All photographs with a Ricoh GR or GRD.

This ebook has the same content as the

GRD IV ebook but adapted for the Ricoh GR because Ricoh kept the cameras similar.
Please feel free to share on Facebook, tweet, but please do not modify the content.

Thank you!

Discussion
with 4
Photographers
with the

Craig Atkinson
Don Springer
Ray Sachs
Wouter Brandsma

Don Springer and I are creators of Street Presets and Inspired Eye, we found it useful to describe his
experiences with the Ricoh GR in a conversational way, like we do in the magazine. Further down Ill
invite some other Ricoh GR owners for a discussion: Ray Sachs, Wouter Brandsma, Craig Atkinson

Don, how long have you

been a Ricoh user?
Well, I guess since 1969. I was
using a Leica m4 and a Nikon F
when I was in Nam. The Leica
was THE camera for many
reasons. The Nikon F was a tank
and unfortunately, it weighed
like a tank. There was a shooter,
camera shooter, from Australia
naked Jock. He gave me the
Ricoh TLS with a few lenses. It
was the weight of the Nikon.
Great dependable camera.

with me or it doesnt. I know

this. Ricoh is smart enough and
more importantlythe are a
shooters company.
The interface of the GRD4 and
the GR is very similar. This
didnt happen by accident. You
see, Ricoh know what it takes
to get a camera in the hands of
its followers and keep it there.
I have nothing to fear and have
only 1 concern: I am somewhat
concerned that the GR could be
too good.

shooter. I dont expect anyone

to work like I do but.if we are
at f/5.6 on the GRD4, and we
use snap at 1 meter, (3.28) we
are at the Hyperfocal distance.
That means we get the HD
to infinity in acceptable focus.
Thats a little over 1 1/2 to
infinity.
If we use f/5.6 on the GR and
we focus at 2.98 meters, (9.77)
we get get about 4 1/2 to
infinity. Thats a big difference
but still very good on the street.

Which ones of the GRD

Series did you own?

What do you mean by too

good?

Are you going to keep your

GRD IV?

I actually owned them all at one

time or another. For me, Ricoh
really got it together with the
GRD3. That camera was and
still is amazing. Then I got the
GRD4 and well, words dont
exist to describe how good that
camera is.

Thats a good question. The

GRD4 is 10 MP, a small sensor.
Because of this, it has mojo in
it. I mean that it has grit in the
image that some say is like film.
I dont care about it looking like
film but its true. Thats MOJO.
The GR has an APS-C sensor
and is 16 MP. That could make
a very clean file and that would
mean that it requires a different
way of working on the back en
LR etc.

Now you hit the big question.

First off, the GR was given to my
by a very close friend. He likes
the N word camera better. It
will arrive tomorrow evening. I
dont consider it mine even tho
he will never ask for it back. For
the GRD4, I made a promise to
Wouter that if I get the GR and
keep it, Ill send his daughter my
White GRD4. I love my GRD4
but a promise is a promise.

The Ricoh GR didnt come

yet, what is your frame of
mind waiting for it since
you have read the other
stuff posted online?
I dont put any stock in anyones
writing about the camera. Sorry
guys. I make my photos the way
I want with whatever I want
and the camera either works

Its a big step from a small

sensor to APSC indeed.
What do you think that
means for Snap Focus?
Well, that will depend on the

I think its a mistake to

think of the GR as an
upgrade to the GRD IV.
They are like two brothers,
similar, yet different.
I actually suggest and
foresee people having

the two without any one

of them overshadowing
each other. We will wait
for when you get the GR
tomorrow and we will ask
you for your very first outof-the-box-impressions.
Whats the worse that could
happen. Its a funny thing tho.
I have been quoted as saying
the GRD4 is a camera killer. I
do still hold that as truth. Most
GRD users will agree with this.
We all have other cameras. We
use them and thenthe bug
bites you in the butt and you
pick up the GRD again. All the
sudden. blood flows freely to the
brainthe eyes are seeing at a
level that is only very rare.
Images pop all over..then one
thinks that, wellthis is ugly
I only need my GRD IV. Truth
is this is the truth.
Around my house for years,
ebay has had many listings
because the GRDs have killed
those poor innocent cameras.
In the end.. Everything Is
Illuminated.
(Don got his Ricoh GR)
Now that the postmaster
delivered the package what
are your first impressions?
First off, the GR has an
impeccable build quality and
feel. By the way, The GR is a
female. It is a camera that you
can be around all day and not
tire of its presence.

How long was the learning

curve?

would you know what

camera to go out with?

WASthats a laugh! Is, is

proper Olivier. Remember that
I have used this for a day and
so far. I did a fair amount of
work with it and more on the
way in the garden this afternoon
and the streets tomorrow. I did
not read the manual. I never do
on a new camera.

