I got me self a GRD!

[Avotius]

**Edited images with ISO data, also I should point out that I didnt use any noise reduction software and shot jpgs**



Yes I know, with all the news of them being discontinued and what not people are expecting an upgrade. Bah to upgrades I say, the GRD is all I need for a little point and shoot. I got mine for $425 dollars, new of course, with a quite clever Ricoh camera bag, and a sandisk 2 gig card thrown in.

Yes I know maybe some people will think its nuts on the eve of the possible new camera coming out but really, its all I wanted, but I do really want to get a viewfinder on the camera. The GR1v was a great camera but I wanted digital and the film cameras viewfinder was always hard for me to see everything.

The camera is a great handler, the GX100 I was looking at was neat too but I decided I wanted the thinner body above all else. The GRD's usb connection door is a disaster though, I wont copy images off the camera just so I dont have to open that door, get a usb card thing instead. Battery life for me is good, I didnt stop playing with it for a day and the battery lasted for a day, I will pick up a second batter just because though. BW photos from this thing are great, they really do have that film greyness and none of the high ISO banding that my canon 20D has. My iso 1600 photos area easily usable and I plan to try some prints soon.

Anyho, image fest!

ISO 109

ISO 800

ISO 200

ISO 800

ISO 64

ISO 1600

ISO 154

ISO 1600

ISO 1600

ISO 800

ISO 800

ISO 1600

ISO 1600


Ok enough sitting on my ass, out to take more photos!

 

[btgc]

seems to be nice beast in right hands 🙂

 

[Bill58]

Really nice shots, but the price is too much for me and the images look a little too sterile or bland as opposed to film for my admmittedly untrained eye. Have a lot of "free" (no film) fun w/ it!!!!!

p.s. maybe the digitals will have a "film" mode esp. in B&W someday to give us that old film look?

 

[wallace]

congratulations, very nice photos. the grd is a fine camera, i'm thinking of buying
one too.
please tell me: what is the craftsman doing in the last photos?

tom

 

[SteveM(PA)]

Wow, nice...I especially love the blue portrait...is that macro?

 

[sienarot]

Wow, that's great! I was considering getting one for a while, but passed on it.

How are you finding the noise on higher ISOs?

 

[Avotius]

please tell me: what is the craftsman doing in the last photos?

He was carving out cuts in a plaster negative for a bronze sculpture. His end result looks something like this:

Wow, nice...I especially love the blue portrait...is that macro?

Nope, not macro, I like the blue too, two different light sources worked together well in that shot I think.

How are you finding the noise on higher ISOs?

It really isnt a problem. ISO 1600 lacks the detail of 100 of course but thats the trade off. No problems making a3 sized prints with the 1600's, later will try some 40 inchers or larger just for kicks. Im not much of a pixel peeper, the camera is good enough for most applications when a dslr or whatever larger high quality camera and optics cant make the trip with you. Reports say that raw takes 15 some seconds to write to the card, my experience is that its about 4-5 seconds using my run of the mill sandisk 2 gig sd card. But still I shoot jpgs mostly and have been happy enough with the quality. One thing that I am very happy about is that the noise has no banding, which plagues my canon 20D and gives the shots a very nice character.

 

[rogue_designer]

Avotius - great images. Thanks for the "real world" review of how this camera works for you... not just for the pixel peepers.

 

[Avotius]

Avotius - great images. Thanks for the "real world" review of how this camera works for you... not just for the pixel peepers.

Your very welcome. I believe in real world camera use because that is where I use my cameras. If I truly need the pixel peep thats what my medium format and hopefully (future) large format is for.

 

[kalokeri]

I´m using the GRD for some time now and - though it should be used more if time allows - agree with your opinion. After installing all available firmware-updates the camera runs perfect, I´m very content with the handling and the quality of the pictures.

Btw: great shots as always.

Thomas

 

[Burlap Jacket]

I got mine for $425 dollars, new of course, with a quite clever Ricoh camera bag, and a sandisk 2 gig card thrown in.

Where did you find it so cheap?

Some great results you posted!

 

[Avotius]

Where did you find it so cheap?

Some great results you posted!

Local camera store, seems like they were desperate to get rid of them. They throw in a 1gb card but I bargained them to make it a 2. Great prices we have in china sometimes...

 

[sockdaddy]

for the pictures that you posted above, did you use the B&W shooting mode, or did you make those conversions from color outside of the camera?

regardless, they look great.

i just recently bought the GX100, but haven't really had the chance to explore what it's capable of. i can tell you that it's got great ergonomics for a pocket camera, and that it seems like it will be a winner.

 

[Avotius]

for the pictures that you posted above, did you use the B&W shooting mode, or did you make those conversions from color outside of the camera?

regardless, they look great.

i just recently bought the GX100, but haven't really had the chance to explore what it's capable of. i can tell you that it's got great ergonomics for a pocket camera, and that it seems like it will be a winner.

I shot the bw mode with contrast jacked all the way up, then post processing some contrast, brightness etc.

I looked closely at that gx100 and the canon g9, the g9 just didnt float my boat, the gx100 was neat indeed but I ultimately wanted the compact and nostalgia of the gr1v. Cant go wrong either way I think.

 

[BillBingham2]

Thanks for sharing your shots. Very well done.

B2 (;->

 

[shadowfox]

Avotius, I'm a big fan of your pictures, but I have to agree with Bill up there. There is a certain lack of depth that your film pictures had.

It's not that these are bad pictures, they are great, but it is... well, digital 🙂

 

[gavinlg]

Those are freakin good hey, I really appreciate your reviews on lenses and cameras. I've been eyeing off a GRd for ages now. You may have pushed me over the edge.

 

[BillBingham2]

IMHO, in a digital world depth is hard to say why it does or doesn't occur. I think some of what you are looking for might be because of the settings of the camera or post processing. Increasing the contrast might mess up depth, no? The lens looks wonderful so perhaps I am not understanding what you mean by depth and it being digitial.

Help me understand.

B2 (;->

 

[sockdaddy]

i think that the images from the GRD (and hopefully my GX100) actually do give the impression of film images. especially the B&W images that it can create.

regardless, great pictures - please share more from this little camera!

 

[Gabriel M.A.]

Very nice, Avotius.

Are these *all* shot at ISO 1600?