It seems from all I read leading to today's purchase that 90% will buy the Ricoh GR. I don't blame you/them - it seems to be "better" in many respects - size, weight, customisation, after sales firmware updates reputation, the 'cool' factor, one-handed ergonomics, that snap focus thingy...
I was heartened though by Ming Thein's review, and comparative review to the GR. Although, in the end he bought the GR - for reasons aligned to his artistic preferences, I was influenced by his comments in favour of the Coolpix A. He seemed to rate the image quality very highly, and he is very fussy: "I don’t say this lightly – I think technical image quality of the overall package matches or slightly exceeds that of the Leica M9/ 28/2.8 ASPH or 28/2 ASPH combinations, and far exceeds the Zeiss ZM 2.8/28 Biogon/ M9 combination.". Ming thinks "the way [the Coolpix] renders is very pleasing indeed – plenty of microcontrast bite... it slices things into clean planes, much like the modern Leica ASPH designs." and "Images just seem to have slightly more pop" than the GR's. Almost all ergonomic factors went the GR's way, as did B&W work, customisation, flexibility, etc. But, he noted that his main grumbles with the Coolpix could be fixed via firmware updates. (Fingers crossed!)
Another key factor in favour of today's purchase was Ray Sachs' and Retow's experience and affection for the camera on this forum. I don't know either gentleman, but from what I read, the purchase seems to put me in good company. ;-)
Also, I liked the Coolpix in the hand - it felt just a little higher quality than the GR.
Another factor that influenced me - oddly - was price. In Hong Kong - right at the moment anyway - the Coolpix A is actually cheaper than the Ricoh GR. That is partly a function of inflated pricing for the few GRs that are in stores (common practice here - I paid over RRP for the D800 last year to get it in time for a trip), and partly a function of discounting (already) on the Coolpix A. I bought my Coolpix A today for US$900, with extra battery, 16GB fast SD, a bag and other bits and pieces. The same store had a GR on sale, asking US$966 with no card, no extra battery, no case... (if you pre-order one elsewhere, they are all quoting US$837 for the GR with about a one month wait).
The only gotcha on the Coolpix deal today was that I had to take silver. So in addition to being in the 10% today choosing the Coolpix over the GR, I am in the further minority of those taking silver. But I happened to have a Voigtlander 28mm metal viewfinder - in silver - and although not an exact colour match, it is close enough to look like a set. So, I have an "OVR" at no additional outlay.
(sorry - taken in my kitchen in artificial light that seems to blend the camera in. I'll take this again in daylight).
BUT... the reason I bought the camera at all (as opposed to this viz the GR), is that it packs a lot of punch and - critically - will fit in my front jeans pocket, meaning it will replace not my D800, but my iPhone 4 (!!) for capturing things out and about. Well, that is the theory. Let's see if I do.
To muddy the waters a little, I did also buy the Sony RX100 at the same time (yes, quite a splurge). This is not complete redundancy, as I see the RX100 as having different potential strengths (zoom, stable video, even greater pocketability, but not quite the same potential image quality).
I have yet to really test the camera and put it into use, but I am excited about it.
I was heartened though by Ming Thein's review, and comparative review to the GR. Although, in the end he bought the GR - for reasons aligned to his artistic preferences, I was influenced by his comments in favour of the Coolpix A. He seemed to rate the image quality very highly, and he is very fussy: "I don’t say this lightly – I think technical image quality of the overall package matches or slightly exceeds that of the Leica M9/ 28/2.8 ASPH or 28/2 ASPH combinations, and far exceeds the Zeiss ZM 2.8/28 Biogon/ M9 combination.". Ming thinks "the way [the Coolpix] renders is very pleasing indeed – plenty of microcontrast bite... it slices things into clean planes, much like the modern Leica ASPH designs." and "Images just seem to have slightly more pop" than the GR's. Almost all ergonomic factors went the GR's way, as did B&W work, customisation, flexibility, etc. But, he noted that his main grumbles with the Coolpix could be fixed via firmware updates. (Fingers crossed!)
Another key factor in favour of today's purchase was Ray Sachs' and Retow's experience and affection for the camera on this forum. I don't know either gentleman, but from what I read, the purchase seems to put me in good company. ;-)
Also, I liked the Coolpix in the hand - it felt just a little higher quality than the GR.
Another factor that influenced me - oddly - was price. In Hong Kong - right at the moment anyway - the Coolpix A is actually cheaper than the Ricoh GR. That is partly a function of inflated pricing for the few GRs that are in stores (common practice here - I paid over RRP for the D800 last year to get it in time for a trip), and partly a function of discounting (already) on the Coolpix A. I bought my Coolpix A today for US$900, with extra battery, 16GB fast SD, a bag and other bits and pieces. The same store had a GR on sale, asking US$966 with no card, no extra battery, no case... (if you pre-order one elsewhere, they are all quoting US$837 for the GR with about a one month wait).
The only gotcha on the Coolpix deal today was that I had to take silver. So in addition to being in the 10% today choosing the Coolpix over the GR, I am in the further minority of those taking silver. But I happened to have a Voigtlander 28mm metal viewfinder - in silver - and although not an exact colour match, it is close enough to look like a set. So, I have an "OVR" at no additional outlay.
(sorry - taken in my kitchen in artificial light that seems to blend the camera in. I'll take this again in daylight).
BUT... the reason I bought the camera at all (as opposed to this viz the GR), is that it packs a lot of punch and - critically - will fit in my front jeans pocket, meaning it will replace not my D800, but my iPhone 4 (!!) for capturing things out and about. Well, that is the theory. Let's see if I do.
To muddy the waters a little, I did also buy the Sony RX100 at the same time (yes, quite a splurge). This is not complete redundancy, as I see the RX100 as having different potential strengths (zoom, stable video, even greater pocketability, but not quite the same potential image quality).
I have yet to really test the camera and put it into use, but I am excited about it.