Great question and I have the

answer for you. Unlike many
shooters I have a serious
relationship with my cameras.
I never think of them as tools.
I always name my cameras
and treat them as nice as I can.
By the way, the GR is named
Tanya after my wife. Ive never
named a camera after any of my
wives but Tanya is here behind
my back always.NO! I mean
always..sheeeesh..

Why, glad you asked. If I can go

out with a new camera and use
it after a setup without reading
the manual, then said camera
has a high level of intuitiveness
and probably will not visit eBay.
If I go out and stumble a lot
with a new camera, it belongs to
someone else. The commitment
to a relationship with a new
camera comes after some really
good smiles because the camera
did what its supposed to do
without bothering me.
At that point, the learning curve
begins. I now will read the
manual, well briskly read it and
discover hidden secrets. So the
learning curve is now starting
and should be over in about a
few years.
When I stop learning with this
little lady, either her or I will be
fed up with each other, it will be
time for her to leave.
You now have two 28mm
cameras, a small sensor
and a large APS-C sensor,
will you see conflict
between the two? How

Oh, the 28mm question. I have

the Fuji X 20 and that has a 28112 and is an amazing camera.
His name is Walker after
Walker Evans.I have the GRD4
in White and thats a 28mm
until he gets bored, then I have
to put the 21mm adapter on
him. He likes that. His name is
Andre after the Father of Street
Andre Kertesz.
Someday Ill tell you about the
7 things Andre Kertesz taught
me. I now have Tanya, the GR
also a 28mm. The Sony Nex 6
is arriving this week and the
unnamed camera will have a
30mm (45 fov) but may get
to the 28mm arena. So I hope
you see that its an easy take
deciding which camera to use
for the shoot. No, you dont get
it.
Its very photo scientific thats
why you dont see it. I get ready
to go out and I look at my

What are your impressions

of the Ricoh GR so far?
Like Don already said, it is
solid and reassuring. At high
ISOs 1600 and above I do
see some hot pixels and the GR
exposes quite conservative. The
RAW images have a nice texture
and I think that even the jpegs
up to ISO 1600 are very usable
and printable. I find the AF fast
enough for me, but I have used
the snap function most of
the time.
With the Fn1 button I change
between AF and snap focus.
And I assigned the snap focus
distances to the Fn2 button. I

camera family and think, Who

do I feel like spending some
time with today? Ill have some
photos shortly and some presets
are in the works.
We will be back with
Don in a few, now we
are turning to Wouter
Brandsma for his
impressions. Wouter, how
long have you had the
Ricoh GR?
I have the GR since May
27. Two days prior to
that I was told it was
shipped from Paris. I could
immediately use since
I already had a battery

charged.
You mainly shot with small
sensors, Ricoh GRD III, Ricoh
GX, Pentax Q, how was the
jump to and APSC sensor?
The camera functions similar
to my GRD3 and I have been so
familiar to 28mm perspective
since 1996 when I got my GR1.
I have more time adjusting to
different focal lengths than to
the change of sensors. My main
concern though was how the
different output would go with
my photography.

By different output do you mean

the image quality? Do you see a
difference in your work because
of the larger sensor?
Yes, different output was related
to the image quality. I like a
certain texture in my images
and was worried that it would
too clean. After just a couple of
days I still think it is too soon
to make any conclusions. What
I see is a larger dynamic range,
even in the jpegs. And there is
also a bit more depth feeling.
Not immediately 3D, but also
not the 2D look of the small
sensors.

already noticed that I can use

without watching and all with
my right thumb.
Do you enjoy or resent the
fact that there is no AA
filter on the sensor?
That is not something I am
really thinking about. What I
did see was some moir that
seems harder to cope with in
RAW. Craig and I talked about
that and I give my feedback to
Ricoh about the moir.
Since you are a JPG
shooter, how do you find
the out of camera ones?

I know the RAW images contain

more details and are more
mangable in post processing,
but I am starting to like
jpegs. ISO3200 looks like the
boundary to me, beyond that
there is just too much noise
reduction going on. I realize I
am still in the learning face of
getting to know the GR.
I call the camera GR or Ricoh
by the way. Albeit it is THE
camera, I consider it genderless.
The thing is you need to take
your time to learn your tool.
And I need to except that
there are things that will work
differently than my GRD3. I
am discovering now what these

things are.
We are now moving
to Craig Atkinsons
impressions. Afterwards
we will have them have
them ask questions to each
other, and some requests.
Did you have any Ricoh
GRD camera before? How
long have you had the GR
for?
Ive had Ricohs since the GRD3
was released, so not that long
really. I was using a load of old
film cameras at the time and the
GRD seemed the only camera

