Digital P&S questions (GXR)

[msbarnes]

OK so I'm considering a P&S/Mirrorless camera.

I got "serious" with photography about a year ago and I've been enjoying the standard focal length (you know, 50mm in 35mm and 75mm/80mm in 6x6).

Well I wanted a digital P&S for fun so I grabed a Ricoh GRD III for cheap. I love the size, build, and controls, but the lens is a bit wide for me so I want something longer. Overall, I like this camera a lot and wouldn't replace it with another compact P&S (e.g. lx3/lx5 , s90/s95/s100) but I would maybe supplement it with a larger P&S/mirrorless.

I'm mostly thinking of the GXR with the A12 50mm f2.5 macro. I know it's large but If it can't fit in my pocket then I don't mind the size. I'm attracted to this camera becuse it isn't sooo expensive (~$500 with the 50mm) and I like the looks/controls of ricoh cameras.

1. Does this camera handle the same way as my GRD, but larger? I really like the customizeable buttons/functions and menus. I've heard complaints with the Fuji menu.

2. How is the autofocusing accuracy and manual focusing capabilities? 50mm is a bit long so I fear that autofocusing errors will be more obvious. Manual focusing with the GRD III is not worthwhile, but I don't mind because the DOF is large. However, with the GXR this would be a serious issue.

3. Anyone have any color samples from this lens?

 

[dovi]

GXR good. 50mm slow focusing

GXR good. 50mm slow focusing

the 50mm module is slower focusing and requires some premeditation.
It's not a rapid response lens. This is not too big a deal depending on the situation.

the 50 has less depth of field so you cannot rely on depth of field in the same way as a 28mm equivalent lens on the grd.

Build quality is incredibly sturdy. Menu system is very intuitive.


Check the return policy of the shop you plan to buy from.

The Ricoh forum on DPreview.com can answer some questions for you.

 

[Archiver]

I'm mostly thinking of the GXR with the A12 50mm f2.5 macro. I know it's large but If it can't fit in my pocket then I don't mind the size. I'm attracted to this camera becuse it isn't sooo expensive (~$500 with the 50mm) and I like the looks/controls of ricoh cameras.

1. Does this camera handle the same way as my GRD, but larger? I really like the customizeable buttons/functions and menus. I've heard complaints with the Fuji menu.

2. How is the autofocusing accuracy and manual focusing capabilities? 50mm is a bit long so I fear that autofocusing errors will be more obvious. Manual focusing with the GRD III is not worthwhile, but I don't mind because the DOF is large. However, with the GXR this would be a serious issue.

3. Anyone have any color samples from this lens?

Hey Michael,

I'll answer your questions here as well as flickr 😀

The GXR does indeed handle like an oversized GRD. The grip feels good and solid in the hand and all the buttons are in almost the same places. Besides just one or two buttons, if you like the GRD button placement you will like the GXR as well. It's probably my favourite camera for ergonomics.

The menu system is quite deep but well organized. Definitely better than the Fuji or this blasted Oly OM-D menu system! A great thing you will know from the GRD is that the GXR menu can be set to return to the place you left it before. That way you can change a setting repeatedly without having to scroll through twenty menus. Other companies (olympus, fuji, cough cough) could learn a thing or two from that.

Autofocus with the 50mm is fast and precise. It is almost as fast as the GRD III and just as accurate. It locks on in situations where the Fuji X10, X100 and OM-D fail, like tv screens and ornaments in display cabinets. The Ricoh CDAF seems to be better at picking up more subtle contrast.

Manual focus is okay, particularly when you use the latest firmware that has focus peaking for all aps-c modules. Macro focus is often best done with manual focus, too.

Colour samples are in my flickr account, although I tend to process them pretty hard for posting online. In normal shooting I find the colour and richness from the aps-c modules to be an absolute joy. The only reason why I know that the 50 and 28 have AA filters is the lack of aliasing and moire, and the colour is so rich and 'dense'. This density can be a bit of a hindrance if you want a soft, low contrast look, though.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/archiver/sets/72157627265928348/

 

[kanzlr]

The GXR is wonderful 🙂

handling is similar to the GRD, yes, but better 🙂
The 50mm AF is so-so. When the module was fresh to the market it was unusably slow, but it seems to be better with recent software updates.

The cool thing about the GXR is the M Module anyway....you could get the M Module and a Voigtländer 15mm lens (or a 25/4 or something like that), that would yield a 21mm equiv with big DoF