GX100: Excellent review by Sean Reid

[Guest malland]

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Sean has just posted an excellent review — one of his best — of the Ricoh GX100, which to me is a landmark camera in its many excellent quallities, among them great handling characteristics, a high quality lens, and a "stepped zoom" that allows setting the lens at 24, 28, 35, 50, and 72 EFOV, which is important for experienced photograohers who are used to work with prime lenses. As I bought the lens last Tuesday in Tokyo because I found it on sale until August 31 at Yodobashi Camera for US$580 with the EVF, I thought that this is the camera that like would have produced if it were an innovative company, but I already thought that about the Ricoh GR-D.

 

As some of you know from my earlier posting I have been attatracted to small sensor canmeras because of gtheir film-look in B&W, and their great depth of field is an asset for street photography. Indeed it was an article on Sean's site that alretted me to the fact that small sensor cameras need not be mindless point and shoots, but rather a new format, the way the Leica was a new format in the 1920s.

 

Here is the first GX100 picture, shot at ISO 400, that I have printed:

 

 

—Mitch/Bangkok

Mitch Alland's slideshow on Flickr

[Maggie_O]

Looks good, Mitch.

 

I'll second the endorsement of Sean's review, too.

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[hankg]

A 50 or 35 equivalent lens that can be used with good optical viewfinders (1.0 for the CV 50) and 2 custom settings to save the lens, aperture and hyper focal distances. I think my wife's point & shoot digital needs replacing:)

[J_Brittenson]

I love mine! Recently brought it alongside the M8 to Australia:

 

 

 

[Guest stnami]

............ I will stick with the GRD and the 28mm for now,,,,,,,,,,I don't want to take a step back(physically) from my subjects

[sean_reid]

............ I will stick with the GRD and the 28mm for now,,,,,,,,,,I don't want to take a step back(physically) from my subjects

 

That's the million dollar question, for sure. If a 28 mm EFOV works well, the GR makes a lot of sense (and rumor has it that the new version will have a RAW buffer). The GX is a great alternative for people who want to work at other focal lengths and it is much faster in RAW mode than the current GR.

 

Cheers,

 

Sean

[sean_reid]

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Sean has just posted an excellent review — one of his best — of the Ricoh GX100, which to me is a landmark camera in its many excellent quallities, among them great handling characteristics, a high quality lens, and a "stepped zoom" that allows setting the lens at 24, 28, 35, 50, and 72 EFOV, which is important for experienced photograohers who are used to work with prime lenses. As I bought the lens last Tuesday in Tokyo because I found it on sale until August 31 at Yodobashi Camera for US$580 with the EVF, I thought that this is the camera that like would have produced if it were an innovative company, but I already thought that about the Ricoh GR-D.

 

As some of you know from my earlier posting I have been attatracted to small sensor canmeras because of gtheir film-look in B&W, and their great depth of field is an asset for street photography. Indeed it was an article on Sean's site that alretted me to the fact that small sensor cameras need not be mindless point and shoots, but rather a new format, the way the Leica was a new format in the 1920s.

 

Here is the first GX100 picture, shot at ISO 400, that I have printed:

 

 

—Mitch/Bangkok

Mitch Alland's slideshow on Flickr

 

Thanks Mitch. As I wrote you earlier today, your pictures were often in my mind as I was writing this review.

 

Cheers,

 

Sean

[sean_reid]

Looks good, Mitch.

 

I'll second the endorsement of Sean's review, too.

 

Thanks Maggie.

 

Cheers,

 

Sean

[Maggie_O]

If I didn't already have a D-Lux 3 and a comfortable way of working with it, I'd plump for the Ricoh.

 

Oddly enough, the D-Lux 3 is just about the perfect camera to use with bifocal progressive glasses. And I loves me some 16:9.

 

Sean, keep up the great work! Your writing is a marvel of clarity and should be cherished by any photographer looking for the straight dope. Thank you.