that could match the quality of a

film image, grain wise, and that
could shoot as fast, with no lag.
The size is important too.
What are your first
impressions?
Well initially I was a bit
disappointed with the GR. I
dont know why; I was jumping
to conclusions I think. Since
I sold my GRD4 for the Fuji
X100s and RX100 I think I
adapted myself out of the Ricoh
mindset.
The Fuji is bigger, slower,
35mm, great colours, possibly

makes you think a bit more

because you cant really work
as fast with it, so naturally it
slows you down; Id got used to
it. The Sony RX100 has a zoom,
is tiny Id forgotten about the
snap function, the simplicity of
use and the excellent interface
and ergonomics.
Now, however, having shot for
a week with it, daily and a lot,
Im back into it. I picked up the
X100s yesterday for the first
time in a week and it seemed so
heavy and big!

The GR is a great camera.

Actually the best camera to my
mind, for what I want to do.
One thing I miss from the
GRD4 is the auto distance snap
function. The GR has snap but
no auto snap. Now you select
the distance then snap, so it
adds one more step. Not a huge
problem just something I miss. I
guess its due to the new camera
setup.

faulty. I believe firmware fixes

the fault jams up, but I dont
want it anyway now I have the
GR. I did get used to 35mm. I
think its more seductive than
28mm. Things seem more real.
28mm suits me better though
I think. The size of the camera
too, and snap.

You have the another

popular camera, the Fuji
X100s. Which do you
prefer and why?

The X100s got too much

unwanted attention. Too many
comments. The GR I actually
prefer the look of, and it gets no
comments because it just looks
like a small black camera, not a
Leica.

The X100s has gone back to the

shop. Ive had two now, both

Whats your opinion on the

lack of AA filter?

I dont care. I was speaking with

Wouter today. Options confuse
and distract me. The settings
I use are, aperture, ISO and
sometimes shutter speed. I use
snap a lot. Thats it.
AA filter or not I dont care.
The fact its gone gives sharper
images, so I guess thats ok. It
also allows for moir, which I
have been having some issues
with. However, after another
conversation with Wouter, and
his great idea, stopping down to
f10+ eliminates the moir.
Now thats sorted I cant really
fault the camera apart from the
auto distance snap. I have only

had it a week though, so theres

time yet!
How do you find post
processing the Ricoh GR
files?
Fun. Post processing Olympus
OMD files I find not much fun.
Fuji are ok and RX100 are
just standard. Ricoh files have
a drawn quality, a film like
grain. You set the parameters
but something organic always
happens with them which I
think is great.
I always find it harder if there is
very strong light in the picture
but thats something I need to

work on. You can get a lot out

of the RAW files. I tend to shoot
RAW only. I should give the in
camera filters a go really.
Our Final Photographer is
Ray Sachs, how long have
you had the GR for, Ray?
I got a loaner copy on about
May 22 or 23 I think. Ive
been shooting with it since
then. When the Nikon A was
released, well before the GR
was announced, I got a loaner
of THAT and had been shooting
with it nearly a month when the
GR was announced.
I had to return the Nikon but

my source was kind enough to

send me another copy of the
Nikon when the GR came so I
could sort of review them side
by side. So Ive been shooting
with both.
Whats your overall
opinion so far?

roots with Ricoh go back a few

years with the GRD3 and the
GXR-28mm module. I know the
interface real well, like it mostly,
and Im very comfortable with
it. But the Nikon snuck in there
and its fighting for my heart
now, with some strengths of its
own.

Mixed, but mostly good. If Id

never heard of the Nikon, Id
have probably bought the GR,
loved it unconditionally, and
said only the nicest possible
things about it. I doubt Id have
tried the Nikon if the sequence
had been reversed and Id had
a month with the GR before
I got the Nikon, because my

The Ricoh is a great street

machine, as they all have been,
and its a great B&W machine, as
they all have been. The tradeoff
seems to be, as the others have
alluded to, that the files are
VERY clean and if youve gotta
have grit, its tougher to get it
organically in anything but
really low light. In really low

light I can shoot at 3200 and

even 6400 and its got a pretty
nice noise/grain pattern that I
like a lot and can pass for the
GRD 3 at 800 and maybe the
GXR-28 at 1600.

No, thats not really what

happened. I recently acquired
a Sony RX1, which is a
remarkable camera in its own
right.

But at 1600 and below, the GR

files are CLEAN. Im OK with
that my signature isnt nearly
as well defined as Dons and
Wouters and Craigs so I sort
of take it as it comes, take what
it gives me, hit it where they
aint, etc (sorry for the baseball
reference!).

