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FUN with Ricoh GR!!!
- Thread starter roanjoh
- Start date
J
JohnW
Guest
Maggie, are you familiar with the work of Walt Odets? I really enjoy his photography and thought you might, too.
In my view, he raises photography of family, friends, and everyday life to an art form. Nothing much happens in his photos, but I find them engaging.
Have a look at Walt Odets Photography Home.
John
J
JohnW
Guest
I go out looking for photographs, but he appears to find them right where he is.
I also like his presentation and that wonderful West Coast light.
John
Maggie O
Active member
biglouis
Well-known member
A SMALL PERSONAL REVIEW WITH SOME PHOTOGRAPHS (AS WELL)
Well, I have had the GR for nearly two weeks and used it pretty much every day.
Its main advantage to me is the size. I have always wanted a small camera with good IQ that I can slip into my work-bag and take with me everywhere. The GR definitely ticks both boxes. The IQ is without doubt very good up to about iso1600 and I have taken to not just putting it into my bag but carrying it in my suit jacket pocket. The form factor - not necessarily a justification alone for buying such a camera - is excellent. The retracting lens means that you are left with a 'candy bar' shape not unlike some of the earlier mobile phone handsets. Build quality is nothing short of lovely.
The menu-system (and therefore firmware) on the GR puts other manufacturers to shame. It is not enough to cram a good sensor in an excellent form fact but Ricoh have not skimped on the controls in both software or hardware. I personally find the menu system logically set out but it is fair to say that with so many options some users will find it daunting. OTOH I have yet to crack open the manual other than to confirm that the camera does not come with a battery charger.
Talking of batteries, for me this is a bonus. The GR uses its own version of BP-41 which is becoming increasingly easy to find via third party suppliers. It also means that for me (maybe not for you) I now have one charger and a supply of batteries that support the GR and my two Sigma DPM compacts (2M & 3M). Obviously, I am disappointed that an external charger is not supplied and indeed the USB cable uses a mini connector which I find difficult to insert (I've done it once and I am glad I will never have to do it again as I have chargers gallore for the BP-41s thanks to my my Sigma camera).
The camera is very highly specified when it comes to both buttons and software controls. There are almost too many buttons to assign as well as the four way central controller. On top of that the addition of the TAV exposure setting and three customisable settings on the exposure wheel are very good. And by the way, it took me a lot of fiddling to work out how to set up customisable buttons on my RX1 (and I needed advice from the web despite the manual) whereas on the GR the firmware makes it very easy to understand (well done Ricoh!).
Price is by far the easiest point to comment on. The camera itself is very (very!) keenly priced for what it is. I was fortunate to purchase mine in the UK for about GBP50 below the RRP and I am sure there are other deals out there. In any case the price point is, imho, the best value for money compact out there, when you consider the sensor.
OK, well it has to come down to the sensor if you are a serious camera user. I am now the owner of four different compacts, whereas previously I was the owner of a camera system. Don't ask me how it has grown to this but it just has. Instead of carrying a body and three lenses, I now tend to carry three compacts. Anyway, the sensor is very good indeed. Captures, properly focussed and exposed are sharp right down to the pixel level. There is a definite absence of 'digital-smear'. Colours are difficult to comment on. I never work in JPG only in RAW. The RAW files from the GR are very flat indeed when first viewed. However they contain enormous detail in both the shadow area and highlights can be recovered well. I have not yet worked out the vagaries of the exposure system. It could be that I can get RAW images that are more colourful and with a wider dynamic range and I must explore this (or take advice from you, the reader on how to do this).
I think the results speak for themselves. I now have a camera, capable of (dare I say it?) professional results good enough for web or magazine (maybe not for billboards) which is pocketable, built to a high standard and for what it is a relatively cheap investment. Although the files are only 16mpx I can crop quite easily and indeed so far a lot of my photographs have ended up as 1x1.
Taken yesterday around my stamping group of Whitechapel and Spitalfields, East End of London. RAW processed in LR5 and NIK suite.
