Thread: The Ricoh GR Digital IV: First Impressions

Originally Posted by Armanius

Nicely written review Paul. Feeding the GAS in me as well. Fortunately, I still have the V1 on hand to temporarily satisfy my immediate urges to buy new gear!

Hi Armanius - Yes, well tis the season for GAS ;-) I too am not immune and have been loading my wishlists up in B&H only to delete them later (this is safer than loading up your B&H shopping cart by the way). My solution (and relief) for my GAS is to take my GRD4 out and make some photos. Hopefully that will get me over the GAS-hump as it only lasts just before and after the holiday season (for me anyway).

Best,

Paul

Excellent advice about the wishlists vs the shopping cart!

Originally Posted by Armanius

Nicely written review Paul. Feeding the GAS in me as well. Fortunately, I still have the V1 on hand to temporarily satisfy my immediate urges to buy new gear!

No reason not to own both:roll eyes: On a more serious note, I still have the GRD III and it is the one camera make I always go back to. Had the GR1 (film) and GRD II before it and nothing quite handles like Ricoh's GR line. Their lenses are first rate and user interface, ergonomics and haptics in a class of its own.

Hi Paul;
Great review!
I actually was meaning to email you to ask you what your thoughts were about tho camera, since I know you own and use the GRD 3.
I didn't read through all the comments, so I apologize if this has been covered before; but I was curious if you had any thoughts about the Fuji X100 in comparison to the GRD 4. I know its apples to oranges, but the larger sensor is tempting.
Have you considered the X100 over the GRD 4, for the the documentary and fine art work you do?

isolation

Originally Posted by JohnKobeck

Hi Paul;
Great review!
I actually was meaning to email you to ask you what your thoughts were about tho camera, since I know you own and use the GRD 3.
I didn't read through all the comments, so I apologize if this has been covered before; but I was curious if you had any thoughts about the Fuji X100 in comparison to the GRD 4. I know its apples to oranges, but the larger sensor is tempting.
Have you considered the X100 over the GRD 4, for the the documentary and fine art work you do?

isolation

Hi John,

Sorry it took so long to respond to this question. I think the X100 is a different camera altogether. A larger sensor, the hybrid viewfinder, and fixed 35mm lens (to name just a few differences) just put this camera in a different league. Having had an X100 in my possession for awhile to write a review for SC, I can say that I didn't have any regrets giving the camera back (in it's current state anyway). I loved the image quality and the hybrid viewfinder (not to mention the general feel of the camera in my hands) but I found the menu layout confusing and slow manual focusing (with no ability to pre-focus the lens to a specific distance easily) to be real detractors for me.

Over time (and many cameras later) I realize that my needs vary. In general though, I need only three cameras:

1. I need a high quality compact that is always with me and can be used for everything from street photography to discrete documentary (the Ricoh GRD4 fits the bill here quite nicely).

2. I sometimes need a camera that has a larger sensor and the ability to swap lenses (prime lenses in the 28mm to 50mm focal length in general) for planned documentary work and maybe for fine art work. It needs to be semi-compact, very portable, and unobtrusive. I got rid of my Canon 5D awhile ago due to the bulk and weight (I used a Canon 50mm 1.2 L lens). I sometimes wish I had that camera back (with that beautiful L lens) but I also remember leaving the camera home 90% of the time as well and on my last trip to Mexico to work on a project, I only took my GRD3 with me and left the Canon home.

I'm currently playing with a Ricoh GXR (currently with the 28mm module) but I'm not entirely sold on it yet. Larger sensor aside, it seems duplicative of the GRD4 and what I use it for. The new Olympus OM-D caught my eye but the pancake lens aren't up to snuff (IMHO) and the sensor size doesn't do much for me either. I'm also curious about the forthcoming Fuji XPro-1 (very expensive) but I suspect that many of the issues I had with the X100 will be present in the XPro-1 as well (unless Fuji fixed these issues which is possible I guess). I could always wait for the prices on the Canon 5D Mark II to drop after the release of the Canon 5D Mark III but again, the camera would probably stay home most of the time. The new Pentax K-01 is butt ugly (IMO) but it will take the high quality (albeit very slow) lens from the Pentax K line.

So, Category Two is still an open page for me. The problem of course is that new cameras are coming out all of the time and all cameras require some type of compromise so there is never really a "perfect" camera for all possible uses. The GXR is certainly a nice camera but the Olympus OM-D is attractive too (mostly due to nostalgia I suspect since my first serious camera was an Olympus OM-F when I was a kid). The XPro-1 seems nice on paper but if it brings forward the X100 issues, it is not the camera for me. The prime lens options for the Pentax K-01 are nice (and high quality) but a 28mm equiv. f3.2 lens does not appeal to me.

3. I also need a snapshot camera for birthday parties, etc. and my iPhone 4 fits the bill nicely for this kind of photography.

Sometimes the best way to get rid of G.A.S. is to just sit tight, bear the pain, and let it pass ;-)

Paul

Stop making me want a GRD4!

I was thinking though, if ISO1600 on the GRD4 pretty much corresponds to ISO800 on the GRD3 what happens on the low end of the scale?
If you pick ISO100 and a fixed aperture on both the GRD3 and GRD4 do you effectively get an "ISO50" on the GRD4 with less noise than ISO100 on the GRD3 and half the shutter speed?

Originally Posted by Chris2500dk

Stop making me want a GRD4!

I was thinking though, if ISO1600 on the GRD4 pretty much corresponds to ISO800 on the GRD3 what happens on the low end of the scale?
If you pick ISO100 and a fixed aperture on both the GRD3 and GRD4 do you effectively get an "ISO50" on the GRD4 with less noise than ISO100 on the GRD3 and half the shutter speed?

Hi Chris,

To be honest, I'm not sure what happens to the low end of the ISO spectrum when comparing the GRD3 and the GRD4. I suppose one could do a side-by-side comparison but I'm willing to bet there is little to no difference (at least as far as one can tell). At some point it all becomes kind of like staring at your own belly-button. As was pointed out by another SC poster, Ricoh may simply have changed the ISO scale so that ISO 1600 on the GRD4 and is actually ISO 800 on the GRD3 (with no real up-tick in ISO capability). If that is the case, the the lower end is definitely not affected. Hope this makes sense.

Best,

Paul