And I knew/know Id be buying

one of these two 28mm pocket
rockets, which I will be soon.
I did sell most of my Fuji gear
an X-Pro and the 35mm f1.4
lens and the 18mm f2.0 lens
because I didnt see when Id be
using it with those lenses when
Id have the RX1 and the 28mm
camera available.

I heard you sold all of your

Fuji gear for the Ricoh GR,
is that true? Why?

AND to help pay for these

cameras, but the primary
expense was the RX1, not the

I think from talking to Don and

seeing Wouters blog, it may be
that the Ricoh has a tendency
to blow highlights and perhaps
the metering is calibrated to
underexpose to avoid that??? I
was also using matrix metering
rather than center weighted, so
that might have been part of the
problem, but in that particular
situation, I dont think it would
have mattered. I suspect that
after getting better acquainted
with the metering, Id be fine
with using the camera in any
lighting situation. Probably just
growing pains

Ricoh or Nikon! I still have the

Fuji 14mm lens, but it doesnt
work well with the Fuji OVF, so
there was no point in holding
on to the X-Pro for that. So Im
either going to sell that too or
pick up a used XE1 (with just
an EVF) to shoot with that and
maybe the planned 10-24 when
it comes along
Any issues with the Ricoh
GR?
The only thing Ive had SOME
issues with is the metering in

really challenging light, and

the colors that result from
that under-exposure. In bright
daylight, Im fine and the colors
are great. In really low light, Im
fine and the colors are fine.

Serious Compacts and DPR

(where I was also nearly drawn
and quartered such a funny
place!), the more Im convinced
it was more of a metering issue
than a color issue.

But I did some shooting on an

early morning sunrise walk
about a week ago and shot
almost identical shots back to
back with the Ricoh and Nikon
and the Nikon results were
much better to my eyes. The
more I looked into it (with the
help of a number of folks on

The colors are a bit different

than the Nikon and I
qualitatively preferred the
Nikons slightly, but the Ricoh
was mostly underexposing
by quite a bit (with a few odd
occurrences of over-exposure
that I havent figured out at all
yet).

Don has also alluded to some

issues with the Adobe color
profile for the camera. Adobe
DOES have a beta version of the
color profile available with ACR
beta release 8.1. For those using
Photoshop or Photoshop and
Lightroom together, installing
that beta update will get you the
right Adobe Standard profile
working in both applications.
BUT, if you just have Lightroom
without PS, ACR wont install
and if you find the color
profile file and put it where
youd THINK it should go, the
program wont find it and youd
still be using the embedded
DNG profile, which really
messes up the reds and yellows
and purples.
It IS possible to install it such
that Lightroom will find it and
use it, but it requires finding the
file deep in the bowels of the

failed ACR installation (it will

still send you all of the data you
need), un-hiding some folders
on your Mac or PC, and copying
the file to the right place, which
is a very very long way from the
obvious place.
Once you install that and can
use the Adobe Standard
profile, that problem is cleared
up completely. This is not a
problem with the camera at
all its just a matter of Adobe
releasing the final version of
that color profile and making
it available to Lightroom users
in addition to Photoshop users.
For now, Lightroom-only users
have to be willing to do a bit of
surgery to make it work with the
right color profile.
The only other issue Ive had
isnt an issue at all. Its just that
Ive got the Nikon to try out too
and, as much as I like the Ricoh
in many ways, I actually prefer
the Nikon in some ways and its
making for a bit of an internal
debate.
But thats my problem. For
someone whos an established
Ricoh user and is inclined
toward the GR, just buy it and
enjoy it dont torture yourself
like I have been!

Now we are letting the

photographers interact with
each other about the Ricoh GR
Streetshooter (Don):
First offI am doing raw only
and still get a B&W screen.
Great.
I notice that the files are super
clean and theres an over
exposure in many bright scenes.
Wouter:
Yeah, metering carefully really
makes sense. My immediate
adjustment when I got to
preset my camera to -0.3 EV.
Something I always needed to
do with my compact cameras.

After a couple of days I

stopped underexposing since I
noticed the metering felt very
conservative. I havent used it in
harsh light though (spring feels
like autumn here).
Regarding the super clean
files it is one of the reason
why I starting to like the GR
jpegs. With a notch of added
sharpness in post I see the
texture comes alive. And
one other nice thing is that
I can almost always keep
it comfortably at ISO 400
knowing that when the light
becomes too bright with the
preset aperture, the ND filter
will be automatically started. Or

at least that is how Ive set up

my GR.
Craig:
Don RAW only with a BW
screen, I totally forgot about
that. This is a good example of
Ricoh listening to people. To be
able to preview while shooting
RAW is good I think, although
sometimes it acts like a this is
what you could have had if you
shot JPEG!
I think under 1600 the files are
pretty clean. Not Fuji clean, but
much cleaner than the GRD.
However, it doesnt take much
to get the grain back. Ive not

noticed too much over exposure.

