From film to Ricoh GR?

Georgiy Romanov

Georgiy Romanov

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Good day to all! I have a question that I'm not haunted.

I love shot on film, about 400 rolls per year and it become harder and harder shot as much film as i want. My psychological threshold for 1 roll of film has almost passed and I'm starting to look towards to digital. I do my main work allmost with P&S cameras like Ricoh R1, Fuji Klasse W and sometime with my Leica when i wanna be fast!

Right now i use only one digital camera - Fuji X20. It a small gem for their performance, but i have no fun to use it. Create good pictures? Yes! Fun? No :( Viewfinder a little bit silly, i need 6 batteries to shot all day long, AF may not work in decisive moment, low light capability not enough for me and distorsion on wide angle critical. I try to forget for their limitations and concentrate on photography, but become boring after couples days and took my film cameras from shelf.

My main goal with any camera is have fun with them when i shooting. But i didn't feel it with digital cameras. Friend of mine give me Ricoh GX200 and love the feel from this camera. Start to thinking about Ricoh GR, but before i buy something i must sell something. That's my rule. For the value of one Ricoh GR i must sell all my P&S cameras and keep only one M4 with soviet lenses. I wanna be easy with cameras, but can't do this step. For keep shooting i must buy film and film eat all my cash for digi cam :angel:

Georgiy.
 
Well, I can't tell you if it's going to work for you... but the GR is one of those best in class cameras. The only competition it has is the Nikon Coolpix A and, somewhat, but not really, the Sony RX100. Everything else is a lot bigger or has a smaller sensor than the RX100 (and certainly not APSC).
 
hmm... keep shooting film and start saving towards a GR... during that time, the price will fall.

I have a GR and would say it's my favourite digital camera. I say go for it, but wait for the right moment and price... and don't sell awesome film cameras :)
 
The Ricoh GR is one of my favorite cameras. Then only problem, which can be solved with an accessory, is it lacks a viewfinder...and that is also one of it's biggest advantages compared to a film compact. :)
 
Offer the x20 for a GRDIV in trade here at RFF, perhaps, or for a GR + cash? The operational and capability differences between the III and IV are pretty minor, as they are between the IV and the current GR. Sensor is bigger, yes, and High ISO better, but the lens is slower (2.8 v. 1.9). Snap focus is part of all GRs, and that is perhaps their greatest strength and joy in comparison to other P&S digitals.

On the other hand, if you took the cost of a slightly used GR ($550-600) from your film budget for one year, would that not still leave you 200 rolls, or 4 rolls a week, while you also get used to the GR over the course of 2000-4000 exposures?

Good luck. It's a great camera. I've had the III, IV, the GR1s, and now the GR (which routinely handles 21mm FOV and, when needed, 35mm FOV with added viewfinders).
 
I've been interested in the GR as well, but the lack of a viewfinder put me off. If you add an external viewfinder, how do you focus? Do you have to focus on the LCD and then view through the viewfinder? This would seem to make fast / street / documentary photography nearly impossible. Going back and forth between LCD and viewfinder constantly seems like a huge and slow hassle
 
GR for GR. Sound like pun.

After I switched from film to digital, my first 70K+ of pictures were all fun.
 
epines said:
I've been interested in the GR as well, but the lack of a viewfinder put me off. If you add an external viewfinder, how do you focus? Do you have to focus on the LCD and then view through the viewfinder? This would seem to make fast / street / documentary photography nearly impossible. Going back and forth between LCD and viewfinder constantly seems like a huge and slow hassle
Click to expand...

This is where Snap focus can help.

First off, you're shooting 28mm, so there's already some DOF to spare at f2.8. But you can set Snap focus for 1, 1.5, 2.5, 5m, infinity--and as long as your subject is in your Snap zone, you shouldn't need to check focus. Just press the shutter. If necessary, you can stop down further, bump up ISO as needed to extend your zone focus.

GR subject tracking focus can work, too, with a viewfinder--if you're relentlessly precise with your viewfinder/shuttersnap coordination, and if you like your subject to be dead center. But if you like to off-center subjects/environmental portraits, Snap is better on the street.

A lot of GR/GRD users don't even bother with the LCD, let alone add-on VFs, once they're used to snap focus.
 
The Ricoh GR is an excellent camera. Robert makes an excellent point, one might trade off some film purchases towards the cost of the GR (if selling something to buy something is a hard and fast rule). Prices will fall in the future -- and Photokina later in the year puts downward pressure on current camera models too.
 
epines said:
I've been interested in the GR as well, but the lack of a viewfinder put me off. If you add an external viewfinder, how do you focus? Do you have to focus on the LCD and then view through the viewfinder? This would seem to make fast / street / documentary photography nearly impossible. Going back and forth between LCD and viewfinder constantly seems like a huge and slow hassle
Click to expand...

I put the dp1m ovf on my gr because it is one of the smallest ovf's. If u don't want to use snap focus, u still have choice of normal af and zone/scale focus. The normal af confirmation led can be seen from bottom right corner of your eye when u are using the ovf. Just use dead center of ovf as projected af focus point and once u have af lock, reposition for final shot as u would an rf camera.

Gary
 
I find an LCD works well for 28mm in the streets. I hate it for 50mm, but love it for wides.
 
Yes--I don't have a 28mm VF, have never used one with the GR/Ds.

I like using a 21mm VF to minimize distort able stuff on the edges, and like the 35mm finder b/c that focal length is more about a centered subject for me than 28 or wider.
 
epines said:
I've been interested in the GR as well, but the lack of a viewfinder put me off. If you add an external viewfinder, how do you focus? Do you have to focus on the LCD and then view through the viewfinder? This would seem to make fast / street / documentary photography nearly impossible. Going back and forth between LCD and viewfinder constantly seems like a huge and slow hassle
Click to expand...

It's predominantly an AF camera.

Snap focus on the GR is faster than manual focus and autofocus.

Why would you need to go back and forth between VF and LCD? Didn't do that with film
 
Aristophanes said:
It's predominantly an AF camera.

Snap focus on the GR is faster than manual focus and autofocus.

Why would you need to go back and forth between VF and LCD? Didn't do that with film
Click to expand...

With film cameras (except for something like the Hassy SWC), you could focus through the VF. Unless I'm mistaken, when you hook up an external OVF to the Ricoh, there's no focusing through it. It's just for composing. As with the SWC. And, yes, I know you can zone focus with the SWC (I have one). But I'm talking about accurate focusing, in close ranges, without resorting to cranking up the ISO in order to stop down.
 
The decision was not so easy... I sell almost all my film gear, including M4 and LTM glass. Take with me only couple film cameras which i really love and order new Ricoh from ebay. Today postman give me parcel with my new Ricoh GR Limited Edition camera. I charge the battery! Wish me good luck!
 
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