paulfish4570
Veteran
what i have read so far indicates the cult sprang forth in japan. i've looked at a couple of sites/blogs by grd photographers. lots of interesting images, but could the photos not have been made with something else?
i like the looks of the series very much, by the way, but i have not handled one. with that in mind, the grd iv is on my short list for a possible digital camera purchase ...
i like the looks of the series very much, by the way, but i have not handled one. with that in mind, the grd iv is on my short list for a possible digital camera purchase ...
kdemas
Enjoy Life.
Paul,
I have owned a couple of GRDs as well as the film GR1V and GR21 and the one thing they share is a wonderful shooting experience for a serious photographer. The ergonomics are superb, everything is in the right place. Features are easily accessed, build quality is superb. The lenses tend to be fast primes.
It's one of those things you have to hold and try, I have loved mine!
Kent
I have owned a couple of GRDs as well as the film GR1V and GR21 and the one thing they share is a wonderful shooting experience for a serious photographer. The ergonomics are superb, everything is in the right place. Features are easily accessed, build quality is superb. The lenses tend to be fast primes.
It's one of those things you have to hold and try, I have loved mine!
Kent
v_roma
Well-known
Ergonomics, customizability, size, lens... 
Some people will also say that the pictures from this camera (JPEGs in particular), are unique looking. I don't have enough experience with digital p&s cameras to compare, really, though I do like the colors this camera produces. And everything else I mentioned at the start of the post is definitely not hype, in my humble opinion. One thing, though, is to make sure your expectations are set at the right level. This is still a small sensor, after all, and cannot compete with large sensors in terms of noise, dynamic range, etc. At the same time, the f1.9 aperture means you will be shooting at high ISOs at lot less than you would with another compact p&s. I'll stop now or I'll just keep thinking about more great things about this camera.
Some people will also say that the pictures from this camera (JPEGs in particular), are unique looking. I don't have enough experience with digital p&s cameras to compare, really, though I do like the colors this camera produces. And everything else I mentioned at the start of the post is definitely not hype, in my humble opinion. One thing, though, is to make sure your expectations are set at the right level. This is still a small sensor, after all, and cannot compete with large sensors in terms of noise, dynamic range, etc. At the same time, the f1.9 aperture means you will be shooting at high ISOs at lot less than you would with another compact p&s. I'll stop now or I'll just keep thinking about more great things about this camera.
gavinlg
Veteran
One of the only point and shoots with a fast 28mm lens with little distortion.
Great b&w JPEG mode - almost looks like film, great color JPEGs - rich and excellent color balance.
Great user interface - feels like a camera, not a computer.
Tiny camera size means take anywhere.
That being said, they're also somewhat notoriously unreliable. My GRD is currently not focusing at all, and they tend to develop problems as they age. I think the GRD III onwards have fixed all these bugs and are more reliable cameras.
Great b&w JPEG mode - almost looks like film, great color JPEGs - rich and excellent color balance.
Great user interface - feels like a camera, not a computer.
Tiny camera size means take anywhere.
That being said, they're also somewhat notoriously unreliable. My GRD is currently not focusing at all, and they tend to develop problems as they age. I think the GRD III onwards have fixed all these bugs and are more reliable cameras.
lynnb
Veteran
I don't have a GRD (I use an LX3) but everything I've read about the Ricoh suggests it has excellent handling and build quality compared to other quality small sensor digicams. So while the IQ mightn't be that much different, if the ergonomics and haptics are much more satisfying that would explain the cult status. A bit like the M-series in RF's, I suppose.
If the new Nikon V1 wasn't so pricey it might be worth a look - bigger sensor, small form factor, EVF - no reports yet on the handling, that I can see.
If the new Nikon V1 wasn't so pricey it might be worth a look - bigger sensor, small form factor, EVF - no reports yet on the handling, that I can see.
batterytypehah!
Lord of the Dings
Half an hour and five responses and we've already heard "superb build quality" and "notoriously unreliable" -- what gives?
Ricoh is one of those companies I can't figure out. I own and use the 500G, R1, and a Sears-branded SLR that's really a Ricoh XR-7. Fun, interesting, somewhat different from the mainstream those certainly are. But superbly built? Not hardly. Lagging a good deal behind the bigger Japanese makers in that regard.
This is ancient history and may or may not still figure in the digital age but then the R1 form factor still lives on.
Ricoh is one of those companies I can't figure out. I own and use the 500G, R1, and a Sears-branded SLR that's really a Ricoh XR-7. Fun, interesting, somewhat different from the mainstream those certainly are. But superbly built? Not hardly. Lagging a good deal behind the bigger Japanese makers in that regard.
This is ancient history and may or may not still figure in the digital age but then the R1 form factor still lives on.
kuzano
Veteran
Cults have certain commonalities....
Cults have certain commonalities....
Cult object status is most often attained when a loyal following for any object is adopted, comprised of people who:
1) Wear socks and birkenstock sandals or shoes together.
2) Drive Saabs
3) Use those little straps behind their heads that connect to the earpieces of their glasses
4) Use only Apple computers.
5) most often wear striped T shirts with Plaid knee length shorts, Or khaki cargo shorts.
There is some uncertaintly on the Apple side as to whether Apple computers spawn cults, or whether cult driven people adopted Apple devices as cult objects. Particularly since Apple came onto the social scene at approximately the same time as Geeks and Nerds. Cultism may have been driven by both the introduction of Apple and the propensity for higher education to produce strangely scientifically oriented social misfits.
In the case of the Ricoh, the name has much to do with it's cult status, being an unusual sounding name, for a rather odd looking electronic device. With the advent of the modular lens mount-sensor driven design it's very natural for that camera to have transitioned over from traditional devices to cult obsessed acquisition by people who predominantly:
1) wear Birkenstocks and socks together particularly black, sometimes Argyle wool.
