Ricoh GXR+RF lenses off to the Races!

rbelyell · Expire: 2014-01-31

i recently rented a ricoh gxr with m mount module and evf to audition with my RF lenses. all cameras take a little getting used to, but i am really liking this camera a lot, and seeing so much more individual lens character than i did with other cameras. the camera also allows one to 'bracket' color& b&w (and sepia as a third choice), which i think is just a great feature for me personally. anyway, here are some shots from the town of saratoga and its namesake racetrack. as you'll see, at the track its all about horses, hats and ... mustaches! enjoy and c&c encouraged! the first 3 taken with canon serener 28/3.5, next 3 with leica summarit 50/1.4 at dusk, and the rest with the leica elmar-c 90/4.
tony

#1

#2

#3

#4

#5

#6

#7

#8

#9

#10

#11

#12

#13

#14

#15

IAZA · Joined: 16 Apr 2010 Posts: 2587 Location: Indonesia

Fantastic shots.,,
my friend have gxr, its great camera.but the module system is too expensive than adapters of Nex Very Happy

mmelvis · Expire: 2015-05-09

The 7th shot really stands out. The b/w captures the feeling.

Attila · Expire: 2025-11-18

#2,#3 ,#15 are stunning! Congrats to your new gem!

Katastrofo · Expire: 2013-11-19

I like them all, but especially the colors, lighting, and detail in #9, a nicely collected shot.

Interesting that Ricoh went with a CMOS sensor in this camera, from the CCDs used in the GRD series.

Looks like a dream outfit to me, Tony!

kuuan · Expire: 2014-12-26

fantastic portrait for a 28mm in #3, #7 shows how a rel. slow tele comes at it's own, round oof highlights wide open paired with deep dof and good sharpness. Very good sharpness also on the last and good catch telling a whole story of #9

the GXR is the camera I most of any would want to get hands on.
Enjoy it Tony and please tell us more about the experience and show us more photos taken with it Smile

( possibly even photos 'of' it with your RF lenses mounted )

rbelyell · Expire: 2014-01-31

thank you all very much. i really appreciate the kind comments. ive only have the camera for a week total, so i dont have so much experience with it. there are quite a few settings to make, and that does not include the ability to customize 6 separate and different individual lens profiles, the instructions for which are quite incomplete, so i did not even try given my limited time with the camera. i definitely see individual lens characteristics much more with the gxr than any other camera ive used before. it is very small but extremely solid metal construction. as with all my other digis ive set up special parameters that minimize NR, increase sharpness and decrease red/magenta slightly. the gxr has a pretty cool NR setting that lets you set both the iso you want NR to kick in and how slight or extreme it is when it kicks in. mine is set to 'weak' for iso over 800, and auto iso goes up in very small ncrements to meet your designated minimm shutter speed. overall pretty well designed except the EV compensation toggle sitd exactly where your right thumb falls, so i have to watch out for inadvertantly changing settings. i bonded immediatel with how the camera looks and feels though. the articulating vf is not quite as good as the oly, but really allows for discreet shooting when set to 90 degrees.

iaza: yes ots a little expensive as a modular system ,though $250-350 is about equal or less than other lenses for AF systems. for me, i only will use it as a vehicle for my RF lenses.

melvis: thanks, i really liked that shot too, but i preferred the color. i love that this camera takes a color and b&w simultaneously both set to my specific parameters. its great to see them always side by side.

attila: thanks!

kastrofo:appreciate it. i really was lucky with that shot, again the articulating evf really helped me get shots like this.

kuuan: i too was surprised by how both these lenses performed--very different than on other cameras on which ive used them. obviously the lack of AA filter plus the microlens design really makes a huge difference.
tony

kuuan · Expire: 2014-12-26

Tony I am very happy that you repeatedly mention the articulating VF. So many times in so many threads I have written that I find an articulating viewfinder most useful for various reasons, that an electronic viewfinder should not inherit the limitation of an optical viewfinder of being rigid.

Most interesting your observation that you "definitely see individual lens characteristics much more with the gxr than any other camera"! Should be another reason why MF lens users should love this camera! Considering all the talk about sharpness of lenses I find it already mind boggling that not more people jump on this camera with a sensor without AA filter.
I am sure if the same camera would have been issued by Canon or Nikon it would be a star and sell like hotcakes Wink

Imo the GXR is closest to how many high end cameras will look like in the future. A digital rangefinder type of camera with small register distance, small lenses, articulating EVF ( better it's LCD would also be moveable ) paired with very good handling, access to settings and good variety of features/settings, and eventually also a FF sensor.

regards,
andreas

rbelyell · Expire: 2014-01-31

andreas i totally agree with everything you say, especially the articulating evf, a feature i really miss from my ep2. also, i dont understand why anyone would any longer include an AA filter, except for specific models used in the fashion industry...

i would caution against necessarily extending the gxr's ability to transmit individual lens characteristics beyond the RF lens context into slr mf lenses. i am not saying it would not extend to non rf lenses, only that the camera is specifically optimized to bring out these characteristics with RF lenses, and that is personaly my only experience with it.

if i decide to buy one it wpuld be to use w rf glass about 90% of the time, but i would probably pick up a cheap konica adapter to try out with my AR lenses...
tony

hoanpham · Expire: 2015-01-18

Congrats Tony,
Interesting hardware piece you have.
Pentax forums mention the M module. Is that the same but with addition mount?
I like the way it allows user to fine tune parameters.
I need to research more about this.

Very nice series btw. 15, 7, 8, 1 and 2 are beautiful.

Orio · Expire: 2012-12-04

The results look very good and promising!