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3 years gone
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BG_CX3_DPREVIEW
Senior Member
The CX range had a 6 months life cycle,the GRD a 2 yrs, lets hope the GXR a 3 years so we finally see something.
I'm about to sell my GXR,i'm just holding on in the hope the release a module for my needs. The Ricoh UI is unique and too apealing for me to swop.
If nothing comes by th eend of the year, i'll sell mine for sure, buy a CX6 to ease the pain a bit and see what others offer.
I'm about to sell my GXR,i'm just holding on in the hope the release a module for my needs. The Ricoh UI is unique and too apealing for me to swop.
If nothing comes by th eend of the year, i'll sell mine for sure, buy a CX6 to ease the pain a bit and see what others offer.
JJJRRR768
Forum Pro
I was just thinking of putting mine with my last lens, the 50mm on ebay today. I am hoping the FUji XE1, if I decide to keep a camera with primes will come out with a 35mm FL (35mm equivalent) and then with the 60mm (90mm) I will have what I have always wanted.
I thought that you was happy with the S10 module?
Well. There is plenty of good competitors out there now which are just about as good or better aside from user interface and maybe some other minor things.
X10, Potentially also the Fujifilm XF1, Oly XZ-2, S100/S110. LX7 and maybe also the XZ-2 just might be a little bulky. I temporarily stopped wait and look at for newer Ricoh compacts since Ricoh probably not is going to calm down regarding Nr which smudges detail well even when set to Off in the latest GRD, IV and CX5 and CX6 began to smudge details as well after the CX4 which used relatively little Nr at the default setting which is normal or auto.
I'm not sure how well CX5 and CX6 compares to CX4 if all of them have Nr set to Ricoh's wannabe Off and I'm not very tempted getting a super zoom at all for my own use and especially not with an aged zoom which many competitors has left behind.
With that said above I finally bought an inexpensive R3 for a short couple of months back as I wanted some kind of long-zoom GRD with low Nr.
Tested the R4 as well but even though it looks better on the spec sheet it is actually not as good as the R3 despite a slightly more high resolution screen though which hardly is noticeably at all in normal use. The R3 lcd is noisier than the lcd on the R4 which are noticably especially indoors and less so outside in good light.
Further on the R4 have 6mp ccd compared to 5mp in R3. But the problem there is that the R4 is noisier at equivalent iso like 100 for example and also have slight banding problem which not the R3 have. A R3 with the latest firmware works well for me with fast and reliable focus for most of the time. Occasionally the Af might take a very short while for it to lock focus at the long end of the zoom and the it have shut itself down 3-4 times just after having powered it on. Not too frequent to be critical to me and it always started fine on the second attempt.
If you want some new super zoom with more up to date zoom and with low Nr my recommendation would be to test or at least have a look at the Canon Powershot SX240 or SX260. The difference seems to be that the SX260 have GPS.
I had a look at full size sample images from the most of the compact super-zooms which were new for 2012 towards the end of the spring. Only the SX240/260 and to some extent the Fujifilm 770 EXR used relatively little Nr.
I almost could not believe how bad some of the competitors was. Some of them more unexpectedly bad than others, especially when I kept in mind what I might expect from the manufacturers based on many of their others cameras and the Noise reduction used.
Saying this without pointing any finger at the manufacturers which I think fooled it up hard and which should have managed better than them actually did at the end.
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As I understand it that 23mm lens (35mm fl equivalent) is due out spring next year. The XE1 with this lens would tempt me as well, so hoping Ricoh brings this focal length out in a module before then to keep my choices simpler.
Andrewteee
Senior Member
Whatever will be will be.
F Stop Fitzgerald
Leading Member
Your right!
But I would like to add a few comments in this thread.
I owned & loved the GRD2 and GRD3. I would probably have liked the GRD4 as well. However there have been so many improvements in compact cameras from makers such as Sony, that I would seriously consider getting another brand next time, had I still been interested in pocket cameras.
Regarding the GXR, I also feel that the small sensor zoom modules are also long in the tooth and if it were not for the EVF, I think the SONY RX-100 is a better bet.
I don't know much about the A16 Zoom unit, but the GXR A12 50mm and 28mm units are still very good and can provide a great image and UI experience in a relatively compact package for an APS-C camera.
