 as the KR-10 Super. Not much changed besides a body style update to closer resemble the Ricoh XR line, along with the addition of a few more of the slower shutter speeds. But the last and arguably one of the best Ricoh and Sears camera alike, was the XR-7. Re-branded into the Sears KS-2, this camera was a fully featured SLR with almost every function you would need. Manual shutter speeds from 1/1000th of a second down to 16 seconds, an aperture priority mode, a very detailed LCD screen inside the viewfinder, the ability for multiple exposures, and a depth of field preview to name a few. Truly an amazing camera today and heavily marketed by Sears, even appearing as the featured camera on the front cover of the 1981-82 sears camera catalog. That was the final word from Ricoh on the SLR front for Sears, but not the last murmur from the KS line of cameras. There was one more camera in the Sears KS line, the KSX-P, and strangely enough it was not made by Ricoh, but from Chinon. Right around the time of the increase in popularity of the program SLR, Sears was looking for a camera to fit into their budget camera line. Chinon had a model ready to go and was thrown into the 1985 Sears catalog as the last of the KS series of cameras.

The End of ricoh and sears

Over 25 years in a partnership with any company is a feat in itself, and I’m sure it would have lasted longer if it were not for a couple of things. As more and more automatic and point and shoot style cameras flooded the market, SLR cameras were seen to be more of an advanced or professionals camera. After 1989, I was hard pressed to find any type of SLR camera in a few of the catalogs I could find online. All I could find were pages and pages of point and shoot cameras, hundreds of them. If you think about the demographic that the Sears catalog was geared toward in the early 90s, those people wanted convenience as a number one priority. Along with that, the Sears catalog was on a decline as more big box stores were arriving on the scene and the consumer marketplace was drastically changing. Ricoh followed this trend as well, outsourcing most of their remaining SLR cameras to Cosina and producing a staggering amount of point and shoot cameras. A few made their way to the Sears catalog, but sadly nothing really worth mentioning. That was the final word from Ricoh in the partnership with Sears. Ricoh would go on to survive as a company even today, while Sears was too slow to adapt and change with the marketplace.

The Sears Cameras today

When most people are looking for a film camera today, a Sears or JC Penny branded camera wouldn’t cross their mind. When it comes to store brands, no matter what the product is they tend to get more of a bad rap. Even today, when your shopping for almost anything, the store brand is always seen as lesser quality. But was that true for the re-branded Ricoh cameras? Of the few alternating models of Ricoh and Sears cameras, there is almost no difference in quality, feel, or weight. They must have had very little changed or no real change at all. It's entirely possible that the only change was the nameplate and Sears branding on the camera body. Ultimately it would have cost Sears more to modify the cameras then to just change the nameplate.

I’ve had nothing but great experiences with Sears cameras. They work every time I’ve run a roll of film through and have rarely had to do any maintenance on them. Not only that but they are generally cheaper alternatives to the Ricoh counterparts, while still being the same camera. The glass is made by Ricoh as well, leading to some great K mount glass at very reasonable prices. One of the cameras I enjoy taking out the most is the Sears KS Super. A great camera if you're looking for an aperture priority SLR kind of in the same vein as the Minolta XG series. But when it’s all said and done, the Sears branded Ricoh cameras are fantastic! I would highly recommend that everyone gives a Sears SLR a try. They are somewhat easy to find, they do not cost that much, and I guarantee that you will be pleasantly surprised at the results you come across.