T
Tony_Spencer
Guest
Hello strangers,
Plunging right into this most erudite (well, sometimes anyway ;-) of forums – after having read up on a cornucopia of viewpoints re: the GRD 1 & II.
Previous ecstatic owner of a GRD 1, I added on the pricey GV-1 viewfinder for more precise framing etc. and was somewhat underwhelmed by the accuracy. (Mind you, this is comparing it to an Imarect Finder that sits on top of my old Leica IIIF with micro-parallax adjustments etc.)
The Ricoh literature was vague and I was initially unclear why the GV-1 could not track close-shooting -- especially in macro mode. I took my questions to Ricoh directly who nicely emailed back to say that the viewfinder was designed primarily for snap mode (around 8 ft. + or –) and did not function in macro etc. I can buy that but I'm also not sure how accurate it is and there did not seem to be any adjustments for parallax etc.
I've read previous posts here and elsewhere about the design compromise of the GRD viewfinder placement vs. the flash. But that does that mean the viewfinder will always be imprecise or am I missing something.
I ask because I'm contemplating a new GRD II and wish to figure out which way to go -- GV-1 / GV-2 or au naturel LED? BTW: Just to complicate matters, I notice that Popflash is offering a GRD II kit with the 40mm lens and 40mm Voigtlander viewfinder. Has anyone tried that combination and while we're at it, will Ricoh ever create one viewfinder for all their lenses or am I right out in left depth of field?
Plunging right into this most erudite (well, sometimes anyway ;-) of forums – after having read up on a cornucopia of viewpoints re: the GRD 1 & II.
Previous ecstatic owner of a GRD 1, I added on the pricey GV-1 viewfinder for more precise framing etc. and was somewhat underwhelmed by the accuracy. (Mind you, this is comparing it to an Imarect Finder that sits on top of my old Leica IIIF with micro-parallax adjustments etc.)
The Ricoh literature was vague and I was initially unclear why the GV-1 could not track close-shooting -- especially in macro mode. I took my questions to Ricoh directly who nicely emailed back to say that the viewfinder was designed primarily for snap mode (around 8 ft. + or –) and did not function in macro etc. I can buy that but I'm also not sure how accurate it is and there did not seem to be any adjustments for parallax etc.
I've read previous posts here and elsewhere about the design compromise of the GRD viewfinder placement vs. the flash. But that does that mean the viewfinder will always be imprecise or am I missing something.
I ask because I'm contemplating a new GRD II and wish to figure out which way to go -- GV-1 / GV-2 or au naturel LED? BTW: Just to complicate matters, I notice that Popflash is offering a GRD II kit with the 40mm lens and 40mm Voigtlander viewfinder. Has anyone tried that combination and while we're at it, will Ricoh ever create one viewfinder for all their lenses or am I right out in left depth of field?