Bearing all that in mind. IMHO the m-mount module is the Killer product in the GXR range. For use with old manual focus SLR lenses it is a GREAT camera in terms of image quality and UI. And with the m-mount lenses, the micro lensed & no AA filtered sensor does a great job with all manner of glass including the wide lenses. At this point outside of Leica, there is no other maker providing such a camera.
So, I am also speculated out. Until somebody else makes a micro-lensed m-mount camera at a price-point less that that of the Leica M cameras, I'm gonna quit trying to guess what Ricoh will do next. If something better comes along, I'll look at it, but in the meantime I will keep shooting the GXR in my quest to become a better photographer.
BG_CX3_DPREVIEW
Senior Member
Hi Schaki, i still love the S10, but it stops at 72, i hardly go below 50mm, so its very limited for my use. Its very sharp. I bought it as an upgrade from my CX3, but i now know it cannot replace it, the zomm is simply too short for my use. And, i sho like 1000 a month with the CX, now barely 100 a month with the GXR, for some reason it does not challenge me to make pics, strange.
My list now has gone down to a CX6, XZ-2, X10 and V1. The RX100 is great but extremely expensive here, due to its price setting out of my league at the moment.
The oly i have never seen here, so i need to check it out as i read more than once that the XZ-1 is an undiscovered gem, so the XZ-2 must be great, but touch screen? Nah.
The X10, i held it sevral times and it feels cheap plastic, lightweight?
The V1 is simply impressive, if the V2 was in my pricerange, i would buy it, the UI is ok, better than most other non Ricoh sets (have not seen the RX100 yet i must confess), but the lenses, nah.
So, since the GX300 is not yet made, i cannot find my ultiate cam at the moment.
My list now has gone down to a CX6, XZ-2, X10 and V1. The RX100 is great but extremely expensive here, due to its price setting out of my league at the moment.
The oly i have never seen here, so i need to check it out as i read more than once that the XZ-1 is an undiscovered gem, so the XZ-2 must be great, but touch screen? Nah.
The X10, i held it sevral times and it feels cheap plastic, lightweight?
The V1 is simply impressive, if the V2 was in my pricerange, i would buy it, the UI is ok, better than most other non Ricoh sets (have not seen the RX100 yet i must confess), but the lenses, nah.
So, since the GX300 is not yet made, i cannot find my ultiate cam at the moment.
Touchscreen might just be ok as long as it works well as for my Samsung L74 Wide which also have touchscreen. Weird that the sample images which Dpreview posted looks marginally more smudged sometimes than the other sample images which I've seen posted in a review of the XZ-2 from an Oly-user. He set the Nr filter to Off which not is the default value.
And the sample images posted by Dpreview. http://www.dpreview.com/galleries/reviewsamples/albums/olympus-xz-2-preview-samples
> The X10, i held it sevral times and it feels cheap plastic, lightweight?
> The V1 is simply impressive, if the V2 was in my pricerange, i would buy it, the UI is ok, better than most other non Ricoh sets (have not seen the RX100 yet i must confess), but the lenses, nah.
Yes, even though I've not used the Nikon 1 yet I agree that the specifications seems to be rather ok. Definitely makes more sense than the Pentax Q which to me is like a small bad joke with that combination of bulk and sensor size. The lenses as you say have so far left something to be desired. I read briefly about two months ago that at least some user not had very high thoughts about the 10mm pancake which equals 27mm. That is something of a blow.
Also the size not compare very well to some of the m4/3 which have bigger sensor.
But still the Nikon 1 series have some attractive features which imo let it have a clear edge over the Pentax Q. Sensor size, fast Af and silent shutter. Seems to be very good for streetphoto.
It might have some other advantage as well which I may have forgotten. Long time since I had a long look at it.
I'm very disappointed to see that Fujifilm, Samsung NX and as far as I know also Sony Nex, Olympus and Panasonic decided to go for mechanical shutters. Hopefully it is not too late and maybe them might produce some of their coming cameras without mechanical shutter.
I tested the GX100 not very long ago but was left badly disappointed with the sharpening artifacts even when set to -2. The lensunit on my was good with ok corner sharpness at 24mm and widest aperture. The sound which the autofocus made was slightly loud and reminded about a croaking magpie which I got to experience on my very first walk on it when I tried to get a sharp picture of a cat in not so good light and IS turned off. The cat lost focus on what it was doing, looked at me instead, when it heard the sound of the AF at least twice or more when I tried to get a sharp picture of it.
