why does the ricoh grd series have cult status?

As for reliability of film Ricohs, all I can say their SLRs are working for me from day one. One compact Ricoh acted up but I suspect that were because of combination of two heavy AA cells and flimsy battery compartment door, leading to intermittent contact. Two digital low-end Ricohs ended up in parts bin, but they were old, about ten years. Now tell me if other digital cameras are supposed to be user cameras after ten years? Recently I had idea to get Fuji compact with Super CCD of generation before phenomenal F30, and you know, all offers I have seen state they have defects. I simply don't expect digital compact to have lifespan like a film camera. Maybe I'm wrong but I'd go only for new GRD, or buy shortly used but not abused one from a person I'm fimiliar to and have a month of evaluation period.
 
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A couple of nights ago I pulled out my copy of Stray Dog of Tokyo and watched some of the DVD. The way Daido Moriyama strolls about, taking photos of anything that takes his fancy, is very inspiring.

The GRD III is a superb small sensor camera and the benefits come from the handling, feel, and the images. I have not held any other digital camera that melds with your hand in the same way. The menus and buttons are almost infinitely customizable and it even gives you the option to turn off the Power button light. And the files have a surprisingly rich feeling even though they come from a small sensor. Lightroom does a super job with the files, too.

If the performance of the GRD IV is a lot better than the III's, I might be tempted to get one in the coming year.

Mind you, the GXR and 28mm aps-c module has replaced the GRD III for most of my shooting applications. The richness of the files is truly a level or two above, essentially giving DSLR quality in a compact camera. But I still use the GRD III when I want something small, light and very discreet.
 
The Soup Nazi

The Soup Nazi

kuzano said:
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"
Click to expand...

Thanks for such a funny post 🙂

soupnazi.jpg
 
From what I know:

The Gr1 series was already popular in Japan before digital, partly because of photographers like Moriyama Daido. A lot of Japanese people like stuff to be small, especially in Tokyo where living and storing space is rather tight. And the Gr1 is of course a great 35mm compact. Those were also times when people didn't pixel peep the images on their computer and looked more at style and substance.

Now I notice here in Tokyo that the GRD is very popular amongst pro photographers as their compact spare time camera. They have a very zen like approach to their hobby photography, almost the complete opposite to their detailed, strictly rule based professional work, which is understandable, I think. The GRD is nice for this, with macro function, nice black and white styles, and accessible, non DSLR controls.
You'll find many photographs here of just one detail of a fence, or an empty street with one bicycle in it etc.

Interestingly, in Tokyo they don't shoot too much street style in discrete (spy) fashion. I think this is being seen as voyeurism, and is actually being done a lot with mobile phones in the train, trying to get under girls' skirts.

I have also noticed that a lot of girls who work in the design related industry (huge in Tokyo) have one. Perhaps they saw cameramen using one or talked with them. Or maybe being from a design background the prefer it's design over the flashy Nikon Canon point and shoot camera's, which are often advertised in plenty of bright (pink) colors.

I have it too, and I like it 🙂
It's surprising what you can do with a 28mm fast lens that can focus as close as you want.

I don't wear glasses (perfect eyesight) or have a driver's licence, but I do use apple products (not that crappy phone, though), and I really like thick woolen socks! I'll wear whatever I can get cheap or for free, and often look ridiculous.
 
Owned since november 2010.....I've got a Canon S90 too....
Pics don't look better, but the camera handle the right way as a "real camera" so I prefer it above the Canon: this one seems a toy.....when I'm using the GRD (III) I feel like I'm really taking photos.....
That's all.
 
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If you like huge DOF, it is a good camera, but just a small sensor digital camera, nothing more. I believe Jon uses one from time to time and for that it is fine. If you are a bokeh nut/OOF fanatic/etc. it is not the one to use for that.🙂

Having said that, I thoroughly enjoyed using my D40 and was able to be somewhat creative in professional use with it. But it was limited and I needed to move on. You can buy a great D40 for less than $300. It will almost fit in your pocket with a 50mm 1.8. But, like all Nikon, that stupid hand grip makes it a FAT arsed camera.
 
39per1 said:
Owned since november 2010.....I've got a Canon S90 too....
Pics don't look better, but the camera handle the right way as a "real camera" so I prefer it above the Canon: this one seems a toy.....when I'm using the GRD (III) I feel like I'm really taking photos.....
That's all.
Click to expand...

I read S90 owners order custom made grip to enhance handling. What do they (Canon etc.) think, making capable but not cheap camera with ergonomics of brick of soap?
 
I have no qualms about shooting the GRD3 wide open. So, between the f1.9 aperture and the 28mm focal length, I never felt that lack of image stabilization was a problem.
 
It's the only digital camera I didn't hate and return or sell.

Although I thought the files on the original GRD were crap and didn't look like grain but noise, the GRD 3 is much improved and produces really nice photos. They don't look brittle and digitally like most other compacts which must be due to some choices Ricoh made since it shares the same sensor as everything else has. The lens does have distortion but not the unacceptable amount that most other compacts do at the wide end.

From what I've seen of Moriyama's work (quite a bit, much of it in person), it's great when he's shooting black and white film and really bad when he shoots color or digital unless there is some newer stuff I haven't seen.

The GRD just works. You can make it do what you want and get out of your way. For me that means aperture priority, mostly leave it at 1.9 and set the shutter button to auto focus if pressed half way or just shoot in snap mode if jammed down in one motion. That covers 90% of what I want a small camera to do. Process the RAWs in Lightroom and done.
 
It's all about the handling...

Designed by photographers for photographers. Magnesium chassis. Wears in well, kind of like a treasured baseball glove with all of the scars of its use.

First generation GR-D with in-camera jpeg B&W processing is what earned it cult status.
 
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