Impossibly Slim

shadowfox

shadowfox

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That's what I thought when I first saw the camera. I opened layers upon layers of bubble wrap only for the camera to flop into my palm. Wow.

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For the price I paid for it, I was half expecting bleeding LCD and sand trickling from the back when I opened it. Plus I've been reading horror stories about people paying a lot for non-functioning buttons, LED, faded LCD, and so on.

But this one is quite functional. Not "minty" cosmetically, but all systems go. So off to test-roll.

Well the first thing I should have done, is to load Tri-X, but nooo... I just had to choose slow film: Legacy 100 (Neopan, right?) and wasted about half the roll indoor with the aperture set on f8 (I know, I know, idiot doesn't quite describe how I felt).

Not until a few days later I realized it and start to use a more appropriate aperture (sigh..). These are from the rest of the roll:

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* Flash working just fine. I can read the CD titles in 100% magnification.



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* I know, which one is half of what, right?



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* A very skinny cape crusader



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* f/2.8, AF, close-focusing... priceless. And no, I have no idea what kind of veggie these guys are.



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* If you can snap photos in the produce-aisle, you'll be fine anywhere else.



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* I love 28mm. I can crop.


So far it's been meeting my expectation, I just love how small it is, but at the same time it's not flimsy at all. Magnesium-alloy, right? strong stuff that is.

I haven't cut my finger with the sharpness of the photos yet, but the lens does render quite satisfying images. Must be the 7-glass element design at work. Who knows.

I'm still amazed that I can jam a roll of film in that thing.
 
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You're going to love the GR1. I had a GR1V and a GR21... miss em both. absolutely my favorite "pocket" walk around film cameras. Snap mode is terrific and the pre-winding of film is just so smart.

Enjoy!

Kent
 
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I have a GR1V and yes they are a great camera and they are impossibly slim and damned clever ... use them in P mode with the flash activated and they never make a mistake and will even provide fill flash when needed for strong back light ... incredible!

But why oh why didn't they give the option of a 35mm lens ... 28mm just doesn't fit for me!
 
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I just think that for a pocket camera of this quality to be stuck with a 28mm lens ... which really lacks versatility IMO ... is a travesty of justice!

35mm or 40mm would have made this camera absolutely perfect for me. 😛
 
reiki_ said:
Don't really have any experience with the said camera , but certainly great images. Cheers.
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Appreciate the nod.

btgc said:
GR1 has aperture control? Wow, that's great. I thought they are fully AE.
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In its class (so called elite P&S), manual aperture control is a given, I think. What pushes this guy over the others is its shape and size. It's just a bit thicker than an iPhone, but almost the same dimension.

Keith said:
I just think that for a pocket camera of this quality to be stuck with a 28mm lens ... which really lacks versatility IMO ... is a travesty of justice!

35mm or 40mm would have made this camera absolutely perfect for me. 😛
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I am also a 35mm guy, but I make exception for this camera (and XA4) because I use them differently than RF and SLR cameras.

And I appreciate the wider angle to compensate for the very imprecise composing that I do with these guys 🙂
 
kdemas said:
You're going to love the GR1. I had a GR1V and a GR21... miss em both. absolutely my favorite "pocket" walk around film cameras. Snap mode is terrific and the pre-winding of film is just so smart.

Enjoy!

Kent
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Hi Kent, (or anyone)

With your experience owning these model variations, could you please list the features which are different?
 
i have a GR1s that i bought 1 year ago from an RFF member who failed to tell me that the LCD and VF were having problems... he wouldn't take it back either... very disappointing. i learned to live with the glitches and half working symbols and got some very good photos with it and i thought i would keep it in this state "forever." but today the frame lines disappeared... what a bummer. i don't know if i'm going to get it repaired in Japan and add $200 to the $300 i was initially robbed of or if i'm going to sell it as is so that someone else can get it fixed... great while it lasted though.

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You're going to love the GR1. I had a GR1V and a GR21... miss em both. Absolutely my favorite "pocket" walk around film cameras. Snap mode is terrific and the pre-winding of film is just so smart.

The other thing about the GR series is the ergonomics. Absolutely top notch. The best handling small camera out there in my opinion.

Enjoy!

Kent

Enjoy!

Kent
 
LChanyungco said:
i have a GR1s that i bought 1 year ago from an RFF member who failed to tell me that the LCD and VF were having problems... he wouldn't take it back either... very disappointing. i learned to live with the glitches and half working symbols and got some very good photos with it and i thought i would keep it in this state "forever." but today the frame lines disappeared... what a bummer. i don't know if i'm going to get it repaired in Japan and add $200 to the $300 i was initially robbed of or if i'm going to sell it as is so that someone else can get it fixed... great while it lasted though.

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I'm sorry about your GR1s, if that can happen to yours, it can happen to mine as well.

I hope you'll get it fixed, looks like you know how to use it well 😉

Did you contact criscam.com in the US and see if they will refurbish it (it may be cheaper than sending it to Japan).
 
earlier this evening right after my framelines went missing i scoured the internet for places that still repair the GR cameras. i read that criscam no longer has the parts to repair the film GR... Dirk from Japan Exposures charges approx. $50 for the service of sending it to Ricoh Japan then the actual repair will cost another $120 or so... then shipping... ugh.

shadowfox said:
Did you contact criscam.com in the US and see if they will refurbish it (it may be cheaper than sending it to Japan).
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FrankS said:
Hi Kent, (or anyone)

With your experience owning these model variations, could you please list the features which are different?
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Out of interest in such a nice camera, I strolled over Net and essence of features looks like this:

The GR1 was so popular that three other film versions were made: the GR1s (which added illumination to the LCD display and the use of a lens hood and filters); the GR1v (all the features of the GR1s, plus a manual-focus mode, and three-frame bracketing at ±0.5EV increments); and the GR21 (which has a wider, 21mm lens).
 
btgc said:
Out of interest in such a nice camera, I strolled over Net and essence of features looks like this:

The GR1 was so popular that three other film versions were made: the GR1s (which added illumination to the LCD display and the use of a lens hood and filters); the GR1v (all the features of the GR1s, plus a manual-focus mode, and three-frame bracketing at ±0.5EV increments); and the GR21 (which has a wider, 21mm lens).
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Thank you btgc!
 
patrickjames said:
When I use the GR1 I feel like I am channeling Moriyama, which is a little weird for me.

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Another guy with nice GR1 photos.

I don't know about "channeling," inspired-by maybe 🙂

Say, does anyone know if the GR Digital cameras are the same size as this one? Not that I'd consider buying those until they have the 4/3rd or APS sized sensor in it.
 
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