Ricoh GX100

[galavanter]

I find myself very interested in the GRD, Gx100, and/or maybe the DP1. From my limited reading the DP1 is not supposed to be "good" at black and white though(maybe wrong), and 28 would not be my first lens choice. The speed of the lens I could probably live with. I think it's admirable that Sigma listened and added the viewfinder later.
I'm one of those people hoping the GX100 doesn't have "improved" noise performance, but retains the GRD's film like grain. Faster write times and 1600 RAW would be nice too. I have seen so many cool pictures with the GRD in B/W, and I think it's great (younger?) people have made it a cult camera.
I want a small fun camera I can shoot out my window when I'm driving and take pictures of waitresses in diners without making a scene.
Just last night I was on Reid's site reading his review of the Leica D-LUX 3. There's another fellow, Mitch Alland, who contributed to the review, who uses the D-LUX 3 and the GRD and has some great B/W pics. Says he hasn't shot his M6's since. One pic of a beautiful woman in Thailand had me saying yeah, sell all this RF stuff, get a GRD (or whatever), hop a plane and go to Bangkok.
We are all gonna die and then where will the moments be? <Composes himself>
Thus far I have seen very few M8 pics that have really captured my imagination, so smooth and highly resolved are they.
I even purchased a copy of Robert Frank's The Americans after Reid recommended it (especially when I found out Jack Kerouac wrote the intro) and I doubt there is a photo in there (IMHO) that the GRD couldn't have produced, mood wise. Course Frank would have to be doing the shooting. Kerouac's favorite (and now mine), the female elevator operator staring into space, is full of grain and blurry. Says Kerouac, "That little ole lonely elevator girl looking up sighing in an elevator full of blurred demons, what's her name and address?"
It seems to me that these two companies have started a move towards the digital equivalent of the fixed lens film cameras that people still prize. This Sigma might be great. I hope it is. A Faster 35mm version could be next. Ricoh deserves much credit as well. And to think the dpr review panned the GRD. Not one B/W picture in the sample gallery. Nothin' but pixel peepers over there.
Oh and you do realize that not long after the GX100 was announced, a fellow on dpr said since the viewfinder is detachable and electronic, a simple cable option would allow one to have the viewfinder to their eye and point the camera anywhere. Whatever, I'm sure Oakley sunglasses is working on it now.
I even emailed Ricoh to ask if the GX100 has B/W mode and if the viewfinder is in B/W then. It does and it is. (Yes it will Bill.)

[srtiwari]

Galavanter, I am looking for the same GRD/Gx100 etc, but think 'noise' should be as little as possible. Unfortunately, it is present because there is minimal sharpening in camera. Your info. about the B/W and the viewfinder makes it even more attractive.
I just bought a Fuji F30, and I love it for the Low light shooting one can do, but its only 6 mp.Maybe I should look into the Sigma DP1

[pvdhaar]

Originally Posted by andersju

But still very compact with the CV 28/35 mini-finder:
http://x.unix.se/etc/gr01.jpg
http://x.unix.se/etc/gr03.jpg

I'm sure it's compact, but that's not the point for me. A Konica Hexar AF isn't compact either, but the finder with the projected and motorized parallax corrected framelines is such a joy to use..

[IGMeanwell]

New Test photos here

http://www.letsgodigital.org//html/r...st-photos.html

Not perfect... but promising the ISO 1600 is better

[malland]

Originally Posted by galavanter

...Thus far I have seen very few M8 pics that have really captured my imagination, so smooth and highly resolved are they...

I've been using small sensor cameras (Ricoh GR-D and Leica D-Lux 3) because I like the "35mm aesthetic". The M8 seems to me to produce images that have the look of medium format film, which means that with the M8 I would have to shoot at ISO1250 or ISO2500. So far the GR-D and D-Lux 3 give me the results that I want.



—Mitch/Perth
http://www.flickr.com/photos/10268776@N00/

[galavanter]

Hey it's himself! That's a nice shot. "35 mm aesthetic", I guess that's what I meant too. You think the M8 noise is as filmlike as the GRD or R-D1? Not from what I have seen so far.

Originally Posted by malland

I've been using small sensor cameras (Ricoh GR-D and Leica D-Lux 3) because I like the "35mm aesthetic". The M8 seems to me to produce images that have the look of medium format film, which means that with the M8 I would have to shoot at ISO1250 or ISO2500. So far the GR-D and D-Lux 3 give me the results that I want.

—Mitch/Perth
http://www.flickr.com/photos/10268776@N00/

[jobo]

I have one on preorder, will try to make the most of the two weeks before a possible no-fault return. Don't know when it arrives, will start a thread then...

/J

[srtiwari]

Jobo, do you mean a GX100 ? Who did you order thru ? I am thinking of Adorama. I am still vacillating between the (unknown) GX100, and the D-Lux 3. They are both the same price.

[Revolucion Artistico]

Hey just saw this auction 250106846492 shipped from japan $799 with 12 available.