Well, I have had the GR for nearly two weeks and used it pretty much every day.
Its main advantage to me is the size. I have always wanted a small camera with good IQ that I can slip into my work-bag and take with me everywhere. The GR definitely ticks both boxes. The IQ is without doubt very good up to about iso1600 and I have taken to not just putting it into my bag but carrying it in my suit jacket pocket. The form factor - not necessarily a justification alone for buying such a camera - is excellent. The retracting lens means that you are left with a 'candy bar' shape not unlike some of the earlier mobile phone handsets. Build quality is nothing short of lovely.
The menu-system (and therefore firmware) on the GR puts other manufacturers to shame. It is not enough to cram a good sensor in an excellent form fact but Ricoh have not skimped on the controls in both software or hardware. I personally find the menu system logically set out but it is fair to say that with so many options some users will find it daunting. OTOH I have yet to crack open the manual other than to confirm that the camera does not come with a battery charger.
Talking of batteries, for me this is a bonus. The GR uses its own version of BP-41 which is becoming increasingly easy to find via third party suppliers. It also means that for me (maybe not for you) I now have one charger and a supply of batteries that support the GR and my two Sigma DPM compacts (2M & 3M). Obviously, I am disappointed that an external charger is not supplied and indeed the USB cable uses a mini connector which I find difficult to insert (I've done it once and I am glad I will never have to do it again as I have chargers gallore for the BP-41s thanks to my my Sigma camera).
The camera is very highly specified when it comes to both buttons and software controls. There are almost too many buttons to assign as well as the four way central controller. On top of that the addition of the TAV exposure setting and three customisable settings on the exposure wheel are very good. And by the way, it took me a lot of fiddling to work out how to set up customisable buttons on my RX1 (and I needed advice from the web despite the manual) whereas on the GR the firmware makes it very easy to understand (well done Ricoh!).
Price is by far the easiest point to comment on. The camera itself is very (very!) keenly priced for what it is. I was fortunate to purchase mine in the UK for about GBP50 below the RRP and I am sure there are other deals out there. In any case the price point is, imho, the best value for money compact out there, when you consider the sensor.
OK, well it has to come down to the sensor if you are a serious camera user. I am now the owner of four different compacts, whereas previously I was the owner of a camera system. Don't ask me how it has grown to this but it just has. Instead of carrying a body and three lenses, I now tend to carry three compacts. Anyway, the sensor is very good indeed. Captures, properly focussed and exposed are sharp right down to the pixel level. There is a definite absence of 'digital-smear'. Colours are difficult to comment on. I never work in JPG only in RAW. The RAW files from the GR are very flat indeed when first viewed. However they contain enormous detail in both the shadow area and highlights can be recovered well. I have not yet worked out the vagaries of the exposure system. It could be that I can get RAW images that are more colourful and with a wider dynamic range and I must explore this (or take advice from you, the reader on how to do this).
I think the results speak for themselves. I now have a camera, capable of (dare I say it?) professional results good enough for web or magazine (maybe not for billboards) which is pocketable, built to a high standard and for what it is a relatively cheap investment. Although the files are only 16mpx I can crop quite easily and indeed so far a lot of my photographs have ended up as 1x1.
Taken yesterday around my stamping group of Whitechapel and Spitalfields, East End of London. RAW processed in LR5 and NIK suite.
Tonygamble
Member
Louis,
I don't want to highjack this thread OT and I'll start another one if needed.
I bought the GR two weeks ago like you. I am wondering whether to buy the SP3 to complement it and use if for interior portraits. The GR doing the wide establishing shots and the SP3 the close head shots. People say that the SP3 is struggling before it gets to 1600 ISO. Is that your experience?
A quick answer will determine whether I ought to start another thread.
Tony
SW6
I don't want to highjack this thread OT and I'll start another one if needed.
I bought the GR two weeks ago like you. I am wondering whether to buy the SP3 to complement it and use if for interior portraits. The GR doing the wide establishing shots and the SP3 the close head shots. People say that the SP3 is struggling before it gets to 1600 ISO. Is that your experience?
