Review of Ricoh GR (I) for Travel Photography

[Nick_Andrews]

Before the pandemic, I went on an extended "round the world" trip for over a year and brought only the Ricoh GR.

I made a video in which I share some of my favorite pictures and discuss the strengths and weaknesses of the camera:





Summary: the superb ergonomics already make it one of my favorite cameras to use, and the sharp lens (even wide open) seals the deal - the Ricoh GR delivers keepers like nothing else. It would have been nice to have about 2-3 stops of extra latitude to work with (e.g. 2 stops of stabilization). Also, 16 megapixels was plenty in 99% of situations but there were a couple of times I wanted a bit more for printing.

 

[rondom]

Before the pandemic, I went on an extended "round the world" trip for over a year and brought only the Ricoh GR.

I made a video in which I share some of my favorite pictures and discuss the strengths and weaknesses of the camera:
Summary: the superb ergonomics already make it one of my favorite cameras to use, and the sharp lens (even wide open) seals the deal - the Ricoh GR delivers keepers like nothing else. It would have been nice to have about 2-3 stops of extra latitude to work with (e.g. 2 stops of stabilization). Also, 16 megapixels was plenty in 99% of situations but there were a couple of times I wanted a bit more for printing.

This is probably one of the most travelled GR on earth. Maybe Ricoh would be interested in the story. Thanks for sharing

 

[Nick_Andrews]

This is probably one of the most travelled GR on earth. Maybe Ricoh would be interested in the story. Thanks for sharing

Thanks for taking a look! And yeah, this camera has been places...

 

[rondom]

This is probably one of the most travelled GR on earth. Maybe Ricoh would be interested in the story. Thanks for sharing

Thanks for taking a look! And yeah, this camera has been places...

Many years ago, the Ricohforum.com, now gone, had a fun project. They sent a compact Ricoh (The model escapes me now) to different cities around the world, and a forum member in that city would shoot a picture and mail the camera to another member. In your case, you’ve done everything yourself! Congrats.

 

[Nick_Andrews]

This is probably one of the most travelled GR on earth. Maybe Ricoh would be interested in the story. Thanks for sharing

Thanks for taking a look! And yeah, this camera has been places...

Many years ago, the Ricohforum.com, now gone, had a fun project. They sent a compact Ricoh (The model escapes me now) to different cities around the world, and a forum member in that city would shoot a picture and mail the camera to another member. In your case, you’ve done everything yourself! Congrats.

Hah - thanks! And that sounds like a fun forum... I'm guessing there are some tight-knit online communities in Asia centered around the GR now (for street photogs).

 

[JarusNZ]

Superb summary and images. Thankyou. I often think about upgrading my GR1 but really hard to justify after seeing these images.

 

[breth]

A great review of the camera. And of the world! Thanks very much for posting. Nice to see a world pre-masks, as well...

Many great shots, you have a very good eye - I liked especially the red fishing boats, and the four fishermen.

Agree with you about the good and the bad. Of the camera.... and the world... ;-)

 

[Nick_Andrews]

Superb summary and images. Thankyou. I often think about upgrading my GR1 but really hard to justify after seeing these images.

Thanks for watching! I really think Ricoh nailed it with the GR, once you get to know the camera it can really deliver

 

[Nick_Andrews]

A great review of the camera. And of the world! Thanks very much for posting. Nice to see a world pre-masks, as well...

Many great shots, you have a very good eye - I liked especially the red fishing boats, and the four fishermen.

Agree with you about the good and the bad. Of the camera.... and the world... ;-)

Thank you for the kind words! The fishermen was one of my favorite shots, but should have mentioned that I had to crop to the point that it became 4 MP :-O

Here's to a better post-covid world... (hope dies last)

 

[Shiny Object]

Fantastic images! This is the kind of review that Ricoh would be wise to feature. Of course, they might edit out the part about dust spots.

You showed that the camera is remarkably capable in many situations, particularly in the hands of a skilled photographer. I also applaud your editing skills.