[Guest malland]

A 50 or 35 equivalent lens that can be used with good optical viewfinders (1.0 for the CV 50) and 2 custom settings to save the lens, aperture and hyper focal distances. I think my wife's point & shoot digital needs replacing:)

In my mind neither the GR-D nor the GX100 should be characterized and point and shoots "for the missus": maybe I'm reading you wrong Hank, but I read you statement as similar to whart someone wrote on tis forum about the GR-D: "an okay camera for my wife bur..." Besides the sexist the sexist slur of the latter statement, and not your's, I hope, the idea that these cameras are point and shoots does not do justice to the small sensor format: these are serious, and innovtive, cameras — and a new format as seminal as the Leica III series of cameras.

 

Indeed Ricoh has been highly innovtive: in 1996 they introduced the GR1, a GR-D-sized 35mm film camera with a superb 28mm lens folllowed by the GR21, which has the same size with a 21mm lens. These two cameras became cult classics, and sold very well in Japan, where the GR-D, with its 28mm EFOV lens and surprisingly excellent 21mm adapter lens, intended as the digital replacement for the GR film cameras. As far as I'm aware Moriyama Daido, one of Jaoan's foremost photographers, and my favourite, has used the GR1 and and GR21 almost exclusively: there is an interesting essay in his recent book, Buenos Aires, in which an Argentinian photographer who accompanied a local interpreter to meer the photographer writes how surprised be was when he met Moriyama: he had been loking foward to the "complex cameras" he thought that the famous photographer "from the land of high-tech gadgets" would have — instead Moriyma put down two cigarette-packet sized "toys" on the cafe table, the GR1 and the GR21.

 

Incidentally, when in Tokyo last week, I alsi bought two new Moriyama books: Danger Zone/Erotika — nothiing erotic in the Araki sense, but only, as the essay states, "striping cities bare" — and Hawai, as 400+ page bok. I htink both are very good, and a must for people interested in either Moriyama or street photography. There are so many more good photography books published in Jaoan than from anywhere else, and I wish they were more easliy available abroad. These two books can be ordered from Amazon/Japan (http://www.amazon.co.jp), on which there is a choice for English on the home page, but the shipping cost is rather expensive.

 

Finally, Imants, I agree what you say about being close to the subject, but nevertheless, sometimes one wants to reduce what's in the frame for which the 21 and 22mm EFOVs are just to close and the 35 and 50mm are sometimes more effective for this purpose. Here is a GR-D shot from Tsukiji in Tokyo last week:

 

 

BTW, the above pciture, while fine as a TIFF, comes out a touch too dark when converted to JPG, which hapoens often to dark shots. Is there any other way to dealing with this other than lightening the pciture before converting to JPG?

 

—Mitch/Bangkok

[hankg]

In my mind neither the GR-D nor the GX100 should be characterized and point and shoots "for the missus": maybe I'm reading you wrong Hank,

 

You misinterpreted my lame attempt at humor. I was finding a justification to spend the money to get my hands on the camera to do the sort of work you are doing with it.

 

I shoot mainly with a 50 in 35mm, wide for me is a 35 so the GX100 sounds perfect.

[Guest malland]

You misinterpreted my lame attempt at humor. I was finding a justification to spend the money to get my hands on the camera to do the sort of work you are doing with it.

 

I shoot mainly with a 50 in 35mm, wide for me is a 35 so the GX100 sounds perfect.

Hank, thanks. I was really referring to someone who had made the statement some months ago: "it's only good for the wife"...or some such nonsense, and that was the entirety of his posting,

 

—Mitch/Bangkok

[Maggie_O]

Hank, thanks. I was really referring to someone who had made the statement some months ago: "it's only good for the wife"...or some such nonsense, and that was the entirety of his posting,

 

—Mitch/Bangkok

 

Me, Annie Lebiowitz and Nan Goldin tracked him down and did unspeakable things to him. :D :D

[wlaidlaw]

Having read Sean's review, I have put the GX100, which I was seriously contemplating for a back up camera, on hold. I take about 90% colour and at 200ISO and above it is just too noisy. If you convert the RAW to B&W, this may be acceptable as "grain" but to me on colour it is just plain nasty. It is why I so dislike my wife's D-Lux Mk1. The RAW write to card, although better than the GR-D is still too slow as well. I think I will wait until Sigma sort out the overheating batteries on the DP1.

