Ricoh The Ricoh GR image thread

Pete, that sounds like a plan. For my sins, I work in London (in a "bunker" along the South Bank) and am often there, but not in shooting mode. I rarely make it as far as Docklands but I love the idea of coffee and a stroll and will take you up on it. Will there be cake? ;)
 
Lightmancer said:
Pete, that sounds like a plan. For my sins, I work in London (in a "bunker" along the South Bank) and am often there, but not in shooting mode. I rarely make it as far as Docklands but I love the idea of coffee and a stroll and will take you up on it. Will there be cake? ;)
Click to expand...

Cake? Cake?.......is the Pope a Catholic? Will mail you. Cheers
Pete
 
This is really a message for Chris Leskovsek but open to anyone really.

Using different cameras, (as most of us do) what is it about the Ricoh GR that makes it so special? I really want to get one as I find it looks perfect for street which is getting more and more of a passion for me. I have the Sony a6000, Sony RX100 Mk3 and the Panasonic LF1. The Lf1 does a pretty good job providing I get the processing right. The RX100 I find difficult to use as a street camera as I can't lock the zoom at 28mm as I would like and it's too easy to hit the zoom lever. The a6000 is very loud on the shutter and not quite discreet enough for me on the streets. I really think I need to get a GR to try it out! :)
 
Ghosthunter said:
This is really a message for Chris Leskovsek but open to anyone really.

Using different cameras, (as most of us do) what is it about the Ricoh GR that makes it so special? I really want to get one as I find it looks perfect for street which is getting more and more of a passion for me. I have the Sony a6000, Sony RX100 Mk3 and the Panasonic LF1. The Lf1 does a pretty good job providing I get the processing right. The RX100 I find difficult to use as a street camera as I can't lock the zoom at 28mm as I would like and it's too easy to hit the zoom lever. The a6000 is very loud on the shutter and not quite discreet enough for me on the streets. I really think I need to get a GR to try it out! :)
Click to expand...
Having a read of this entire thread should put you in the picture:
Ricoh GR
Plenty of contribution from Chris there as well btw.
 
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R0000532crop[.JPG

Looking east from Condo balcony. GRii.
 
Ghosthunter said:
This is really a message for Chris Leskovsek but open to anyone really.

Using different cameras, (as most of us do) what is it about the Ricoh GR that makes it so special? I really want to get one as I find it looks perfect for street which is getting more and more of a passion for me. I have the Sony a6000, Sony RX100 Mk3 and the Panasonic LF1. The Lf1 does a pretty good job providing I get the processing right. The RX100 I find difficult to use as a street camera as I can't lock the zoom at 28mm as I would like and it's too easy to hit the zoom lever. The a6000 is very loud on the shutter and not quite discreet enough for me on the streets. I really think I need to get a GR to try it out! :)
Click to expand...

Hey Andy,

sorry I missed this message! I'll try to be as short as possible,

the Ricoh GR...ahh... well, I should start saying I come from shooting compact film cameras, LCA, Contax T2, Oly XA, Oly XA2, etc, but since coming to NZ, 5 years ago, film became... impossible for me to justify in this island. A roll can cost in between $15 to $20 and develop another $10 or $15. And dont even get me started about medium film. So I needed a 'serious' digital compact, thats how I found the Fuji x100, and the M43 format which I jumped pretty heavily in it. Yet, none of those, would have the size I wanted for a TRULY pocketable camera. I should also point, that as a graphic designer by day, I also play a lot with printing images, making zines and books, so the IQ needed to be enough for me to fiddle around.

21266999636_048cd4a82a_b.jpg
. by Chris Leskovsek, on Flickr

Anyhow... I read about the GRD iii and iv, but was always put away because of the smaller sensor, I even found a GRDiii in a store here in Auckland, and the salesman would talk me out of it, but I insisted, so I tried it in the store, and even though I didnt buy it, I LOVED that when I grabbed it, it fitted like a glove on my hand. Then in 2013 came the GR with an apsc sensor and almost the same size. so I bought it blindly. I remember that a forum member here (Livnius - Joe) sent me some raw files for me to check it out and I was blown away by the IQ! Yet, the GR had another problem, it had a 28mm lens, and I was a 35-40mm type guy. I thought I could find my way around it.