I have ND set to auto. I have
never used ND before on any
camera, because its always been
a menu dive to turn it on / off.
Seems to work well though, and
in post you can do pretty much
anything with it anyway.
My method of shooting isnt
pure. I think if you press
the button, regardless of any
setting, youll get something
to work with. There are times
you really want the shot and
compose and set the camera up
etc. There are times you hit the
button and run, and usually for
me, those are the best times. Its
good for me to set parameters

to work within, but whatever

happens within is anyones
guess!
Im always scared of getting
dust in the Ricoh lenses no
room for a filter. There seem to
be a lot more moving parts in
the GR lens.
Streetshooter:
Wouter, what are you
processing your files in. It seems
that the new profile for the
GR has not been released yet.
Anything will read a DNG and
thats why Im having issues.
I talked with Ray Sachs again
this evening for 3 hours and he
advised me that the profiles are

wrong.
I have also done some
conversions in PS CS5 and
then into SEP2. I used my GRD
profiles and they worked fine for
B&W..
I am using RAW so the dynamic
range stuff doesnt matter. I
am at -1/3 EV because I have
summer light. More later after I
sneak away from da wifey..
Wouter:
I can certainly relate to the fear
of dust in the lens, Craig. My
GX100 was quite notorious and
it happened three times in less
than a year. It even happened to
my GRD3. With the GR it is not

the lens I am too worried about,

but that flimsy door.

RAW image. That sure is one

very rapid method to fill up your
SD card.

Jan Vermeer painting. I decided

to start using RAW only with
the GR.

Next I want to dive some what

deeper in the effect bracketing
option. I also liked such a
similar feature on the Pentax Q
where the camera saved both a
processed jpeg and the default
jpeg.

I know you guys prefer to shoot

RAW, while I kept using jpegs.
Last year at Photokina Pentax
made two very large prints of
my images. Those were at least
1.5 meters wide and people
were astounded that those were
in-camera jpegs that I post
processed.

I notice that I am still the slave

of the camera. The camera
works nimble, just like my
GRD3. That is all familiar and
I dont think nor worry about
that. I realize though that I
am still working hard to get a
feeling for the output.

I had a change to try the effect

bracketing which basically
means that it processes the
RAW image three times incamera. It saves a default jpeg,
and effect processed versions.
The strange though is that for
every processed version the
camera makes a copy of the

Now, it sounds stupid. Here

in the Netherlands we have
a whole lot of stone bricked
houses and the image processor
seems to have a hard time
coping with the moir. There is
even less detail visible than in a

Today was a breakthru day. I

just went to center city Philly
and walked and made photos.
Luckily I had a wide variety
of conditions and light. If you
go to my blog and Flickr site,
youll get an idea of what we
went thru. Tanya loves harsh

backlighting. I asked her to

watch for flare but she just
clicked away and let me just see.
She handled everything I put
her thru.
I used that TVa thing and -1/3
EV. Tanya chose ISO and never
missed a beat. The meter is very
accurate finding its balance very
natural.
I read Craigs response about
dynamic range in auto and I
did that also. Im not sure that
applied to raw files.
The raw files in LR are boring
and flat. After speaking, the
analog voice thing, with Ray
Sachs yesterday, I found out
that the cameras profile is not in
LR yet.
Im making presets and so far,
they and the GR are excellent.
Wouter:
Always exciting times when you
notice that breakthrough. Last
evening I went to the nearby
country side. Probably my
favorite location to photograph
and most certainly very
different from most of the work
you see taken with the Ricoh
GR. Sure the camera is good for
street photography, especially
B&W street photography, but
it can do so much more. Last
evenings work was all in color
and I had a blast (previous
page).

Streetshooter:
What I notice is that the images
have a very nice tonal range,
good contrast and very clean.
My issue is that Ive no success
yet in getting GRIT that I can
live with. There no doubt will be
2 versions of any presets anyone
makes. A raw and a jpeg.
Has anyone gotten close to the
hidden grit? I could live with
the clean look but Im in the
middle of a retrospective and
dont want to alter the course of
fluidity to the prints. Today Im
in the garden again as I await
the arrival of Rogers Nex 6.
Wouter:
With my color photographs I
find the Lightroom grain good
enough, but with my B&W
photographs I actually prefer
Alien Skin Exposure (currently
version 4) since I can adjust
the amount of grain in the
shadows, the mid tones and the
highlights.
It is something I really miss in
Lightroom and Silver Efex Pro.
I havent found the hidden grit
though. And why do you want
to have a Nex 6 when you have
such a fine camera already in
your hand?
Streetshooter:
Wouter, the GR is a fine camera
and Ill no doubt keep it.
The Nex 6 images are very