[malland]

Originally Posted by galavanter

Hey it's himself! That's a nice shot. "35 mm aesthetic", I guess that's what I meant too. You think the M8 noise is as filmlike as the GRD or R-D1? Not from what I have seen so far.

Thanks. I haven't tried an M8, but from reading Sean Reid's reviews and looking at other people's pcitures it seems that M8 pictures have the look of medium-format film.

—Mitch/Paris
http://www.flickr.com/photos/10268776@N00/

[jobo]

Originally Posted by srtiwari

Jobo, do you mean a GX100 ? Who did you order thru ? I am thinking of Adorama. I am still vacillating between the (unknown) GX100, and the D-Lux 3. They are both the same price.

Yes, a GX100. Being in Europe, I order locally. Customs fees are still higher than the price difference.
I also had a D-lux 3 on my shortlist, but didn't like the smearing in JPEG mode at high ISOs. Also, the zoom on the GX100 has steps corresponding to sensible FL equivalents (24,28,35,50,72 IIRC), so it should be real easy to add corresponding external viewfinders. Glass viewfinders rule...

[nikola]

Can anyone guess where sample pictures on Ricoh site were taken?

[ChrisN]

Originally Posted by Revolucion Artistico

Hey just saw this auction 250106846492 shipped from japan $799 with 12 available.

US$799 plus postage; does not include the viewfinder.

[nikola]

Can anyone guess where sample pictures on Ricoh site were taken?

first hint: Croatia

[NVARon]

Adorama may actually have this in stock now

[Terao]

I have one, evaluating it for my parents (Ricoh GR-D owners)

To answer some of the questions:

1. Yes it does B&W in camera

2. It has the same excellent ergonomics as the GR-D (well, more or less the same)

3. RAW write speed is about 5 seconds for a 10mp RAW. A massive improvement on the GR-D. That's also writing a Fine quality JPG. For me I think just about bearable in the real world, bearing in mind I'm used to shooting with an R-D1

4. Nowhere near as well-built as the GR-D

5. AF is a bit noisy

6. EVF is OK, nothing special but almost reproduces that accesory finder feel. Tonnes of diopter adjustment and eyepoint is reasonable for this glasses wearer. Not as good as the optical v/f on the GR-D but a good and innovative solution

7. I haven't done a side-by-side comparison with the GR-D but my gut feeling is that optically its nowhere close but then it is a zoom so what do you expect?

8. Same old ISO noise, visible at 160 upwards

At the moment its just about a keeper, just need to check with my parents that the EVF is up to scratch

[galavanter]

Thanks for the report. Could you elaborate on the differences in build quality? They appear to be so similar. Are you referring to what one person has said is a loose lens assembly? It's not a "brick" like the GRD?

It would be great if you could do a side by side image comparison (You'd be the first). A raw shot of same subject with GRD and one with GX100 at 28 equivalent. Some low light B&W shots would be nice too.

Viewfinder is in B&W when in that mode? Ricoh said it is in a response to my email.

Raw speed improvement is good news. I hear it does 1600 ISO raw files too, something the GRD lacked.

I also have the R-D1 and am close to ordering the GX100. I also sometimes think of selling the R-D1 and saving for a M8, but the files don't say "street" to me at all, and I don't want to spend 5 grand on a camera only to dirty up the files later in PS.

I have to get a new printer and see how these cameras print. You know a 10mp small sensor compared to the R-D1 6mp large sensor. I'm confused. Maybe if I print M8 files all at 30' X 40' I will get the desired effect.

Originally Posted by Terao

I have one, evaluating it for my parents (Ricoh GR-D owners)

To answer some of the questions:

1. Yes it does B&W in camera

2. It has the same excellent ergonomics as the GR-D (well, more or less the same)

3. RAW write speed is about 5 seconds for a 10mp RAW. A massive improvement on the GR-D. That's also writing a Fine quality JPG. For me I think just about bearable in the real world, bearing in mind I'm used to shooting with an R-D1

4. Nowhere near as well-built as the GR-D

5. AF is a bit noisy

6. EVF is OK, nothing special but almost reproduces that accesory finder feel. Tonnes of diopter adjustment and eyepoint is reasonable for this glasses wearer. Not as good as the optical v/f on the GR-D but a good and innovative solution

7. I haven't done a side-by-side comparison with the GR-D but my gut feeling is that optically its nowhere close but then it is a zoom so what do you expect?

8. Same old ISO noise, visible at 160 upwards

At the moment its just about a keeper, just need to check with my parents that the EVF is up to scratch

[Lemures-Ex]

Originally Posted by galavanter

I also sometimes think of selling the R-D1 and saving for a M8, but the files don't say "street" to me at all, and I don't want to spend 5 grand on a camera only to dirty up the files later in PS.

I have to get a new printer and see how these cameras print. You know a 10mp small sensor compared to the R-D1 6mp large sensor. I'm confused. Maybe if I print M8 files all at 30' X 40' I will get the desired effect.