The cat-picture and an other which I converted from raw/dng can be found in an other thread.
GX100 - a bit late to the party
Hi, On impulse I just acquired a mint GX100+EVF at a bargain price. Having been frustrated for several years with LCD only compacts I wanted to try out EVF feasibility before perhaps committing to a more expensive set-up with EVF. My first impressions are all very positive and much better than...
The GX100 have a reputation of having a good jpg engine but unfortunately I can't agree about that. Imo the GRDI clearly have a better jpg ouput except from colours. With the GX100 I had to use raw/Dng to get something really decent out of it because of the imo unfinished sharpening algorithm. I've understood or at least go the impression that the S10 have a better jpg engine, luckily.
I don't know exactly how the the GX200 stacks up. Have barely had a decent look at the full size sample images from reviews of it and I'm not so interested either with the removal of Phase Detection AF sensors which should mean that the AF is slower than the GX100 which not is quite as rapid as the GRDI if i remember that correct, and definitely slightly behind the Ricoh Caplio GX8 which the GX100 succeeded. I've not used the GX8 itself but have enough of expierence from the Ricoh Caplio 500SE which uses the very same combination of internal hardware like combination of zoom and ccd etc. What it not have is aperture priority but that's not a big problem as the zoom-unit in my is clearly useful at f2.5 which is the widest aperture.
The 500SE/GX8 is focuses not much but at least marginally faster than the GRDI.
The 4 secs delay until next shot could be taken in raw with the GX100 was not a problem for me. But I don't like having to convert each picture. With all my cameras I try to find optimal jpg settings for me and get it right at once when I try to take a picture to minimize the need for post process. Often I manage rather well with that.
That is something good which I've got with me from having shot with film for a short period of time in 2003 and 2004. Having used a 2mp Coolpix 700 which was my first digital camera since the spring in 2000 and already then I tried to get it properly done but even more so when I began with film.
I just ordered the Fuji F770 yesterday, when the price at Amazon.jp dropped to ¥14,800. That is a lot of zoom for very little yen. Plus I still have the F200, and so am familiar with the best settings for an EXR sensor. Hoping to get a good one, as Fuji are reported to have quality control issues.
Read the Fuji forum. Sometimes it seems like they make not only cameras but yo-yo's since people keep sending them back for exchange, sending them in for repair, sending them in again for yet another repair... I suspect they've got the lowest quality control of any of the big camera makers.
Yeah, I have heard about all the problems. What I am hoping is that Fuji keeps the better units for the Japanese market (which of course they would never admit). Both a colleague and student of mine have F770s with no problems and so, given the price, I went for one.
BTW, my old F11 and F200 were good, as is my wife's F70, and the 3 F70's I recommended to friends here.
Remko Westrik
Member
I have to admit I'm still very happy with the pics I get with the A 28 ans 50 units. The more I use these to more I'm impressed with the sharpness of these units. Far better than my DSLR with primes.
I would say that the P and S units are indeed a bit old in the tooth. But I don't think they are primary modules for the GXR but more nice to have extensions.
I would be happy with an 1" 24-100 module, an 80-ish A module, and a bit faster focus for the A 50.
remko
I would say that the P and S units are indeed a bit old in the tooth. But I don't think they are primary modules for the GXR but more nice to have extensions.
I would be happy with an 1" 24-100 module, an 80-ish A module, and a bit faster focus for the A 50.
remko
Yep, that's pretty much where I'm at. Between the tsunami and the takeover Ricoh's plans have lost momentum. So much so that whatever comes next will be a new start. I'm ever the optimistic though so I look forward to seeing the new direction Pentax Ricoh head in. Not saying I will necessarily agree with it though
The M mount module has been a revelation for me, introducing me to a style of photography that I enjoy and think has improved my technique. So whatever comes next I hope will be such an enabler again.
cheers
Al
Yes I've sometimes read about the quality control issues in Fujifilm talk. It seems to be limited to to their compact super-zooms mostly though. I've not noticed much if at all problem with QC for the X10, almost only the Orb problem which has been wildly discussed over there.
