Ricoh Steky III (c. 1950)
The Steky III is a subminiature camera from the early 1950s. It belongs to the Steky series of 16mm cameras made by Riken Optical of Tokyo, before the company took the Ricoh name in 1963. The series came out of post-war Japan, when film and processing costs were high and 16mm cameras sold well. Camerapedia notes that most of the small-format rivals were low-quality toys. The Steky was evidently a cut above that.
Documentation on the Steky III specifically is thin, and most of what survives comes from collector listings rather than period literature. The dating is uncertain. The TLRgraphy source gives 1950, while other references place the Steky III's appearance "some time between 1950 and 1952," and the later IIIB variant is dated to 1955. You can spot the IIIB by its longer shutter release lever and a cold shoe on the side, where the earlier camera has a disc for holding a filter or lens cap. Earlier serial numbers carry a "Made in Occupied Japan" stamp. Later ones simply read "Japan."
The details that are known are sparse. The camera was sold with a 40mm tele lens option. One period reference puts the price at $134 with the wide-angle lens included, and notes the base Ricoh Steky retailed at $69.95 at release. A Catawiki listing for a working Riken Steky III described it as neat, with shutter and aperture functioning, untested with film, and showing the expected signs of use for a seventy-year-old camera.
Past that, the record is mostly silent. No detailed specifications for the III - shutter speeds, aperture range, dimensions - have turned up in the sources consulted, and no period reviews of the model have been located.
Known specifications:
- Series: Steky III (later IIIB variant)
- Format: 16mm subminiature film
- Optional lens: 40mm tele
- Markings: "Model III Use 16mm film"; "Made in Occupied Japan" on early examples
- Production: c. 1950–1955 range depending on variant
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