14510401557_2855a95f80_b.jpg
. by Chris Leskovsek, on Flickr

So I got the camera, and immediately two things struck me, the size and the simplicity. Yet by being simple is still a completely 'pro camera' in terms of all the hundreds of possible options you have to customise the camera to your liking. Then of course it was the hyperfocal shooting mode, which no one else had done at the time, even now, no camera other than a manual focus camera has such a well implemented 'snap focus' (how Ricoh calls it) shooting. Focusing becomes instant, no delay, no af, just snap away. Then another revelation was when I dumped the files on my computer, the IQ was stunning! yet more important (to me), the BW files... oh man, it's been actually hard to me, to match my other camera (sony a7ii) bw files to feel the same as the GR ones. I believe Ricoh does some tweaking to the processing engine, which in result ends with a very unique BW files and special colors as a result of that. Some love it, some hate it. Im in the first group.

Now, the FOV, took quite some time to get used to, but when I did, I found myself moving back when shotting a 35 or a 50mm lens because of the GR 'eye training' hahah.

23955025249_d119ec5b51_b.jpg
. by Chris Leskovsek, on Flickr

Im not sure if I have replied 'why the GR is so special to ME' but it is. I have bought and sold many cameras in the past 5 years, but theres only one that I have kept and in fact re bought, and that is the GR. In fact, I'm in the wagon of people that wishes Ricoh did more cameras or expanded the GR maybe even re consider the GXR series. This is a 'photographer's' camera, meaning it only does one thing only, takes photos. There's no video in this thing, no touch screens, no EVF, no extras, sometimes it feels more 'essential' than what Leica Marketing dept would like their cameras to be, specially on a compact camera.

21433399895_58bf6b7ac5_b.jpg
. by Chris Leskovsek, on Flickr

I recently sold everything I had (except the GR) to fund a Sony RX1rii which goes for $6.3k here in NZ, which is INSANE (That's Leica territory here). I actually placed the order, but I couldn't get it, as the same day I had to pick it up Sony made the call of pulling them off the sellers. I'm glad they did, as I realised that as compact as the RX1rii is, it is NOT as compact as the GR, it doesn't have a flash (which I do use a lot with the GR) and as a result I would still hang it on my shoulders as I would with most cameras. So again, I'm back to the GR as a truly pocketable and 'serious' camera, even in 2016. I am thinking and have tried the RX100 series, but the IQ is nowhere close to the GR, I even considered a panasonic GM1 with the 20mm (my all time favorite lens from the m43 format) but yeah... at the end of the day, I just come back to the GR.

19954037165_b5e69e5f0b_b.jpg
. by Chris Leskovsek, on Flickr

I guess the only thing that would make me dump the GR is probably a 24 megapixel f2 version of the GR if that ever happens. But as with every camera is not perfect and has some faults, people have reported the 'dust' issue. I had it once, but because it came with dust from the factory, I replaced it, and I havent got any dust in 2+ almost 3 years now. Some also say the AF is not fast enough, for me is, certainly faster than an X100 camera, yet I do agree that when in Macro mode the GR hunts a lot if light is not good. But the macro on this camera is beauuutiful. when you nail it.

hope that helps. I also wrote a review about the camera for Inspired Eye magazine back in October 2013, I guess i still stand with my words on how good this little camera is.

Ricoh GR: A Pocket Journal (by Chris Leskovsek) - INSPIRED EYE

15796122449_0f037a8baa_b.jpg
. by Chris Leskovsek, on Flickr

17213454720_2f598fd6bb_b.jpg
. by Chris Leskovsek, on Flickr

16331573642_623337f554_b.jpg
. by Chris Leskovsek, on Flickr
 
Hi Chris

Thank you so much for the reply. It sounds like you have had the exact same gear as me with the X100 and Micro 4/3. I also loved the 20mm f1.7 but unless you were on a panasonic body with electronic shutter it was too slow to focus. I did have a GM1 with the 14mm f2.5 and that was great for street.

I have seen SO many great images with awesome quality, especially mono. They are very high contrast. Is this the mono Jpg setting in the camera or a processed RAW file?
 

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