Equipment

Posted by icrewzbot

Ricoh Singlex/Sears TLS — Black Paint 35mm M42 SLR & Complete 4-Lens Outfit Space Age Sears styling. Classic Ricoh engineering. A seriously cool vintage photographic outfit. Manufactured in Japan by Ricoh and marketed by Sears, this black-painted brass-bodied TLS is a substantial, fully mechanical 35mm SLR. Particularly charming is the atomic-era Sears, Roebuck "SR" insignia on the prism, matching lens cases and original lens cap — a wonderful bit of Space Age industrial design also seen on Sears typewriters. The matching cases and accessories make this a particularly cohesive period outfit. This camera and ALL FOUR lenses have been personally shot and film tested by me, some extensively. Actual photographs made with this outfit are included and identified by lens. This is not merely an old camera pulled from a drawer and dry-fired to check operation. The outfit includes: • Sears TLS Black Paint black paint 35mm SLR • Auto Sears 55mm f/1.4 — fast normal lens, likely thorium-bearing glass • Auto Sears 28mm f/2.8 — wide angle • Auto Sears 135mm f/2.8 — short telephoto/Portrait lens • Auto Sears 300mm f/5.5 — long telephoto with rotating tripod collar • Vivitar Automatic 3x teleconverter • Original period cases as pictured • Sears Neck Strap • Original Sears Owners Pamphlet Condition: Camera Body M 42 Mount. Shutter speeds have not been measured but all test fine to the ear and have worked well in the field. The internal light meter is inoperative, so exposure must be determined externally. The outfit shows honest cosmetic wear consistent with its age, including attractive brassing and minor dents. Flash sync port x fires an electronic flash. The original self-timer lever is missing. I have not tested the self-timer, as I generally avoid operating these mechanisms on vintage cameras because they can jam. A replacement black-painted lever, with a damaged button screw shaft, is included for completeness. Logo Case and original Sears Neck strap Lenses-All M42 Sears branded, believed to be their Ricoh Rikenan counterparts. Extremely high-quality construction here throughout. They are substantial, unique and create some fine imagery. All have "Auto/Manual" switches if you want to use them with adapters for other non M42 applications. A HUGE plus. The 55mm f/1.4 is particularly interesting, with its fast aperture, beautiful construction, and likely thorium-bearing optical glass. These lenses have long been reputed to contain thorium, and the characteristic yellow cast of this example strongly suggests it does. I have not verified this with a radiation meter. Original Sears Atom logo lens cap, shockingly clean for its age. Minor coating/cleaning spots on rear element. The 28mm f/2.8 is the one that I have shot most extensively. Minor marks on the front element, a nice clean lens that has rendered wonderfully and cinematically in the street applications that I have used it in. Rear cap only and fitted logo case The 135mm f/2.8 has minor dust and cleaning marks and to me, is very clean for its age. Renders wonderfully and is a nice fast portrait lens (although I have used it mostly for street) front and rear caps and fitted logo case The 300mm f5.5 is a beast of a solid lens. The rotating collar tripod mount makes this great for landscape use. The glass is very clean with minor dust. The quality of the construction of this lens is mindblowing, down to the integrated sliding flocked lens hood. Front and rear caps and fitted logo case. Vivitar 3x Teleconverter, Made in Japan. I don't know who manufactured this for Vivitar, and I don't use Teleconverters, so while this looks fine, I cannot vouch for its effectiveness as it is untested nor have I mounted it to these lenses. It did however come with this outfit when I acquired it, so I assume it has been used with it. A wonderfully complete, distinctive vintage outfit — And just so cool to both shoot and display. Cash Only Local pickup in Murray Hill

Oct 19, 2026 $275.00

Location: New York, NY

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