Ok....let's jump in right now about the GRII specs and such

I, like most of you, is disappointed in the "upgrade" of the camera. For me, working full time as a photographer, I truly want on camera to keep in my hands and go to jobs. I would be happy the rest of my life shooting at 28mm but I realize this simply is not reality. That is why I was looking forward to an update that had some "meat" behind it.

For me I so wanted an EVF or at least a plug-in EVF. I'm one of those folks that moves around the focus point in real time to get shots. I've never been comfortable with lock and recompose or zone (snap on the GR) focus. So I use the viewfinder to move that point in real time to shoot. Doing that off the LCD in bright daylight is nearly impossible. So an EVF option made sense to get the camera out of it's current state. It's not like the film GR's didn't have an internal viewfinder....

The staying at 16 megapixels thing. While it's true that as long as my exposures are on, or at least I realize the limitations of the sensor, I'm totally fine with that. But I do have clients who require a larger file size. Shooting the GR at 28 and not cropping gets me there. I've never had a client complain about the file size. But when I need a tighter look where simply moving my feet to zoom is not enough, I need that 50ish frame. I carry a removable lens camera hanging off my shoulder for this. Adding the 21 adapter is great and I love it. I actually used it last month at large event for a group shot of 30 people. So if Ricoh doesn't want to up the mp count so folks can punch in then why can't they do the same on the longer end they did on the wide end. Give me a 50ish screw in lens ala Fuji. I rarely shoot anything past a 50 so it would give me a 21, 28 and 50...perfect. I just figured they would put the 24 MP sensor in the camera. It's not like by doing that they would be diluting their DSLR shooters. Nor would they have to worry about the size of the 50mm obstructing a viewfinder..since it doesn't have one unless you attach an optical.

The last thing is the dust and sealing issue. It's a GR..at the heart of the machine it's billed as a street shooters dream come true. That's totally true...but then please make it stand up to the elements. When I'm out shooting for myself, walking around and such, I like to stay outside in the elements and get a great shot and know my camera can take the pounding and not die on me.

So, until they work on these things it's back to business as normal when working. No big deal really after all it's just a camera. The thing is....it's the camera I want in my hand all the time.

To get an interesting read on Ricoh's take I went over to their Japanese in English site and went to the GRII special site. It's worth a read.


Happy shooting to all!!

Bit of an aside. It seems that Ricoh has targeted the urban youth market here. Especially the Japanese urban youth market. The ability to quickly share photos with friends will make inroads with young adults. And I guess that's where future camera sales will come from. Easy to put in a purse, it will attract the female social website crowd. It's more than a camera - it's an accessory. In this regard, the new GR is a deft marketing move by Ricoh. And, of course, it is launched in mid-summer, when the camera shops are crowded, and people are planning their summer trips.

That is true but that would be as much true with a 24Mp sensor ;-)

Harold

SeanGall said:

Bit of an aside. It seems that Ricoh has targeted the urban youth market here. Especially the Japanese urban youth market. The ability to quickly share photos with friends will make inroads with young adults. And I guess that's where future camera sales will come from. Easy to put in a purse, it will attract the female social website crowd. It's more than a camera - it's an accessory. In this regard, the new GR is a deft marketing move by Ricoh. And, of course, it is launched in mid-summer, when the camera shops are crowded, and people are planning their summer trips.

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Wrong. No tiltable LCD, so you're already off on your assumption. Pocket cameras need that for youth because of selfie prominence. Nothing has changed with who GR is targeting.

Hibiki Rush said:

SeanGall said:

Bit of an aside. It seems that Ricoh has targeted the urban youth market here. Especially the Japanese urban youth market. The ability to quickly share photos with friends will make inroads with young adults. And I guess that's where future camera sales will come from. Easy to put in a purse, it will attract the female social website crowd. It's more than a camera - it's an accessory. In this regard, the new GR is a deft marketing move by Ricoh. And, of course, it is launched in mid-summer, when the camera shops are crowded, and people are planning their summer trips.

Click to expand...

Wrong. No tiltable LCD, so you're already off on your assumption. Pocket cameras need that for youth because of selfie prominence. Nothing has changed with who GR is targeting.

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well if you can get the camera communicate with your smart phone, can't you somehow use the phone's lcd screen as a viewfinder??? Hasn't anyone thought of that? Especially interesting in light of the new dxo clip-on camera..isn't it much more sensible to pair a working camera with a phone vs making a slave camera unit that can *only* work with the phone? Obviously, it would require way too much sophisticated interface to have it as a fully functional two-way system, but to use the phone lcd as an external evf may be easier, and may be possible?

rondom said:

rondom wrote:.

