urban_alchemist
Well-known
And more to the point, how usable is the AF?
I ask as I've gone through X100 and X2, and settled on an OM-D simply because of its focusing speed. I have a 2 year old, and I need the camera to focus, no fuss, and shoot.
As a former GR1s, GRD, GRDII, GRDIII, GXR and GRDIV user, I WANT a GR so so so much. But I won't bite if it doesn't do what I need it to do...
Over to you!
I ask as I've gone through X100 and X2, and settled on an OM-D simply because of its focusing speed. I have a 2 year old, and I need the camera to focus, no fuss, and shoot.
As a former GR1s, GRD, GRDII, GRDIII, GXR and GRDIV user, I WANT a GR so so so much. But I won't bite if it doesn't do what I need it to do...
Over to you!
kbg32
neo-romanticist
It's a great little camera. I have a 4 year old. Customizable, fast focus, sharp, wonderful files. One problem, at high ISOs there is color bleeding. Especially reds. You can minimize it in post.
If you didn't like the X100 and X2, the Ricoh is more of the same with regard to AF. Decent in bright light, but pretty bad in low contrast situations... it's not in the same league as the OMD. The Ricoh does have snap focus, but in the dark at 2.8 with an APSC sensor, it is challenging to use (due to thin DOF) to try to make up for the low light AF. That said, I love the camera.
urban_alchemist
Well-known
maggieo
More Deadly
I adore my GR. And in low light I lock in f4.0 and 1/100 shutter and go with the wonderfully grainy, noisy flow.
Like this:
The Shire, Chehalis, WA, September 19, 2013 by Maggie Osterberg, on Flickr
Like this:
The Shire, Chehalis, WA, September 19, 2013 by Maggie Osterberg, on Flickr
andy_v
Established
I love GR. But its AF in low light is obviously worth than x100 (even not S) as well as rx100.
The RX100 is actually really good at AF in the dark.
f16sunshine
Moderator
Hi John
The RX100 may be good but my mileage did vary to yours. My use did not show it to be any better in the dark than the X100. Additional DOF helped at times (RX100) but.. the focus system was not any better in low to no light.
In fact I would say the x100 in MF using the focus assist light and "snap" button to focus was better (AEL/AFL button). Full disclosure... I had the RX100 original not mk ii.
Would like to try a GR sometime although the FOV is a bit wide for my usual visual preference.
FA Limited
missing in action
i'm waiting for the GR with phase detection on sensor ... electronic shutter would be bonus
i would assume these would be evolutionary steps
i would assume these would be evolutionary steps
Michael Markey
Veteran
This at 1/30 ,3.2 , ISO 9000.
tbhv55
Well-known
This matches my findings. The RX100 sometimes amazes me with its ability to autofocus in near-darkness.
It's still better than my Fuji x100 (not the s) even after the latest firmware update - though I have to say that this update provided serious improvements to the x100, in AF and MF.
Apologies to the OP for wandering a little OT. Trouble is, I don't have a GR to discuss (but I'd like one!).
cz23
-
In my experience it must be pretty dark before the GR AF struggles. I'm in a dim airport dining room right now and just focused on a bunch of different people. It snapped right in every time. And this is not lighting in which I would typically photograph my kids.
Like everyone else, I LOVE this camera.
John
Like everyone else, I LOVE this camera.
John
Dennis.Carlson
Expect Grain
Damn, there was one in the classifieds the other night for $525 that I saw right away and the guy was going to give it to me because like 4 other people came RIGHT after me on the posting. Well, later that day I got in a car accident and probably shouldn't spend any money right now so I missed out. It literally sold 10 minutes after I messaged the seller about the news haha, so bummed. I have a XE1 and 27mm that I'm trying to sell and get a GR and have a nice pocket digi camera with a good sensor and this seems to fit the bill although the same goes for me, its a bit wider of a focal length than I like. But change is good right? No VF kinda sucks to, but oh well.
awbphotog
Well-known
Dennis! I'm terribly sorry to hear about your car accident. I now feel as though I've robbed you of your GR, as I was the next on the list. I wish you a speedy vehicular recovery as well as the funds to claim your own GR shortly! Take care.
On another note, I'm happy to hear that people are loving the camera. I used the original GRD in two iterations and loved them both until they were either broken by friends or randomly killed internally by age. I look forward to shooting and posting images.
Andy
gilpen123
Gil
I've used the GR for a while now and it's my daily and business trip camera (in a man bag with Ipad mini). AF does struggle in really lowlight but in general shooting conditions even inside houses or buildings, it's not bad at all. I noticed when I turned on the AF assist light, it does improve a lot on very low light but it may be a problem shooting people you do not know in this situation. I am happy with the 35 crop as well though file size obviously come down but with accurate framing it's not a problem for me. With the new firmware it can now crop to 47 mm which will be very useful in my use.
maggieo
More Deadly
But let's be honest, this didn't require quick focus. Not a diss...
It didn't, but it was on snap focus.
shadowfox
Darkroom printing lives
People take pictures of kids back in the manual-focus day too, correct?
Just my personal view on this matter. I took hundreds of pictures of my daughter since she's a baby, I seldom use AF cameras.
Even if the photo is blurry, that doesn't mean it's unusable, sometimes it is the more memorable than the other perfectly focused ones.
Get the GR, enjoy it, perfection could be boring, and it is not what photography is all about either.
sevres_babylone
Veteran
Love the camera. I shoot bands in dim bars. Resigned to lousy auto focus in dim light. I use snap focus, have gotten better at judging distance, close down to F3.5 or F4 when I can, and shoot at really high ISOs. The sharpness of the files even at maximum ISO amazes me. And yes there is noise. But I find the high ISO files are less mushy than high ISO E-M5 files. I previously had the GRD2 and GRD3. I have no regrets about buying the GR at the end of last summer.
joshxiv
Member
Love the GR. To me, it's one of the best cameras ever made.
But if I were to rely on AF in low light, I'd probably get something else. Though I hardly use AF, I just use snap 98% of the time, good light or low light, even when shooting wide-open, and have had no problems.
But if I were to rely on AF in low light, I'd probably get something else. Though I hardly use AF, I just use snap 98% of the time, good light or low light, even when shooting wide-open, and have had no problems.