organic. I dont like using that

term but heres a brief analogy.
The GR makes a great digital
representation of what I want
on my screen.
The GRD4, Nex and a few
others make what I want to see
on the screen.
Its not a representation, its it!
Wouter:
I understand you. For me, I just
know for me that all the choices
are just counterproductive. I
want limited choices and just
love to use one camera.
Streetshooter:
I get it Wouter.
If I walk with my wife, she paces
with me cause Im slower.
If I walk with my 19 yo
Grandson. Its a brisk walk.
If I walk with my Grandaughter,
its magical and speed is of no
concern.
If I walk with a few vets in
wheelchairs Its an easy pace
with conversations.
If I walk with my camera, any
camera I end up keeping.
Its the best walk.
Its all good to walk and I show
no favoritism but by myself is
what I strive for.
Its the same with cameras
They all make photos its just
how the two of you talk and
walk together.
Me, I like friends and the
choices a few cameras offers me.
They all make photos but the

conversation is interesting and

different with each.
Wouter:
I switch the conversation to the
MY settings. Are you guys using
these and if so how have you set
it up?
My main setup is RAW only in
3:2. I prefer spot AF and have
the press snap on. I have set
the default snap focus distance
to 2 meters. The Fn1 button
is assigned to switch rapidly
between AF and snap, while U
use the Fn2 button to change
the snap focus distance. I like
the Multi-P auto white balance
and I use that as default. I
briefly tried the TAv mode, but
I decided to stick to Av so I keep
grip on the ISO.
The aperture is for me standard
on f/4.5 which I change with the
front lever.
ISO is set to 400 and I set the
ISO control with the adjustment
lever on. A notch to left or right
with the adjustment lever is just
enough to change the ISO.
I really like that feature.
Although I use RAW only now
you can still set the image effect
which is a cool feature. So the
only differences between the
MY1 and MY2 setting is the
effect. MY1 is color and MY2 is
B&W. I even gave both registred
settings a name (unlike my
camera). Of course Color and
Black & White.

Streetshooter:
Ray, in our conversation last
night, you stated that the
dynamic range is for jpegs only.
Im only doing raw and I think
Craig is also. Is that correct
about only in jpegs?
Ray:
Im playing around with the
mysets. Ive got the first one set
up for street shooting in good
light its in TaV mode with a
default shutter speed of 1/500
and an aperture of f6.3, snap
focus at two meters. This is
close enough to hyperfocal for
the whole world to basically be
in focus.
This is one setup where I
actually prefer the Nikon
because it has a similar autoISO setup but you can set
the minimum shutter speed
anywhere up to 1/1000. So in a
similar myset with that, I have it
in aperture priority with a max
ISO of 6400 and a minimum
shutter speed of 1/500 and it
does all the work I just read
the light and adjust exposure
comp as I need to.
The shutter speed will go
below 1/500 if it needs to,
but when Im shooting from
the hip I like to keep it high
when I can even at 1/250
a combination of handshake
and subject movement can
give me a blurred shot. Which
sometimes works, but thats

not usually what Im going for.

Which brings me to Myset 2,
which is set for lower light street
work in aperture priority with
an aperture of f4 and minimum
shutter of 1/250, which is the
Ricohs maximum allowed.
That works pretty well for
shooting in evenings or indoor
environments I just have to
be careful to steady myself for
the shot. Myset 3 is set up for
more scenic and contemplative
shooting where the shutter
speed doesnt matter much but
IQ gets more important. Thats
aperture priority with a max
ISO of 3200 and a minimum
shutter speed of 1/60.
I always have fn1 set to toggle
between snap focus and
pinpoint AF and if I get the
Ricoh over the Nikon, thats
one of the key reasons why
that ability to instantly switch
without any thought or break
in concentration is pretty
wonderful.
My understanding is that the
DR thing is basically a jpeg
setting. If it works like the X100
and other Fujis do, it raises the
ISO, lowers the exposure, and
then pushes the exposure back
up in processing?
Or maybe its the other way
around, but I think thats it.
And on the Fuji, if you leave it
set to that in raw, itll still raise
the ISO and lower the exposure,
but since its not doing the