Ricoh is not much better at all and Canon have had problems as well with their SX240/SX260 and lens error as well as QC issues with the zoom in their S100.
For Ricoh it have mostly been the R-series and now later the CX series but them also QC issues with GX100 which sometimes could be soft at the long end of the zoom and I would doubt that the wide end always had sharp corners and edge-sharpness at he widest-aperture.
My GX100 which I bought inexpensively on Ebay because it had a broken zoom got a new lens-unit which was very good imo. Sharp at every corner at full aperture at the wide end. I didn't use it much at 72mm though so I don't remember how it was there.
I did so because I knew that GX200 and the GXR S10 module had a new revision of that zoom with better dust sealing which was a weak point for GX100 and also the S10 had a newer 10mp sensor.
Martin Setvak reported that his GX100 got the newer lens-unit when he sent it in while it still was within warranty for dust issues. According to him, the new dust sealing have a different colour and the Awb is not exactly the same as it is not the same specififaction 10mp which the Awb in GX100 was engineered for. Still I didn't have any problem with WB.
What made me finally sell the GX100 was all the sharpening artifacts even with sharpening set to -2 and that forced me to use raw/dng if I really wanted to get something really useful out of it.
I didn't like that... even though the 4 secs raw-writing hardly was a problem for me. So with that said I can't agree with many other about the GX100 as a good camera for jpg users like me.
Imo the GRDI, GX, GX8, 500SE and the R3 have a better jpgs without all these sharpening artifacts but not same great colour as GX100.
I don't know fo sure about the cameras like GRDII which I've had briefly for a long time ago and also GX200 which I not have had a good look at what the full size sample images looks like.
JJJRRR768
Forum Pro
Since Ricoh is not talking they are not giving us many choices right now. It is really too bad.
Posted by Paul Till recently in the Fuji forum, and I believe he owned at least one X10: his lists of the top (!) X10 faults:
1. Poor/erratic focusing with false confirmation or locking onto anything but your intended target even when set on centre AF point only.
2. Temperamental AF switch, often leaving the camera on AF/C even when the switch is set to AF/S or MF.
3. Loose OVF housing and wonky dioptre only giving a clear image at one or the other end of the zoom range.
4. Temperamental on/off switch.
5. Orbs.
Add one more to this, it has notoriously poor battery life.
Fuji also had problems with the X100 (sticking lens diaphragm resulting in sporadic huge overexposure) and the XS1 (bad sensor / orbs and a lens that has as much as 5mm 'slop' movement when fully extended. Read the Fuji forum and see how people send in their camera to get one thing fixed and get it back with a different problem. While many get their cameras back quickly, some have waited two months to get their cameras back. People have posted how they used business cards and other things to prop up the slack out of their XS1 lenses. This is utterly unacceptable in any camera, much less one costing almost as much as a basic dslr kit.
Fuji is unfortunately (for them) in their own league when it comes to defective cameras. Neither Ricoh (from what I've read) nor Canon is cursed with cameras having so many design and quality control issues. If Canon was a fraction that bad professionals would have stopped using them ages ago. (I've only owned two Canons and there was not the slightest issue with either of them, and the same applies to the three Pannys, a Ricoh and a Toshiba digicam I've owned.) Canon appears to be a great deal more proactive about resolving any issues which have popped up, while Fuji had to be pestered and begged for months before they began to deal with the 'orbs' issue - a fatal flaw that could ruin images taken under some rather common circumstances.
The new Fuji (X Pro1?) seems to have a fantastic sensor and hopefully those who rush to buy one will escape the Fuji curse that the last few major models have visited upon the owners. Fuji does bring out interesting designs and if they could fix the major bugs BEFORE people plunk down $600 or $800 or $1000+ for them, it would certainly help their image. (No pun intended but could have been.)
I'm not as much a brand loyalist as I am a 'me' loyalist. Whatever camera I buy has to do the job properly for me because unlike so many whose posts I've read on FTF, I will not accept a defective camera or cut the maker endless slack over defects because I love its styling. While some in the Fuji forum discuss which service centers in which country are known to be good or not so good, I don't know anything about Canon, Panny, Toshiba or Ricoh service centers as I've never needed to use any of them. If you want to buy a Fuji, I strongly suggest waiting two or three months and let the other people who are hot to trot find out what is wrong with them before you part with your money.
