ricoh gr digital input please

[emraphoto]

alright, forgive me if this thread is redundant. i am considering the purchase of the ricoh gr digital (with viewfinder). sometimes scouring the net for reviews can get a fella more confused than one would think...
the primary complaint seems to be high iso noise... 400 being noisy, 800 and beyond? being "unuseable. no need to explain sensor size etc. as i have that pretty well covered in my noggin. now i do understand that "noise" is rather relative but what do you grd users think? i have used a ricoh gr1 exstensively and shoot tmax 3200 quite regularly. is "high iso noise" somewhere in the ballpark of film grain? is a "noisy" 800 similair to fuji press 800? i know in this day and age with camera's like the 5d about "noise" has become a bit of a "negative" term however i have no problem with high iso film grain and i am hoping the grd is somewhere in the same neck of the woods appearance wise.
second concern seems to be raw write times. now i understand it's not an slr with a 9 image buffer... but what kind of write times for raw are we talking about? a couple of seconds? 3-4? as i shoot mainly raw this would be of concern...
any other inout is appreciated. it will be used mainly for documentary work with mixed lighting conditions. indoor/outdoor/day/night etc. it won't be the primary rig but will be used daily.
again, i have used a gr1 extensively and hoping there are GREAT similairities!
kind regards
john

 

[v3cron]

i really want to buy a digital camera as well, and the ricoh is the only one i'd consider, except *maybe* for the new sigma that's coming out soon (slow lens, might be too clean-looking due to the better sensor). a big part of me resists shooting noiseless digital. it's icky looking to me. that's why the ricoh is attractive, besides the fact that i'm also a gr-1 user and love the lens, etc.

there are a few good reviews out there that cover the basics. speed is also a reported issue.

 

[mrtoml]

I was quite enthusiastic about the Ricoh GRD when I first got it, but am less enthusiastic about it now and have more or less switched back to film via RFs for street shooting and so on.

I wrote a few articles on my blog about grain and noise issues in the GRD and so on. You can read them here:

http://alt-digital.blogspot.com/2006_07_01_archive.html
http://alt-digital.blogspot.com/2006_08_01_archive.html
http://alt-digital.blogspot.com/2006_09_01_archive.html
http://alt-digital.blogspot.com/2006_10_01_archive.html
http://alt-digital.blogspot.com/2006_11_01_archive.html

My main problem with it is not so much the noise at high ISO which has a certain film like quality anyway, but the fact that with my style of shooting street photos I often blow the highlights if the weather is bright. As I want to be discrete I turn off the LCD and use a viewfinder or shoot from the chest. I don't want to have to go around chimping at every shot.

I also got dust on the sensor which took Ricoh several weeks to sort out. The camera isn't weather sealed. I am hoping (but not much) that the Sigma DP1 will be better, but then there is the depth of field problem...

There are a couple of Flickr groups dedicated to the GRD and I posted some GRD shots here recently in my gallery.

 

[iml]

I like mine, but since buying an Olympus 35 RC I hardly ever use it as my daily carry-around, which was what I originally used it for. The main problem is slow raw write times (anything up to 10 secs), noise is not really an issue for me, at least, not in b&w. It produces nice b&w jpgs straight from the camera. Set to snap focus mode, b&w jpg, it makes a good (and fast) street shooter.

Ian

 

[IGMeanwell]

Some might want to check out the GX100 when it comes out

it has CCD shift image stabilzation ... a 24mm-70 equiv (2.5-4.4) lens

same body as GRD though a little longer, though same height and thickness

 

[emraphoto]

mrtoml... thanx buddy. tonnes of info! i appreciate it!

 

[andersju]

I'm a happy GRD owner and high noise is of no concern to me. I'm one of many who think the noise of the GRD looks good; during winter the ISO setting rarely left 800. (I'm no expert, but some say that the main reason GRD is considered "noisy" is that Ricoh was wise enough not to do any noise reduction in-camera, thus preserving detail).

If you want examples, take a look at my photo blog http://2038.cc/. All shots were taken with the GRD at ISO 800 (a couple are 1600). No noise reduction at all. (Best camera for candid photography that I've used - and that includes the Hexar AF..)

Like Mark I also got dust on the sensor after a couple of months, but fortunately Ricoh's service in Sweden was excellent; took just a few days for them send me a replacement.

 

[Bill58]

Maybe you should hold off on the GRD and consider purchasing the NEW GX100 w/ a 24mm lens! The Holy Grail for streetshooters?

To be honest, I'm not gonna be the 1st. to buy one myself--too many disappointing earlier efforts for me.

http://www.letsgodigital.org/en/13693/ricoh_caplio_gx100/

 

[back alley]

my grd arrived today and i am quickly impressed by it's size and handling so far.
i have yet to read the manual but have been shooting around the house a bit, just using the built in memory.
i'll have to swipe the card from my fz20 till i pick up on for the grd.

more to come.