It's wild out, I'm cold and still not feeling great, bit better than Sunday, but the lethargy levels dictate no cycling today, or tomorrow. Feeble excuses for Blipping something in the house, rather than going out hunting.

Late November, or early December 1981, and some money received for my twenty-first (I'm getting on) is combined with many months savings to buy my first camera. This one. Nigh on thirty years later, and I still have it, and it was still working when I last used it back in 2004. I put the original kit lens on for the shot, but in reality it was little used after the first three years, or so.

A Nikon would have been my first choice, followed by a Pentax, but the budget was tight. This Ricoh was within range, and had the same mount as the Pentax (K-bayonet), so there was a good selection of quality lenses available. A favourable magazine review decided the matter.

There weren't many review sources back in those days, so such a purchase was potentially a larger gamble. Long term reviews were even rarer. Over all the years of use, the only one time it let me down was whilst on holiday, and visiting Cape Wrath. The battery for the meter ran out. In reality it hadn't. Back at the Youth Hostel, I cleaned the contacts, and it worked again... for at least fifteen years! I was greatly relieved, as the nearest camera shop was probably over 100 miles away. Carried a spare thereafter.

It's probably near worthless if I were to try and sell it, but I couldn't do that. It's like an old friend. Very little in the way of electronics, which appeals to me, despite that being my chosen career! Plenty technical advances came along, but I didn't even try any of them until using a digital camera at work, back in 2004. This camera fulfilled my requirements, and I knew how to use it.