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Funny you mentioned both the V1 and the Q.
1) I own the GXR and think it is the best APS mirrorless on the market.
2) I would love to see a GXR updated body with an integrated EVF and weatherproofed.
3) I would like to see Ricoh allow the GXR to evolve and take advantage of it's acquisition of Pentax
- Add a lens module with the optics of the FA 77mm or DA 70mm
- If that will not happen, add two new Lens Mount modules:
- Q mount for birding and digiscoping.
- KAF mount for AF access to the library of DA and FA lenses.
4) Since Ritz went out of business and deeply discounted their remaining inventory, I acquired a Nikon V1. It is fast and rugged. Wonderfully accurate AF (in bright light). I hate the "mode dial". I put Gaffer tape on it. The V2 fixes this issue with a proper Mode dial, but it is/will be over twice as expensive as the close out price of the V1.
I would have spent twice as much for a KAF module for the GXR. The GXR is a more professional product. Fantastic control and user interface. The V1 phase detect AF is faster and more accurate. The V1 will not meter in aperture priority mode with "dumb" adapters and adapted lenses (I have not tried auto ISO in Manual mode). I do not have a FT1 adapter or a library of Nikkor lenses.
5) My pocket camera is a Q. I love it's fast f1.8 lens. Unlike the RX100 or the Nikon J1, there is a shoe on the Q so I can mount the accessory viewfinder so I can frame a photo. I use an accessory 50mm finder with it. The new firmware adding focus peaking and manual lens shake reduction in camera is superb.
The Q has a very nice IQ. For electronic use, it is good enough. Like the GXR, it uses DNG for it's RAW format. I hate the fact there is no EVF. IF it had an EVF, because of it's size and weight, it could become the only camera I use (I am a hobbyist). I would quickly buy the new 06 lens. But without an EVF, how do I operate the camera and frame an image outdoors if I can not see the image on the LCD?
A Q module for the GXR solves these issues.
Until then, the Q is my modern "Rollei 35".
1) I own the GXR and think it is the best APS mirrorless on the market.
2) I would love to see a GXR updated body with an integrated EVF and weatherproofed.
3) I would like to see Ricoh allow the GXR to evolve and take advantage of it's acquisition of Pentax
- Add a lens module with the optics of the FA 77mm or DA 70mm
- If that will not happen, add two new Lens Mount modules:
- Q mount for birding and digiscoping.
- KAF mount for AF access to the library of DA and FA lenses.
4) Since Ritz went out of business and deeply discounted their remaining inventory, I acquired a Nikon V1. It is fast and rugged. Wonderfully accurate AF (in bright light). I hate the "mode dial". I put Gaffer tape on it. The V2 fixes this issue with a proper Mode dial, but it is/will be over twice as expensive as the close out price of the V1.
I would have spent twice as much for a KAF module for the GXR. The GXR is a more professional product. Fantastic control and user interface. The V1 phase detect AF is faster and more accurate. The V1 will not meter in aperture priority mode with "dumb" adapters and adapted lenses (I have not tried auto ISO in Manual mode). I do not have a FT1 adapter or a library of Nikkor lenses.
5) My pocket camera is a Q. I love it's fast f1.8 lens. Unlike the RX100 or the Nikon J1, there is a shoe on the Q so I can mount the accessory viewfinder so I can frame a photo. I use an accessory 50mm finder with it. The new firmware adding focus peaking and manual lens shake reduction in camera is superb.
The Q has a very nice IQ. For electronic use, it is good enough. Like the GXR, it uses DNG for it's RAW format. I hate the fact there is no EVF. IF it had an EVF, because of it's size and weight, it could become the only camera I use (I am a hobbyist). I would quickly buy the new 06 lens. But without an EVF, how do I operate the camera and frame an image outdoors if I can not see the image on the LCD?
A Q module for the GXR solves these issues.
Until then, the Q is my modern "Rollei 35".
B
Barry Fitzgerald
Guest
I think the question is where do Ricoh take things next?
That will be quite interesting
That will be quite interesting
They had been bringing out five cameras / lens units per year for the past few years. This year the only thing they brought out was the A16 and that was announced a couple years ago. I don't think they've even announced anything, have they?
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