gear talk!!

[back alley]

as usual, my status quo is once again rocky. i am the victim of too much thinking and a little bit of greed (as in wanting it all). or is that a little bit of thinking and too much greed?

so what the heck am i talking about?

i want a ricoh (words i never thought i'd hear me say) gr-d!

but i have no camera money and really can't justify (never stopped me before) spending the money.

so, i was thinking that i could sell the cv 28/1.9 and that would cover about half and then i would have to cough up the rest.

good idea or not?

joe

 

[mfunnell]

Joe,

It would only be a good idea if the GR-D would, in some way, allow or assist you in taking photos that were otherwise difficult or impossible, and if those photos were more important or appealing than those you'd now be unable to take with your 28.

I look at every photography purchase as buying a tool in order to acquire a capability that's otherwise absent, and that's important to me. If it doesn't give me that, then I don't buy (despite being at least as "gear hungry" as anyone).

...Mike

 

[back alley]

what it would give me and i feel some shame in saying this, is a digital and therefore quick access image.

i have dozens of rolls of film waiting for processing, hundreds if you count all the medium format stuff.

i'm thinking this is the lazy man's way to wide angle pics.

joe

 

[egpj]

Sell the lens if you do not want it anymore but then just sit on the money. Allot can be said for just sitting still and waiting. For one thing, prices drop and used units arrive on the market. All the tester cameras have to go someplace. Hunt them down with the contacts you have. I am big fan of this way of doing things but when the time comes for action I work quickly.

 

[woodphoto]

I can't believe I am saying this, but...
I think you should sit on it for a couple weeks to see how you feel about it then.
And if you don't use your cv, you could still sell that and use the money to process the rolls.
Of course I wouldn't listen to anything I just said, being I just bought a R2A and haven't told my wife yet.

 

[rbiemer]

joe,
I don't know if this is a good idea or not but a couple of thoughts come to me...
Directly to your question, the [insert current object of desire here] has given you an "itch". If ignoring that itch will make you miserable, I say life's too short to deny yourself scratching it. If, on the other hand, scratching that itch will harm you in some way, then tough it out if you can.
One other thought; my folks split up when I was 11ish. Loong time ago. When I used to get bummed out about that, I would watch an episode or two of the TV show "COPS". I would get a very clear picture of what a really broken family was and remember that my situation wasn't so bad. In some similar way, just as I start thinking about really cleaning out the camera shelves and deleting my ebay account, all the various bookmarks and not getting anymore "new" gear, some one(and no it is not always you😉 ) starts a thread like this and I relax about the gear head part of this wonderful hobby I have.
Bottom line: if it pleases you to get the GR-D, go for it! Me, I'm figuring out how to pay for the Bessa R4 next April(and flip-flopping about the A or the M)...
Rob

 

[mfunnell]

what it would give me and i feel some shame in saying this, is a digital and therefore quick access image.

Joe - that's a capability, and nothing to be ashamed of. I like the immediacy of digital (and other things as well), and wouldn't be without it. If the $$$ weren't so large, I'd like a digital RF. But coming back to film via the RF path has (a) taught me that RFs have certain advantages (which is what I wanted to find out); and (b) that film has certain virtues to go with all its frustrations (all of which I feel very keenly). Even if I were to go insane and buy a digital RF, I'd keep shooting film as well.

If the GR-D is the right digital for you, then go for it. My advice, for what its worth (very little) is to figure out what digital will be best for you (in terms of dollars and usability) and go for it. That may well be the GR-D, but make sure in your own mind that it is, then if you can afford it just buy it. Digital might not be your primary mode of photography, but it may well prove very useful and convenient on more occasions than you think.

...Mike

 

[JohnM]

The GR-d, while nifty, seems like a bit of a niche camera to me. It's pricey for what it is and (grain of salt time) reviewers complained about high noise at virtually all ISO levels.

The 21mm wide angle creative kit is prohibitively expensive, so it's basically just a 28mm fixed lens camera. Just seems to me that perhaps there are more versatile options if you're looking for a wide digital option.

Lot of really nicely priced DSLRs these days.