A quick answer will determine whether I ought to start another thread.
Tony
SW6
Maggie O
Active member
J
JohnW
Guest
Last edited:
J
JohnW
Guest
Sorry. Should be OK now. - John
These shots have been so inspiring. I was an early GR adopter, but was really using it as a work camera....recording, cataloging, etc.
After browsing this gallery repeatedly, I made up my mind to only shoot the GR for a while and put aside my other cameras.
Thanks for all for sharing.
After browsing this gallery repeatedly, I made up my mind to only shoot the GR for a while and put aside my other cameras.
Thanks for all for sharing.
biglouis
Well-known member
Maggie, that is (or rather was) one of my favourite lenses on my M8 - I assume it is the first version CV 50/1.5?
When they announced the new one I was almost tempted to go back to Leica just for that lens.
Nice photograph, and nice memory for me.
LouisB
Nice shots. This is a very wise decision I think, Rich. I still think it's a refreshing relief to go simple. I think we all are hit from the society's Development, to think that what you have isn't enough, and we all are getting spoiled by the thought, that this new camera, this new lense, this new... almost will save our life, make us to be more artistic than ever, but perhaps its the other way around. We never settle down and relax with what we have, and exploit it out in the edges, because before that happen, then something new comes around and distract our mind (and the creativeness of our soul, as the biggest issue). What seems to be a freedom (of choices) seems instead to be mental jail of distraction and unsatisfaction of (artificial created) needs.
And the GR has the capacity to be a very strong Tool it feels like. And for us, (at least for men..at the most) we just have turn our back towards "the new and bigger car/gun-syndrome", and instead let the smile grow that we can carry around such a strong, and though such a small tool, in our pocket or in the belt, ready for the real life out there, patiently waiting for us.
Thorkil
J
JohnW
Guest
Louis,
Very good mini-review. I don't think you'll find much disagreement in this thread. In fact, probably not much anywhere. The only negative I've heard about the GR is its relatively slow low light AF. Otherwise, it seems to be one of the most universally praised cameras we've seen in a while.
I'll just add to, or expand on, your point about image quality. I've owned many digital cameras, including a few full frame, and the GR has been somewhat of a revelation for me. Others I've had may offer what could be considered technically superior files, but there is something about the character or rendering of the GR files that I find particularly pleasing.
I don't know the technical language to describe sensor/lens characteristics, but the GR files have a "depth" that I don't see in other cameras I've owned. In particular, I'm fond of the GR whites and lighter tones, which have a welcome richness or creaminess. The roll-off from mid-tones to white is also particularly good; far more pleasing that the rather abrupt transition I see in my Nex 7 system.
All-in-all, I'm wowed by the GR. For sure the best, or at least favorite, digital package I've owned. And to think we've got all that in our pocket or purse or small belt case. Like I've said before, I only wish I could find something comparable in 50mm or short tele.
John
Very good mini-review. I don't think you'll find much disagreement in this thread. In fact, probably not much anywhere. The only negative I've heard about the GR is its relatively slow low light AF. Otherwise, it seems to be one of the most universally praised cameras we've seen in a while.
I'll just add to, or expand on, your point about image quality. I've owned many digital cameras, including a few full frame, and the GR has been somewhat of a revelation for me. Others I've had may offer what could be considered technically superior files, but there is something about the character or rendering of the GR files that I find particularly pleasing.
I don't know the technical language to describe sensor/lens characteristics, but the GR files have a "depth" that I don't see in other cameras I've owned. In particular, I'm fond of the GR whites and lighter tones, which have a welcome richness or creaminess. The roll-off from mid-tones to white is also particularly good; far more pleasing that the rather abrupt transition I see in my Nex 7 system.
All-in-all, I'm wowed by the GR. For sure the best, or at least favorite, digital package I've owned. And to think we've got all that in our pocket or purse or small belt case. Like I've said before, I only wish I could find something comparable in 50mm or short tele.
John