processing, youre gonna get

an underexposed file that you
have to know what to do with
in post. I usually shot the X100
and X-Pro in jpeg though, so
I let the Fuji engineers handle
that for me.
When I was getting some
weird (and inconsistent)
underexposures with the GR,
I was wondering if maybe the
same thing was happening with
the Ricoh, which I was shooting
in raw only.
But I didnt have the DR turned
on, so thats when I figured it
was probably what Wouter was
talking about on his blog. So, I
havent tried shooting raw with
it to see if it works like the Fuji
approach. Im sure its intended
to work primarily in jpeg, but
if you have it on with raw, you
might be getting underexposed
files at high ISO if so, thats
why
Craig:
I just put some words on here
bit of a ramble, but some
thoughts http://streetca.
wordpress.com/2013/06/06/
ricoh-gr-jpeg-vs-raw/ (Click to
go to website)
Olivier:
Guys, heres a comment left
on Inspired Eye FB page:
Hey guys I just want to confirm
if this is a bug on the new GR.
I just received mine yesterday

and there seems to be a bug

when the LCD was switched off
aperture and shutter controls
cant be used blind though I
can still shoot with the LCD off.
It seems to have lost the LCD
off mode of the GRDiv, where
the screen will momentarily
come on when I touch the
shutter speeds or aperture
controls..

hand though I didnt notice the

camera.

Craig:

I dont think a camera really

has much impact on my way of
seeing unless it just interferes
with my shooting process to the
point that Im not free to see
in the first place. So it mostly
needs to be intuitive and fast
enough in use not to get in the
way. The Ricoh generally meets
this criteria, the only exception
being that its complex enough
that sometimes I trip over one
of my own detailed settings.

I dont remember that

happening on the GRD4 either,
could be wrong. I thought once
its off its off, unless you go into
menus or press playback.
Streetshooter:
My camera works fine with the
screen off. When its Round my
neck Screen offI am able to
adjust settings
Wouter:
I dont have the problem either,
Olivier.
Today I hit the streets again.
Hot weather and the streets
where crowded and people were
in a sunny mood. I used the
earlier described MY2 setting
and occasionally switched
between AF and snap mode.
There was a lot going on, but
I felt focused. I was glad that
there was a bit of movement in
the sky which would add a bit of
texture. Yes, the GR is slightly
larger than my GRD3. In the

Olivier:
How did the camera affect your
way of shooting? Did you notice
you have a different way of
seeing?
Ray:

Or I start to adjust the exposure

comp, dont hit the OK button
to lock in the change, forget
I havent done that, and then
accidentally further adjust
exposure comp when I meant
to change the aperture or focus
distance or something. But Im
only occasionally that stupid, so
generally the camera does pretty
much what I ask it to do without
taking my attention too much
away from the photograph.
Craig:
Ricohs free me up. Its good and
bad. Coming from the x100s
which slows me down (also

good and bad). A view finder

I find pretty slow but it makes
me thing more. I quite like the
action of holding the camera to
my face sometimes. However,
mostly my unplanned shots are
better.
The Ricoh I rarely look at when
Im shooting. Its in my hand,
occasionally Ill check ISO or
aperture. If in a tight crowd Ill
bring it closer to my face but not
often. The danger with the GR
is that its so easy to take a shot
that it can become a thoughtless
process. I always have to
consider that which makes me
focus more on what Im doing.

Streetshooter:

next to the GRD4.

Theres only 2 things a camera

does with me.
First,its intuitive without any
intrusion on my vision.
Second, its not intuitive and
causes aggravation cause I need
to sell it. No middle ground
with me.

Wouter:

So if Im using a camera and

its passed the test period. Its
now working with me and not
for me.
My vision has been consistent
for almost 5 decades and I plan
on keeping that way.
The GR is not for sale.it sleeps

The GR doesnt affect my

shooting. The camera just put
on some weight. It is basically
like using my GRD3. I know
it is my hand, but I dont have
think. Like Don says, it is a
keeper since it doesnt hinder
me. I only know the outcome is
more refined. And I learned that
the gritty sweet spot for me is
around ISO 800. ISO gives me a
lovely texture in the images.
I used to be a nifty 50 kind of
guy and got converted because
of the Ricoh. All of you do well

been some sort of wider angle

I got that when I was 9 in 68
from my older brother who got
it from my Dad no idea how
long hed had it. But once I got
my first SLR in high school
(yeah, a K1000, what else?), I
shot 50 because thats all there
was.
But as soon as I was conscious
of what I was doing I started
gravitating to wide angle as
soon as I could get it. Bought
my first zoom lens in about
1985 and when it occurred to
me it never left 28mm I realized
something must up with that.
Nowadays Ill shoot anything
but neutral.

with the 28mm. What is it about

the 28mm that resonates with
you and do you feel it limiting?
Craig:
Ive always used 28mm. All my
old film cameras were 28mm
except one Chinese 35mm fixed
lens plastic slr! I love 35mm,
was seduced by the Fuji and
forgot about 28mm. I always
thought though, what if I got a
bit more of this, or that in the
shot. 28mm is more dynamic
I think. Perhaps not as natural
but its certainly as engaging.

