Ricoh GR

[tyrphoto]

I don't have a GR yet, but have been shooting with the GRD3 since 2009 and absolutely love it. It's my street photography camera of choice. Sometimes use it with the GV-1 optical viewfinder which I really like.

Subscribe to see EXIF info for this image (if available)

Subscribe to see EXIF info for this image (if available)

Subscribe to see EXIF info for this image (if available)

Subscribe to see EXIF info for this image (if available)

Subscribe to see EXIF info for this image (if available)

 

[tyrphoto]

"Under Construction"

Subscribe to see EXIF info for this image (if available)

RICOH GR DIGITAL III, 28MM, F1.9, 1/310, ISO 64

 

[tyrphoto]

This is a severe crop and what looks to be a small stream is actually a river about 100 feet below.

"The River Below"

Subscribe to see EXIF info for this image (if available)

RICOH GR DIGITAL III, 28MM, F2.5, 1/217, ISO 64

 

[xdayv]

This is a severe crop and what looks to be a small stream is actually a river about 100 feet below.

"The River Below"

Subscribe to see EXIF info for this image (if available)

RICOH GR DIGITAL III, 28MM, F2.5, 1/217, ISO 64

beautiful.

 

[TransientEye]

Subscribe to see EXIF info for this image (if available)

Here is a street scene from Barcelona. I have been alternating back and forth between the GR and the E-M5 + prime, but the Ricoh is quite a lot smaller and easier to use (the E-M5 is sufficiently heavy that I usually end up using a grip for one-handed shooting, which makes it a Large Camera).

I really like the files from the Ricoh. At a pixel level they seem to be a lot sharper than the Olympus - presumably because Ricoh did not need to design for interchangeable lenses.

 

[tyrphoto]

"Gay Rights vs Church Activists @ Sinchon"

Subscribe to see EXIF info for this image (if available)

RICOH GR DIGITAL III, 28MM, F1.9, 1/620, ISO 64

 

[fmfche]

Subscribe to see EXIF info for this image (if available)

Tranquil Water by fmfche, on Flickr

I just got my GR, I'm not sure how I feel about it yet, the camera feels solid and takes nice pictures but for the price I am wondering if I would have been better off picking up a gf1 and putting my 14mm f2.5 on it instead and saving the rest of my cash for a full frame digital/medium format film option down the line.

 

[TransientEye]

The GR should give you a bit better image quality over a GF1. The sensor is newer and has more resolution, and the lens is optimised for the sensor (which makes a lot of difference away from the sensor). The camera is also a lot faster in operation, although whether this is important or not depends on what you photograph.

We currently shoot with three systems. The GR is used as a daily street camera, largely for its size and speed (with manual/zone focus technique). The u4/3 kit is used for travel, particularly if a wide range of lenses are needed (for example, fieldwork). The full-frame kit is used for very low light and more artistic images. Each fills a specific niche.

I think that the GR complements a full-frame camera well, but there is a lot more overlap with a u4/3 camera and pancake lens.

 

[TransientEye]

Subscribe to see EXIF info for this image (if available)

Subscribe to see EXIF info for this image (if available)

A couple of recent street images, from Barcelona. Both taken with the Ricoh GR, which I am now using in preference to the E-M5 thanks to the smaller weight and less conspicuous size. I am currently trying to run a series of daily street images on my blog, and probably 90% of these are from the Ricoh - the remainder split between the E-M5 and Canon 5D (which are used if I need a different focal length).

 

[bigboysdad]

This is a great thread. I think of the concept of how the GR would be used and can't help thinking how it would compare to using an E-PL5 body and an Olympus 12mm/17mm generally and using the Oly snap focus feature on those lenses. Anyone have experience of using both systems who is able to provide a comparison (I mean in practical use)?

 

[tyrphoto]

The "snap focus" feature of the Ricoh GR series is different than what Olympus refers to as "snap focus" of their lenses.

What makes Ricoh a great street photography camera and one of it's features that sets it apart from most other cameras, is it's ability to choose a predetermined hyper focal distance and with a one stroke press on the shutter, have everything in focus at the distance that you've set. No need to mess with a manual focus ring at all. It's a truly wonderful feature of the Ricoh and it's worth buying a Ricoh just for this one feature. The fact that it's user interface is absolutely brilliant, produces gorgeous B&W files as well as producing DNG files that have a great deal of latitude during post process makes it almost a no brainer if you can live with the 28mm focal length.

IMO, it's the ultimate street photography camera, more so than even a Leica.

This is a great thread. I think of the concept of how the GR would be used and can't help thinking how it would compare to using an E-PL5 body and an Olympus 12mm/17mm generally and using the Oly snap focus feature on those lenses. Anyone have experience of using both systems who is able to provide a comparison (I mean in practical use)?

 

[bigboysdad]

The "snap focus" feature of the Ricoh GR series is different than what Olympus refers to as "snap focus" of their lenses.

