In praise of the Ricoh GR1v

[Terao]

I'm really enjoying using my GR1v, its in danger of replacing my rangefinder gear for a lot of work. I'm a complete newbie when it comes to flash and indeed tend to be very anti-it, preferring fast lenses and no flash in low light. Anyway, it came around to being my works Christmas party this week so I loaded the Ricoh with Neopan1600, had a quick read up on flash photography with it, and dived in hoping I'd get something. I'm amazed by the quality of the shots - accurate exposures, just the right amount of flash, relaxed subjects (no doubt the wine and company helped). Just a great little camera for that sort of table-based event. Of course Neopan also helps 🙂

Out of a roll of 24 only 3 shots were badly exposed - two due to user error on my part (the camera focused on something further away and so upped the power and I didn't notice it due to, erm, wine intake) and one because the person who took the shot wasn't familiar with the flash system.

Of course the main benefit of these shots was the reaction of the subjects. Being mostly under 25 they found the fact I was using film cool, and that was only enhanced when they realised it was B&W. Retro is in fashion it would seem (isn't it always?)

Out of all the shots I think I like these few the best, mere snaps of course, but *good* snaps, and that's all you should expect from a boozy night out 😀

I wonder if this one tells a story to everyone or just those who know the subjects...

Anyway, thankyou Ricoh for making me look good...

 

[Ducky]

The first one is excellent and captures the night mood.
The second has a white shirt which will almost always screw up a flash shot. It's actually better than average since it is not blown out.
Nice work.

 

[Terao]

Thanks. Exposure is all down to the boffins @ Ricoh, I just tripped the shutter, but yes, on the full-size version the shirt retains detail and the rest of the shot really didn't need any longer an exposure.

I'm just wishing the girl was making those eyes at me, and it amuses me how the guy hasn't really noticed that yet. She really digs the shot which is nice...