Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2006/07/14

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Subject: [Leica] opinions of the Ricoh GRD--why not Canon S-80
From: nathan at nathanfoto.com (Nathan Wajsman)
Date: Fri Jul 14 06:48:32 2006
References: <82c9dd70607140453g39673651q5dfc30ed73e62865@mail.gmail.com> <20060714122956.99586.qmail@web56602.mail.re3.yahoo.com> <20060714124831.GF16862@panix.com>

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
>
>
> _______________________________________________
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>

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



Replies: Reply from faneuil at gmail.com (Eric Korenman) ([Leica] opinions of the Ricoh GRD--why not Canon S-80)
In reply to: Message from faneuil at gmail.com (Eric Korenman) ([Leica] opinions of the Ricoh GRD)
Message from wrs111445 at yahoo.com (Bill Smith) ([Leica] opinions of the Ricoh GRD--why not Canon S-80)
Message from shino at panix.com (Rei Shinozuka) ([Leica] opinions of the Ricoh GRD--why not Canon S-80)