 

[Honus]

Joe,

If it were me (and it isn't), I would resist the temptation. The GR-D appealed to me, as well. Then I read about the Sigma DP1.

My suggestion is to wait a bit. The problem I have with the GR-D and Sigma DP1 is that they have no optical viewfinder. You have to stand there, arms exended, looking at a frigin' LCD to compose. No thanks.

Eventually, someone will make a digital camera with a fixed lens and include an optical viewfinder (or, at least a hotshoe, so a viewfinder can be attached).

Just my opinion.

Cheers,

Robert

 

[mfunnell]

The problem I have with the GR-D and Sigma DP1 is that they have no optical viewfinder.

I can but agree. For me, personally, I wouldn't buy any camera that didn't have an optical viewfinder. I'm kind've thinking of replacing my pocket digicam - and its amazing how few have any kind of optical viewfinder at all. So far, none have one that's better than my current digicam - and it is cr*p. Its actually put me off the whole concept for now.

I keep thinking "surely there's a market for..." but apparently I'm wrong, and there isn't.

...Mike

 

[ChrisN]

Joe,

It would only be a good idea if the GR-D would, in some way, allow or assist you in taking photos that were otherwise difficult or impossible, and if those photos were more important or appealing than those you'd now be unable to take with your 28.

Ah, but the journey is just as important as the destination! And the process is just as important as the product! If the resulting image was the only thing that mattered, we'd all be using Yashicas!

 

[Toby]

I would buy it because if you use it regularly it will pay for itself in what you save in film and processing. However I'd definitely stump up the extra for the creative kit with hotshoe viewfinder and 21mm converter.

 

[Jamie123]

My suggestion is to wait a bit. The problem I have with the GR-D and Sigma DP1 is that they have no optical viewfinder. You have to stand there, arms exended, looking at a frigin' LCD to compose. No thanks.

Eventually, someone will make a digital camera with a fixed lens and include an optical viewfinder (or, at least a hotshoe, so a viewfinder can be attached).

There's an accessory viewfinder you can buy for the Ricoh GR-D which will then look like this: http://article.pchome.net/00/07/26/33/front.jpg

 

[Goodyear]

Funny, I was looking at a GR-D a couple of weeks ago. But what I really want is an M8 (sorry, I said it.)

 

[Sparrow]

Funny, I was looking at a GR-D a couple of weeks ago. But what I really want is an M8 (sorry, I said it.)

just what I thought as I read it, a slippery slope, it will either “end in no good” or a M8

 

[rover]

Um, you already have a digital camera for quick image access.

 

[rover]

That said,

The GR-D is a really nice pony. I had my hands on Ray's this past weekend.

It is a one trick pony though. For me, that fixed 28mm lens is a big hurdle, if I get a digi P&S I need one that is more versatile because I only want one.

It does that one trick really well though.

 

[taffer]

Hi Joe,

nothing to do with the GR-D (curious camera I'd be also interested in handling, I admit) but with all those rolls of undeveloped film.

I found that's a lot easier if you only shoot what you want. It's not easy but try always to think on what you want to shoot (in terms of subjects and even individual frames), shoot it and then it won't be that much of a sacrifice to develop it (plus for sure your frames volume will get a lot more reasonable, which also helps saving precious film ! (which isn't cheap either, btw)).

Downloading, browsing through thousands of digital images, selecting and postprocessing them isn't exactly fun either.

Just my 0.002 (damn inflation!).

Oscar

 

[Trius]

So Joe, how will getting the GR-D get all those rolls of film, whose latent images are aging, developed? Not saying you shouldn't get it, but I think you have two "issues" here and you are sorta ignoring one of them.

Edit: Hey, just noticed this is my 2000th post!

 

[terrafirmanada]

I think that there is much to be said about filling the holes in your useful line-up. I have been selling off all the gear I have that goes unused for one specific reason. I do not want to always walk around with a hand held meter. So I am upgrading to an M with a meter, so I do not miss those shots when I would rather go light. The GR-D would allow you to go light.
So if your 28 is not being used, then you might want to sell it. On the other hand; if your 28 is not being used the GR-D might not be for you.