What makes Ricoh a great street photography camera and one of it's features that sets it apart from most other cameras, is it's ability to choose a predetermined hyper focal distance and with a one stroke press on the shutter, have everything in focus at the distance that you've set. No need to mess with a manual focus ring at all. It's a truly wonderful feature of the Ricoh and it's worth buying a Ricoh just for this one feature. The fact that it's user interface is absolutely brilliant, produces gorgeous B&W files as well as producing DNG files that have a great deal of latitude during post process makes it almost a no brainer if you can live with the 28mm focal length.

IMO, it's the ultimate street photography camera, more so than even a Leica.

Thank you for that response which has really fueled thoughts of selling my 12mm/14mm/17mm lenses & buying the GR with the proceeds. That way, I keep my m43 body & remaining non-wide lenses (can't get out of m43 while the 75mm exists).

 

[Replytoken]

This is a great thread. I think of the concept of how the GR would be used and can't help thinking how it would compare to using an E-PL5 body and an Olympus 12mm/17mm generally and using the Oly snap focus feature on those lenses. Anyone have experience of using both systems who is able to provide a comparison (I mean in practical use)?

FWIW, I can fit my GR in my jacket's chest pocket. My E-PL5 and 14 would not fit. Big difference if you want an everyday carry camera. If that is not important to you, then the equation changes a bit.

--Ken

 

[TransientEye]

I find the GR very similar to using the E-M5 with 12mm lens, but for me, there are a couple of advantages over the Olympus.

Probably the most obvious difference is that the GR is much lighter and smaller. This makes it easy to shoot successfully holding the camera in one hand only - something also helped by the control layout. the GR is also a lot less conspicuous, and people treat you like a tourist with a cheap point-and-shoot (I think it somewhat ironic that many people now buy Leica to show off rather than to have - not exactly the best approach for street photography).

The comparison to a full-frame DSLR is more telling. With the GR it is very very easy to get candid shots on the street - people around you will realise that you are taking pictures, but you can almost always get an image of the subject before they react. With the DSLR, it is the complete opposite, and it is extremely hard to get natural images (though if you can manage to do it and control both shallow DOF, focus and composition, the results can be amazing).

For most of my street images I put the camera in to manual-focus mode, rather than using the full-press-snap. The nice thing is that it is easy to change the focus distance using the AF button at the back of the camera - i.e. the same approach as back button AF on a DSLR.

Be aware that the GR lacks many things that people take for granted with u4/3 - image stabilisation, an EVF, a tilting LCD and so on. What it does it does extraordinarily well. But it is also very specific...

-- Mark

 

[mnhoj]

Subscribe to see EXIF info for this image (if available)

shoreline_.jpg by mnhoj, on Flickr

 

[TonyZhang]

Subscribe to see EXIF info for this image (if available)

Museum by
T.Zhang, on Flickr

I love the GR, it's an amazing camera, such a shame about the recurring sensor dust problem though.

 

[bwc1976]

Awesome thread! I briefly had a GR1S in my film days, but liked the handling of my Olympus XA better, and since then I've always hoped for an affordable digital equivalent. So far the GR comes closest, and I'm beginning to wonder whether I should save up for this instead of a wide-angle prime for my E-PM1. What's this about a sensor dust problem though?

 

[TransientEye]

The cameras are supposed to be sealed, but dust inevitably ends up on the sensor and there is no built-in sensor cleaning (because it is supposed to be sealed...). The factory QC is poor and a lot of people (including me) received cameras with dust even before they started using them. You have three options:

- send the camera back if this happens (Ricoh will fix it under warranty - but not much use to me as Ricoh has no support where I live)
- clean the sensor yourself (possible, but requires non-trivial disassembly of the camera)
- fix it in post

Currently, my camera has a microscopic piece of lint that shows up in clear sky shots at narrow apertures. However, it is trivial to fix in Lightroom and for 95% of my shooting it is invisible.

 

[Replytoken]

- clean the sensor yourself (possible, but requires non-trivial disassembly of the camera)

I cannot remember if I read it at Serious Compacts, DPReview, or at the Ricoh/Pentax forum, but somebody put their GR in front of a vacuum cleaner hose with the lens extended, and claimed that it got the dust to move off the sensor when they turned on the suction. I am certainly not endorsing this method of "sensor cleaning" but found it novel (and funny) enough to share. Like you, I have generaly been fixing things in Lightroom, but having possible dust issues is annoying when there is no cleaning mechanism.

--Ken

 

[fmfche]

I cleaned my GR myself, managed to get the dust of the center but in the process added dust to the corner. I would send it in instead of taking it apart yourself. Since I have done it once myself I will probably do it again but for the time being the dust is in a part of the frame that is not as problematic.

Side note: I think I broke something on the back plate of my GR when taking it apart, the rest was easy. No visible issues from the outside but my chances of being able to use any of my warranty are probably zero. YMMV

Subscribe to see EXIF info for this image (if available)

Interstate Falls by fmfche, on Flickr

Subscribe to see EXIF info for this image (if available)

R0230838 by fmfche, on Flickr

Subscribe to see EXIF info for this image (if available)

R0230733 by fmfche, on Flickr