Ramble
Ramble
I find myself very interested in the GRD, Gx100, and/or maybe the DP1. From my limited reading the DP1 is not supposed to be "good" at black and white though(maybe wrong), and 28 would not be my first lens choice. The speed of the lens I could probably live with. I think it's admirable that Sigma listened and added the viewfinder later.
I'm one of those people hoping the GX100 doesn't have "improved" noise performance, but retains the GRD's film like grain. Faster write times and 1600 RAW would be nice too. I have seen so many cool pictures with the GRD in B/W, and I think it's great (younger?) people have made it a cult camera.
I want a small fun camera I can shoot out my window when I'm driving and take pictures of waitresses in diners without making a scene.
Just last night I was on Reid's site reading his review of the Leica D-LUX 3. There's another fellow, Mitch Alland, who contributed to the review, who uses the D-LUX 3 and the GRD and has some great B/W pics. Says he hasn't shot his M6's since. One pic of a beautiful woman in Thailand had me saying yeah, sell all this RF stuff, get a GRD (or whatever), hop a plane and go to Bangkok.
We are all gonna die and then where will the moments be? <Composes himself>
Thus far I have seen very few M8 pics that have really captured my imagination, so smooth and highly resolved are they.
I even purchased a copy of Robert Frank's The Americans after Reid recommended it (especially when I found out Jack Kerouac wrote the intro) and I doubt there is a photo in there (IMHO) that the GRD couldn't have produced, mood wise. Course Frank would have to be doing the shooting. Kerouac's favorite (and now mine), the female elevator operator staring into space, is full of grain and blurry. Says Kerouac, "That little ole lonely elevator girl looking up sighing in an elevator full of blurred demons, what's her name and address?"
It seems to me that these two companies have started a move towards the digital equivalent of the fixed lens film cameras that people still prize. This Sigma might be great. I hope it is. A Faster 35mm version could be next. Ricoh deserves much credit as well. And to think the dpr review panned the GRD. Not one B/W picture in the sample gallery. Nothin' but pixel peepers over there.
Oh and you do realize that not long after the GX100 was announced, a fellow on dpr said since the viewfinder is detachable and electronic, a simple cable option would allow one to have the viewfinder to their eye and point the camera anywhere.🙂 Whatever, I'm sure Oakley sunglasses is working on it now.
I even emailed Ricoh to ask if the GX100 has B/W mode and if the viewfinder is in B/W then. It does and it is. (Yes it will Bill.)