 

Wilson

[Guest stnami]

............. I do wonder if the GRD fingerprint on B&W images is a bit too dominant.

I find that on some of my slide shows I have to bring in images from another camera, be film or digital in order to break up what almost seems as a monotony in tonal capture.....

[hankg]

Having read Sean's review, I have put the GX100, which I was seriously contemplating for a back up camera, on hold. I take about 90% colour and at 200ISO and above it is just too noisy. If you convert the RAW to B&W, this may be acceptable as "grain" but to me on colour it is just plain nasty. It is why I so dislike my wife's D-Lux Mk1. The RAW write to card, although better than the GR-D is still too slow as well. I think I will wait until Sigma sort out the overheating batteries on the DP1.

 

Wilson

 

I was thinking of this as a 'Tri-X in Rodinal' camera and not a back up for the M8. I never liked 35mm for color especially for high speed color negative. The M8 is more like a medium format rangefinder in that respect. The RAW write speed is the real Achilles heel. If only Leica could adapt one of the D-lux to create a small sensor camera with a big fat RAW buffer - fixed 35mm (equivalent) lens or maybe a 28-50 bi-summarit? Dream on.

 

Inmants it might be a one trick pony but I would think that's OK at this size and price.

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[vic vic]

mitch....... the new, the old ricoh (and for that matter the leica dlux2 that i have) are really cool camera ..... simply fantatstic for what they are ..... and from time to time they even make something that looks like photograph especially when they are in the hands of people who are already photographers..... if i decide to upgrade mine, probably it would be that ricoh rather than lieca dlux3 again........ for me too ..... the fixed like focals are more to my taste and there are some basic features that should work nicely for minimalist as me.......

indeed those type of cameras are funny and give some nice oprtunities to play with.......

 

but...... u tell me now......... how u come to the point thinking that ricoh (or any digi) files look like film ????

dont tell me what sean thinks....... i have no interest in it.......... sean made bombastic statements how m8 is compared to medium film ........ so knowing his statements and the files..... i simply have no interest to hear more........

now u tell me yourself........ when was the last time u holded film in your hand..... when was the last time u made fine silver print from it.......... ????? how so eassily without any thought sitting infront on computer monitor u talk about film ?????????????

 

pay attention to the words u say.......... take some responsibility about the things u say........

b/w looks like film........... what a kitsch statement..........

relax man........

[hankg]

but...... u tell me now......... how u come to the point thinking that ricoh (or any digi) files look like film ????

 

Film looks like film. The GRD files look like GRD images. M8 images look like M8 images. Use what you like.

 

If someone says the noise is film like he's just using a familiar point of comparison like saying you taste hints of black current in a wine. No one is going to confuse the wine with juice because of the comment.

 

The media an artist uses does not bestow any mystical or creative qualities on his work. So use a Holga, M8, M3 or camera phone -if you have a vision or talent it will be compelling, if not well then chemistry won't help.

[Guest stnami]

,,,,,,,,,,,,,,no use waiting for the DPGodot...............Sam can tell you that for nothing. ... the fingerprint seams to run through all their top range cameras

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[vic vic]

oh hank ...... thank u for telling me that.............

 

no...... dont agree ........ i think the implied statement is :: replace the film by some electronic junk cause the noise that it makes is just like thaht legendary old good tri-x .........

 

film is not only grain by the way........... but if one thinks that film grain (of fine or grainy films) can be replaced/emulated by electronic junk noisy then it is clear that the one simply has not much clue about the grain.......... im telling u.... it is all about sitting too much infornt of computer and thinking that it IS the REFERANCE