 

[Nick_Andrews]

Fantastic images! This is the kind of review that Ricoh would be wise to feature. Of course, they might edit out the part about dust spots.

You showed that the camera is remarkably capable in many situations, particularly in the hands of a skilled photographer. I also applaud your editing skills.

Thank you for the kind words!

And yeah, the dust spots segment wouldn't please them at all Considering the environments the camera was in though... any compact camera would have picked up some dust by that point. That minor issue aside, everything else was fine - no wobbly buttons or dials, etc.

 

[PhilippeG]

Fantastic pictures! I also own a GR (I) and love it to bits. It has seen fewer countries but still has travelled quite a bit, and I haven't noticed a single dust spec so far.

Like the above poster I wonder how you post process your files, especially how you deal with highlights when a scene has a lot of contrast?

 

[Nick_Andrews]

Fantastic pictures! I also own a GR (I) and love it to bits. It has seen fewer countries but still has travelled quite a bit, and I haven't noticed a single dust spec so far.

Like the above poster I wonder how you post process your files, especially how you deal with highlights when a scene has a lot of contrast?

Thank you Philippe!

In terms of post processing I didn't do anything crazy. Mostly I try to get it right in camera first (i.e. no overly blown highlights). However, very often my highlights are shown as "red" (overexposed) in Adobe Camera Raw but I always shoot RAW (DNG) and I use the "Recovery" slider in ACR to bring the highlights back down to "normal."

I also first press "Auto" in the ACR panel to see how the software interprets the scene first to see how much latitude I have. This is often just for fun as I end up using custom post processing settings for each shot anyway.

And of course if all hope is lost and the exposure got messed up... I can always try a B&W conversion, pump up the contrast, and declare it as an artistic choice

May the dust gods continue to smile upon you!

 

[thelps]

This is probably one of the most travelled GR on earth. Maybe Ricoh would be interested in the story. Thanks for sharing

Thanks for taking a look! And yeah, this camera has been places...

Many years ago, the Ricohforum.com, now gone, had a fun project. They sent a compact Ricoh (The model escapes me now) to different cities around the world, and a forum member in that city would shoot a picture and mail the camera to another member. In your case, you’ve done everything yourself! Congrats.

I was involved with this project. The camera was a Ricoh R10. If I recall correctly, Ricoh Europe supplied it.

The results are here on Flickr still - https://www.flickr.com/groups/998904@N25/pool/with/5181310812/

There is a map in the Flickr group of the path the camera took. Some of those involved, augmented the kit along the way. We had the camera for about a week and then sent it on, keeping on the card 5 of our chosen images.

Due to postage restrictions with lithium batteries it would be tough to do these days, unless each participant had the necessary battery to use, then ship the camera without a battery.

It was very entertaining to watch the progress, the images and hope the camera made it to the next person.

 

[rondom]

This is probably one of the most travelled GR on earth. Maybe Ricoh would be interested in the story. Thanks for sharing

Thanks for taking a look! And yeah, this camera has been places...

Many years ago, the Ricohforum.com, now gone, had a fun project. They sent a compact Ricoh (The model escapes me now) to different cities around the world, and a forum member in that city would shoot a picture and mail the camera to another member. In your case, you’ve done everything yourself! Congrats.

I was involved with this project. The camera was a Ricoh R10. If I recall correctly, Ricoh Europe supplied it.

The results are here on Flickr still - https://www.flickr.com/groups/998904@N25/pool/with/5181310812/

There is a map in the Flickr group of the path the camera took. Some of those involved, augmented the kit along the way. We had the camera for about a week and then sent it on, keeping on the card 5 of our chosen images.

Due to postage restrictions with lithium batteries it would be tough to do these days, unless each participant had the necessary battery to use, then ship the camera without a battery.

It was very entertaining to watch the progress, the images and hope the camera made it to the next person.

Great! Thanks for telling us more about it!