Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2006/07/14
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]Well, I have a GRD and I think I can answer both Eric's original question and the subsequent comments from Bill and Rei. Eric, since you use the GR film version, you will know what people like about the GRD--it has the same kind of solid construction, form factor and ergonomics. The lens is excellent as well. Compared to other compacts, the shutter lag is not bad. I cannot recall missing a shot because of that. What is true is that writing a RAW file does take forever, and I have missed shots because of that. We are talking 6-10 seconds. Of course, one could always shoot JPEGs, but I refuse to do that. At first, I did not like the fact that there was no viewfinder, only the (admittedly very good) LCD screen on the back. But in the end my solution was to buy a Cosina/Voigtlander 28mm finder from Stephen Gandy and put it in the GRD's hot shoe. This is anyway a much better finder than anything you would ever find in a compact camera. To Bill and Rei: indeed it is great to have a fast, fixed lens on a pocket camera. The higher speeds are also useful, but...above 400 the noise becomes very pronounced. At 1600 you are looking at Tri-X in Rodinal, and not nearly as pleasing. Ricoh made a mistake in cramming 8 megapixels in a tiny sensor. I think it would have been better if they had stuck to 5 or 6. So the higher speeds compared to other compacts are less than meets the eye. If you convert the image to B&W, the noise becomes less distracting, since it just looks like film grain then. But in a color image I now use Noise Ninja on every GRD file shot at 800 or above, something I never need to do with my Canon DSLR files. In summary: I am happy with the GRD, but it is not as superior to other compacts as the spec sheet would have you believe. Nathan On 14-jul-2006, at 14:48, Rei Shinozuka wrote: > from what i read, the light sensitivity of the canon is conventional: > f2.8 lens and 400 asa speed. the GR has 2 1/2 more stops of speed, > 2 from the CCD and 1/2 from the lens. in addition, the fixed lens on > a digital has a purist appeal. > > like mr. Korenman, i'd love to hear some user feedback about the GRD. > > -rei > > On Jul14 05:29, Bill Smith wrote: >> Somethings (translation--many) I don't understand---why has the >> GRD gotten so much attention here, but the Canon S-80 w/ a 28mm >> also not gotten any? >> >> Just curious, >> >> Bill >> >> Eric Korenman <faneuil@gmail.com> wrote: >> I know some of you out there are shooting with a ricoh GR digital. >> In that quest for the perfect compact, go anywhere camera, it >> looks tempting. >> >> Like / dislike this camera? >> I have heard that it has prominent shutter lag and slow write >> speed in RAW mode. >> >> Compacts I use: Contax T3, Ricoh GR1v. >> >> Eric > > -- > Rei Shinozuka shino@panix.com > Ridgewood, New Jersey > > > _______________________________________________ > Leica Users Group. > See http://leica-users.org/mailman/listinfo/lug for more information > Nathan Wajsman nathan@nathanfoto.com General photography: http://www.nathanfoto.com http://www.greatpix.eu Picture-A-Week: http://www.fotocycle.dk/paws Blog: http://www.fotocycle.dk/blog