Ricoh GR and GV-1, zone focus, 1/500, f6.3, ISO 500
The weather was back to normal in NYC, very warm and very humid. I had to run a few errands, my first opportunity to grab the GR and do a little street shooting. I was a bit nervous because I am so used to the X100s. It usually takes me a few days before I can operate a camera intuitively and I was worried that fiddling with settings would
more after the break
make me miss shots.
Nothing is more frustrating then missed opportunities because you and your camera weren’t ready.
I opted to set the GR on snap mode for zone focusing. My1 at 1.5m, My2 at 2.5m My3 at 5m. TAv mode. Auto ISO 100-6400.
All I had to do now was guess the distance I was planning to take the shot at and remember the settings. That was easy. Unlike the Fuji X’s, which have a turn limit in both directions on the shutter speed and aperture dials, the main control wheel on the Ricoh GR can be turned in either direction indefinitely. This means we have to take a quick glance at our settings before we raise the camera. Not a deal breaker at all, considering the size of the GR and the quality images it produces, I can totally live with that. After yesterday I wish Fuji would implement a snap mode in the next firmware update because it is just too easy to bump the fly-by-wire focusing ring in mf mode and ruin the shot.
Back to the GR:
I had it in snap mode the whole time and loved it, it suits my style of shooting.
Exposure metering can be tricky in snap mode-more on that in my full review.
The GV-1 OVF turned out to work well and is fairly accurate at distance from 2.5m onwards.
Keep in mind I was zone focusing and didn’t have to worry about the focus point.
So far, I really like this little camera, stay tuned…
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If in Continous C-AF you set “off” or “Priority AF”, minimum Automatic ISO starts from 100 and mo more from 400, also in TAv. I know it’s late for answering bit I bought a GR only now.
I was wondering about the ISO 400 thing as well. Turned out it’s the minimum when using continuous shooting mode. Turn it off and it will go below 400.
Hi Rory, thanks for posting this, fwiw, I have it turned off in all possible modes and am shooting raw, it doesn’t go below ISO 400 in TAV mode /:
For those having Auto ISO 400 problems, it is the Dynamic Range Compensation under the shooting settings. It is boosting the ISO up this is similar to the DR200% and DR400% on Fujis. Turning it off leaves the ISO at 100/200 or whatever you set.
Im having the same issue with my ricoh (of it not going below iso 400 and ND kicking in prematurely).
Any word from ricoh, or a solution found? really bugging me
thanks Dwayne. Nothing special, b/w conversion then split toning. I had great light on this one.
Mike, love your blog. I’d be interested in your post processing for some of these images. I really like this one in particular.
Agree. A real bummer. Let’s hope they will fix it.
Thanks, Mike. That is exactly what I found. I think it’s a shame since I would love to be able to use the TAv mode almost exclusively – one of the things that attracted me to this camera. Hopefully they will fix this in a firmware upgrade.
Thanks John. Nope, Tried it in Auto ISO and Auto ISO high, never managed to get it down below 400, the ND filter kicks in, disabling the ND filter only leads to overexposure /:
Nice shot, Mike.
Will your Ricoh GR go below ISO 400 using the auto ISO setting? Mine will not.
Yes, they all have their strengths and weaknesses. I would like a smaller camera as a companion to my DSLR, something that will fit into a coat pocket that I can always carry with me or use exclusively if I am out travelling.
The plus side of a m43 system is that I have the option to carry a portrait lens with it when travelling which would be super nice.
The Fuji just seems like a great camera and since I used to shoot with Konicas a few years back, a T4 with (mostly) a pancake 40mm f:1.8 and the (“poor man’s Leica”) Konica Auto S3 (rangefinder, 38mm lens), the Fuji would remind me of that.
The Ricoh I’m not sure of yet, it’s just an idea that shot into my head like a laserbeam a few days ago. So far I usually like the 35/40mm range better or going wider than 28mm, but maybe it would be great(?). The 21mm plus 35mm crop also seems interesting. The smaller size could be a plus as well (considering the “always in my pocket” factor). The most important thing is that it should be fun to shoot with and most people say that it is!
The price point of the Ricoh is also a big plus in my situation since if I’d buy a m43 system it would be to much better than my current Nikon D200 system, can’t have a secondary system beat my primary in that fasion. The Ricoh would be more of a complement until I can afford to upgrade to a Nikon D800 (or whichever camera it will be, Nikon has destroyed the ergonomics of the cheaper models that would otherwise suit me better considering the smaller amount of time I spend on photography these days). And a more expensive m43 (or the Fuji for that matter) would uphold my DSLR upgrade for a substantial amount of time.
Haha, a long rant…but damn it’s hard to decide!
indeed, very tough choice, what attracted me to the GR was the apsc sized sensor and the 21mm option, I sure hope the quality will hold up with the wide angle attachment.
Thanks for sharing! Nice to read some opinions and testing from the real world. I’m thinking about buying a Ricoh GR, X100s or an Olympus m43 with 17 mm which is not an easy decision.