C41
Kodak Portra 400
Kodak Portra 400 is a professional C-41 color negative film known for flexible exposure latitude, natural skin tones, and fine grain.
View profile →slr-35mm
The Ricoh Mirai (Japanese: "future") is a 35mm SLR bridge camera introduced in 1988 with a body design unlike any conventional SLR of its era. Mirai means "future" in Japanese, and the name was not accidental: the camera features a dramatically curved polycarbonate body that puts the grip, body, and fixed lens barrel on a continuous swept arc. There is no flat film plane visible from the front; the whole assembly tapers ergonomically toward the lens.
Reference
Recommended film stocks for the 35mm format your camera takes.
C41
Kodak Portra 400 is a professional C-41 color negative film known for flexible exposure latitude, natural skin tones, and fine grain.
View profile →BW
Kodak Tri-X 400 is a classic black-and-white film known for strong tonality, visible grain, and documentary character.
View profile →C41
Kodak Gold 200 is a daylight-balanced C-41 color negative film with warm color, moderate grain, and a classic consumer-film look.
Develop 35mm film
Labs in our directory that process 35mm film.
Before you buy used
About this camera
A swept-back bridge SLR from 1988 with a 35-135mm Rikenon zoom built in -- Ricoh's most ergonomically distinctive camera, sold in parallel as the Olympus AZ-4 Zoom.
| Field | Value |
|---|
| Format | 35mm (24x36mm) |
| Lens | Rikenon 35-135mm f/3.5-4.5 (fixed) |
| Autofocus | Active/passive hybrid |
| Shutter | 30s -- 1/500s, programmed electronic |
| Flash sync | 1/100s |
| Meter | TTL center-weighted |
| Exposure modes | Program AE only |
| Viewfinder | SLR pentamirror |
| ISO range | 25 -- 3200 (DX coded) |
| Battery | 4x AA |
| Flash | Built-in pop-up |
Ricoh introduced the Mirai in 1988 into a market that was just beginning to see bridge cameras defined as a distinct category between point-and-shoot compacts and true interchangeable-lens SLRs. Cameras like the Nikon TW-Zoom and Olympus Infinity SuperZoom had established consumer appetite for long-zoom integrated bodies, and the Mirai represented Ricoh's most ambitious and distinctive answer to that market segment.
The OEM arrangement with Olympus resulted in the AZ-4 Zoom, which reached markets where Ricoh had weaker distribution. Both versions were discontinued by the early 1990s as the bridge camera segment became increasingly dominated by cameras with even longer zoom ranges and simpler handling.
A related model, the Ricoh Mirai 105, uses a shorter 35-105mm zoom in an otherwise similar body.
The Mirai is primarily a collector curiosity today for its industrial design. Few camera manufacturers committed to such a radical departure from the conventional SLR form factor, and the Mirai's sweeping ergonomic body stands out in any collection. The Rikenon zoom delivers competent optical quality for everyday shooting, and the genuine SLR finder is preferable to rangefinder or electronic viewfinders on bridge cameras of the same era.
The Olympus AZ-4 Zoom version is sometimes easier to source in certain markets and is functionally identical.
The Mirai uses a fixed lens mount and does not accept interchangeable lenses. The built-in Rikenon 35-135mm f/3.5-4.5 zoom covers the range from moderate wide-angle to short telephoto. Accessories are limited to standard filters (via the front filter thread) and the camera's own dedicated flash hot shoe.
BW
Ilford HP5 Plus is a flexible ISO 400 black-and-white film with classic grain and strong push-processing tolerance.
View profile →C41
Kodak Ektar 100 is a fine-grain C-41 color negative film with saturated color and high sharpness.
View profile →Ricoh Mirai
Image coming soon