2) drive Saabs (I have three)
3) Use those little eyeglass retention straps
4) Detest Microsoft vociferously and only use Apple products.
5) most often wear horizontally striped T shirts, and Plaid Knee length shorts, or Khaki Cargo pocket shorts.
NO RICOH FOR YOU!!! attributed to the "soup nazi"
Cults have certain commonalities....
Cult object status is most often attained when a loyal following for any object is adopted, comprised of people who:
1) Wear socks and birkenstock sandals or shoes together.
2) Drive Saabs
3) Use those little straps behind their heads that connect to the earpieces of their glasses
4) Use only Apple computers.
5) most often wear striped T shirts with Plaid knee length shorts, Or khaki cargo shorts.
There is some uncertaintly on the Apple side as to whether Apple computers spawn cults, or whether cult driven people adopted Apple devices as cult objects. Particularly since Apple came onto the social scene at approximately the same time as Geeks and Nerds. Cultism may have been driven by both the introduction of Apple and the propensity for higher education to produce strangely scientifically oriented social misfits.
In the case of the Ricoh, the name has much to do with it's cult status, being an unusual sounding name, for a rather odd looking electronic device. With the advent of the modular lens mount-sensor driven design it's very natural for that camera to have transitioned over from traditional devices to cult obsessed acquisition by people who predominantly:
1) wear Birkenstocks and socks together particularly black, sometimes Argyle wool.
2) drive Saabs (I have three)
3) Use those little eyeglass retention straps
4) Detest Microsoft vociferously and only use Apple products.
5) most often wear horizontally striped T shirts, and Plaid Knee length shorts, or Khaki Cargo pocket shorts.
NO RICOH FOR YOU!!! attributed to the "soup nazi"
Last edited:
kbg32
neo-romanticist
It's the optics above everything. Superb. And....
I do hate all of the below.
1) wear Birkenstocks and socks together particularly black, sometimes Argyle wool.
2) drive Saabs (I have three)
3) Use those little eyeglass retention straps
4) Detest Microsoft vociferously and only use Apple products.
5) most often wear horizontally striped T shirts, and Plaid Knee length short, or Khaki Cargo pocket shorts.
I do hate all of the below.
1) wear Birkenstocks and socks together particularly black, sometimes Argyle wool.
2) drive Saabs (I have three)
3) Use those little eyeglass retention straps
4) Detest Microsoft vociferously and only use Apple products.
5) most often wear horizontally striped T shirts, and Plaid Knee length short, or Khaki Cargo pocket shorts.
Last edited:
raid
Dad Photographer
I have never used such a camera.
Leica has a "cult following", but Ricoh may have a "mini-cult" following.
Leica has a "cult following", but Ricoh may have a "mini-cult" following.
paulfish4570
Veteran
kuzano, that is an absolutely hilarious post.
Raid, i think the cult mostly is in japan. but i only know what i read on the 'net ...
Raid, i think the cult mostly is in japan. but i only know what i read on the 'net ...
maddoc
... likes film again.
Moriyama Daido himself gave a short report at a TV show here in Japan about how useful this small camera is for photography in the streets and how he uses it instead of the former film-version ...
a10101100
Owl in a human suit.
oh, interesting - and i always thought it was the film counterparts i.e. GR1/s/v and the GR21s (oh boy they are pricey!) with the cult statuses.. the glass, the handling, the sheer size and weight (lack of it rather )
didnt know about the GRDs.. interesting.. and probably worth exploring or i should just remain contented with my simple GR1.
)didnt know about the GRDs.. interesting.. and probably worth exploring
or i should just remain contented with my simple GR1.
Pablito
coco frío
beautiful results, thoughtful design, very well made....
majid
Fazal Majid
Mostly because Ricoh's (film) GR1 series had a (well-deserved) cult status. I don't think the digital GRD line is as outstanding as the GR1v was in its day, however, starting with the small-sensor handicap.
umcelinho
Marcelo
ive never had a grd, but had a gx100, which has pretty much the same handling, and it was by far the best handling/ergonomics i have ever seen in a compact. everything is where it should be and felt so natural. its only flaw was the bad high iso performance, at 400 image quality was so-so already...
i often think the same thing about leica
i have a grd3. it has the same sensor as used in several other P&S digital camera, so yes photos made with it could (in most cases) be made with something else. but the grd3 feels just right in the hand, and does what i want it to perfectly. its the camera i have in my bag right now. no problems with it so far.
Last edited:
paulfish4570
Veteran
well, i just need to handle one someday. they LOOK like they can dance on one's fingers.
kuzano
Veteran
kuzano, that is an absolutely hilarious post.
Raid, i think the cult mostly is in japan. but i only know what i read on the 'net ...
Thanks Paulfish... some days the brain just goes whacky and I have to write it down.
I'm pretty much just a victim of the "Three Saabs", not the rest. Thanks for reading it in the manner in which it was intended. I'm a product of the sixties. Cults have formed throughout the existence of humanity, but the 60's were a special peak period.... VW buses, weed, communes, trips to Canada, and all!!!
Pablito
coco frío
That is when I got mine, when I handled one that belonged to a friend of mine who works for a big newspaper. The small sensor is a handicap only if you let it be. The images from the grd3 are stunning and the color rendition is gorgeous. If there is a cult, it's because of the look of the images. I use DSLR and also LX3 and NEX, all professionally, and all I can say is the Ricoh is a very special little tool.
Liquid-Sky
Unregistered consumer
Ricoh gr1v / Ektar 100
i do own both, film & digital. If you live in cramped cities 28mm is quite useful. These are superb designed cameras and the lens is great, i mainly use the film one though!