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rondom said:

well if you can get the camera communicate with your smart phone, can't you somehow use the phone's lcd screen as a viewfinder??? Hasn't anyone thought of that? Especially interesting in light of the new dxo clip-on camera..isn't it much more sensible to pair a working camera with a phone vs making a slave camera unit that can *only* work with the phone? Obviously, it would require way too much sophisticated interface to have it as a fully functional two-way system, but to use the phone lcd as an external evf may be easier, and may be possible?

Click to expand...

Wifi connection on the iPhone with a Nikon 1 for instance is a righteous PITA - a cumbersome process of delving into the menus and to create a wifi network on the camera which locks the camera up for the duration, then disconnecting the iPhone from the local wifi network in the settings and selecting the camera's network, starting up the app, choosing whether you want to transfer or shoot...

I just saw on DxO's website they have a 3 second intro video. It's 3 seconds because that's all it takes to attach the camera to the iPhone and the app starting up immediately it's connected and take a photo. It's almost instant. And none of that wifi malarky.

A nice philosophy and one I would have applauded in my early days, but I really expected 20MP, to take full advantage of the great lens and APS-C sensor and would have ordered one immediately. As things are, my Samsung NX200 with a pancake lens is probably more capable and roughly the same size. Also, a mirrorless and lens combo is considerably cheaper.

One of the most underwhelming camera releases in recent memory. It really is just adding a Wifi/NFC chip and some firmware upgrades for a $200+ premium. I'd hate to think Ricoh is doing this because the Coolpix A is discontinued and there are no more products in this niche and the price range that the GR has to compete with now, but it sure smells that way.

There are a couple of other possibilities for this lacklustre upgrade.

One is that Ricoh's GR department budget has been slashed, and the best they could do for this iteration was to add WiFi and tune up the processing. No budget for a new lens design, sensor upgrade, or anything. That would be rather depressing.

Another possibility is that like other GRD's of the past, this is the small jump and the next model will be the big one. After all, GRD and II used the same lens and sensor. III and IV used a new lens and sensor. The GR was a complete overhaul of the processor and lens design, and the GR II is following in the same manner as previous update patterns. When you think about it, the GR was a totally new camera compared with the small sensor GRD's of the past; the similarity was in the external form.

I'm guessing that the next GR will have a new sensor and lens design. Perhaps even the return of the 40mm adapter; here's hoping.

--
Archiver - Loving Every Image Captured Always
http://www.flickr.com/photos/archiver/

kansasphotog said:

To get an interesting read on Ricoh's take I went over to their Japanese in English site and went to the GRII special site. It's worth a read.

http://www.ricoh-imaging.co.jp/english/products/gr_special/story.html

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From that page:

kansasphotog said:

We won’t produce simple model changes

The most important thing is how long the camera will be used. For us, each and every person who buys a GR will always be important.

Never lose the ability to challenge or make a proposal

The only camera that can beat a GR is another GR. We want to always continue trying out new plans and proposals. Always exceed users’ expectations. We believe that is the GR’s role.

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I still like my GR, and I wouldn't hesitate to recommend it (or even the II) to anyone who's looking for "a compact camera that's pure performance with an eye on usability". But, I can't help but feel that each of us is a little shortchanged by these grand ideals presented... Alas, I hope the GR III can live up to the grand expectations we're throwing its way in another two years...

Well, hell....after all that said. I'm going to buy one. Let's hope the GRIII has some larger changes like a viewfinder built in or an accessory port for one and larger MP count so the crop into 50 can make a good sized file for clients. It really is my favorite camera....ever.

Happy shooting all!

rondom said:

well if you can get the camera communicate with your smart phone, can't you somehow use the phone's lcd screen as a viewfinder??? Hasn't anyone thought of that? Especially interesting in light of the new dxo clip-on camera..isn't it much more sensible to pair a working camera with a phone vs making a slave camera unit that can *only* work with the phone? Obviously, it would require way too much sophisticated interface to have it as a fully functional two-way system, but to use the phone lcd as an external evf may be easier, and may be possible?

Click to expand...

The 'control from smartphone' option on my SONY RX100M2 works seamlessly. I'm limited to auto mode and can only operate the zoom and shutter, but it's quick, and auto-downloads the image to the phone after the shot is taken. Then you can share it to whichever social media platform you use in a reduced resolution.