This is a good point you bring up. I think the higher megapixel sensors are just too clean for street photos. I'm plenty happy with my new GR-D.

[Terao]

Originally Posted by galavanter

Thanks for the report. Could you elaborate on the differences in build quality? They appear to be so similar. Are you referring to what one person has said is a loose lens assembly? It's not a "brick" like the GRD?

It would be great if you could do a side by side image comparison (You'd be the first). A raw shot of same subject with GRD and one with GX100 at 28 equivalent. Some low light B&W shots would be nice too.

Viewfinder is in B&W when in that mode? Ricoh said it is in a response to my email.

Raw speed improvement is good news. I hear it does 1600 ISO raw files too, something the GRD lacked.

I also have the R-D1 and am close to ordering the GX100. I also sometimes think of selling the R-D1 and saving for a M8, but the files don't say "street" to me at all, and I don't want to spend 5 grand on a camera only to dirty up the files later in PS.

I have to get a new printer and see how these cameras print. You know a 10mp small sensor compared to the R-D1 6mp large sensor. I'm confused. Maybe if I print M8 files all at 30' X 40' I will get the desired effect.

It feels less solid than the GR-D. Its slightly bigger but doesn't have the weight to match the size it feels. It whirrs and clicks more than the GR-D (image stabilisation) and the AF feels slower and is much noisier - once again no doubt in part due to the image stabilisation. The GR-D just feels solid in your hand. As to the lens/zoom wobble, yes its definitely there, the front element moves a fair bit under light pressure. Most zoom compacts I've used tend to do this though...

The viewfinder is in B&W. It also displays what you would see on screen, so if you run the screen naked (i.e. no information overlays) you get the equivalent of a 100% parallax-corrected optical zoom finder Admittedly its dark like all EVFs but its highly innovative.

I'll try to sort out some comparison shots today. There are high resolution samples from the GX100 in my Bessa R2S NHS set on Flickr (see my sig)

My GX100 is now up for sale on eBay - unfortunately the folks didn't get on with the EVF (they've been spoiled by the optical finder on the GR-D) so they're going to keep the GR-D...

[anglophone1]

RAW write speed is about 5 seconds for a 10mp RAW. A massive improvement on the GR-D. That's also writing a Fine quality JPG. For me I think just about bearable in the real world, bearing in mind I'm used to shooting with an R-D1

I've just received my GX100 today, I had held off on GRD [I am a longtime GR1 user] because of RAW write speed.
I'm finding the GX100 taking around 8-10 secs for a 10 mp RAW, far too long!
So far .although its cute, I'm not sure if its my Gr1 replacement.....................
Clive
www.clive-evans.com

[Terao]

Clive,

What card are you using? I use a Sandisk Extreme 2 with the camera set to RAW+JPG(FINE) and stopwatched I'm getting a shot to shot cycle time of 6-7 seconds

[Terao]

Ok, here are some side by side comparison shots
Quite apart from how appallingly dirty my windows are and how untidy the flat is they're unremarkable. Subjectively I'd say that the GX100 has less chroma noise @ high ISOs...

http://www.flickr.com/photos/kiloran...7600160974188/

[anglophone1]

Terao
Good point, only used a noname 2gb card that came bundled with camera .
I use 1gb extreme 111s on my rd 1, will try one.....................
Thanks!
Clive
www.clive-evans.com

[matthewsyip]

Hi

I got mine as well for 3 days. My impression is I need to click up contrast and sharpness in image settings to get GRD like image quality. That means the default setting is a bit on the less contrasty and soft side.

Make a brief search of GX100 at flickr and you shall be able to find lots of GX100 pics there already. One guy there with attractive pics also commented that he had all contrast, sharpness and color depth click up to maximum.

I would also agree on noise quality, its like film grain, visible from as low as 100 (on dark areas, not unpleasant IMO) up, even at 800/1600 chrome noise is very well controlled. That's what I can say.

Raw write time with Extreme III SD is ~5 secs with my stop watch. And you can fire another RAW right away. No dedicated RAW buffer I suppose but 5 sec with an P&S compact is not bad as well.

2 interesting things I also noted,

1) On playback after shot, overexposed areas in pictures keep flashing between black and white. Will stop flashing when I zoom into the pics. Downloaded full size images on PC are of course normal. Don't know whether it is a default overexpose warning or a firmware issue.

2) In setting the two MY1/MY2 custom settings, the MY1 can be set to whether settings you prefer even with aperture priority. However, if I set the MY2 to aperture priority and other preference, the shutter speed just does not change automatically according to aperture change, it keep at the previous Manual mode shutter speed! So I just set MY2 to P mode and other settings. Don't know whether your model show the same.

Let's keep posting on new findings...

Cheers
Matthew

[Terao]

Flashing overexposure warning is a display option. Press the display icon (looks like this IOI )to cycle through the options...