Anything wider is a bit too

distorted for me though.
Streetshooter:
Ill tell ya something about
Ricohs I hate, GR included.
No strap lugs. I use Luigis thin
leather straps and wrist straps
on all my cameras. I have Le
Hook small on all strap ends.
I can switch from neck to wrist
in under 30 sec. Now I have
to commit to one or the other
because I havent found any
solution using loop straps.

I love the camera on a wrist

strap but sometimes I like to do
chest shots
ala Inter Alios
Craig:
Don, you need another GR!
Ray:
When I was a kid shooting
film, I have no idea what I was
shooting with some of my early
family hand me down cameras.
I had a Canon half-frame from
the 50s I think that must have

Ill shoot wide anywhere from

about 15 on up and Ill shoot
long anywhere from about
90 on up, But the focal range
between about 40-80 is pretty
much dead to me I just cant
see a damn thing in those
frames. I like 35 as my neutral
length but for most walk around
shooting Ill take 24 or 28 over
anything.
If someone made something like
a GR with a 24mm equivalent,
Id buy that too. My Olympus
12mm lens is my favorite lens
pretty much ever, but 4:3 is
a narrower frame than 3:2 so
24mm at 4:3 and 28mm at 3:2
seem to feel pretty similar and
very natural to me. I have an
RX1 at 35 and I love that camera
for a lot of reasons, but when
I pick up a small camera with

a 28, I just feel like Im back

home. These two Rikon twins
are the camera Ive been after
for a loooong time
Now I just have to choose
theyre both so damn good.
Both have great interfaces that
have been refined over many
years and are just about spotperfect. The Ricoh is way more
programmable, but I usually
have it set up in a way that I can
get to the few adjustments I use
a lot very quickly and the Nikon
does that just as well with less
mental clutter. But the Ricoh
just feeeeeels so right in the
hand. And both of em shoot 28
so they both disappear pretty
much totally
Wouter:
I had all the options available
in the Nineties. At some point
though it all felt overwhelming
and it didnt get me any further
in photography. I thought
about what I wanted and didnt
want. Really felt sure I needed
to restrict it all. In those days I
mostly used an 18-35mm zoom
lens and simply decided that
28mm was good enough. I just
got rid of all the stuff, looked
around for something simple,
but still a quality product, and
instantly bought the GR1 when
it was introduced.
I had pictures in my head I
couldnt translate to film. It
was a process of at least 10
years to get where I am now,

but a lot needed to happen in

my personal life to realize it
and to express my feelings.
Much has changed, not only
photographically, but what
remained was my desire to keep
it simple and to restrict myself.
Therefore my interest in the GR,
and the GRD1 and GRD3 before.
Olivier:
Interesting comments! The
Ricoh are known as street
cameras, something that is
common about all of you. Why
do you think that is and what
does Street Photography mean
to you?
Wouter:
A tricky one, Olivier. I had
my fair amount of interest in
street photography and some
of the photographers that
inspired me are mostly known
for their street photographs.
I still make photographs you
might categorize as street
photography, but street
photography is no necessity
anymore. It forms only a small
portion of my photography.
I think the connection people
make between the Ricoh GR(D)
cameras and street photography
is something of the more recent
years. Kind of sad too, because
the photographer with these
cameras can do so much more.
Therefore I prefer to call my
photography stroll photography.

Wherever I wander around

there can be something
interesting, something that
connects with your feelings.
I prefer some distance and
respect in my photography. And
I much rather prefer to focus on
how people interact with their
environment. I dont really care
about genres, I care how I feel
about the things I see and I like
to capture what I feel.
Ray:
Hey gents, Im getting more
and more comfortable with a
decision to send back the GR
loaner and buy the Nikon A,
so if youd like to jettison me
from the rest of the discussion
Ill understand. Ill give you
my reasons, but if youd rather
just keep this among us and
not post it to the blog (is any
more of this going on the blog,
or are we just talking amongst
ourselves at this point?), Im
more than fine with that. You
all are a discerning bunch, so its
worth putting out there for any
thoughts you might have.

available to me for almost a

month before the Ricoh was
announced, I had a chance to
get to know it on its own terms
and judge it against other
Ricohs Ive known (and still
do). And at the end of the day,
much to my surprise, I prefer it.
Some of my preferences are
interface related and ONLY
preferences, but Im pretty clear
on them. Some are arguably a
little more technical, but are
still basically preferences rather
than better or worse. The
biggest things I LIKE about
the Ricoh are the feel of the
shape of the camera in my hand
(no surprise after the GRD3),
the ability to switch instantly
between zone focus and AF and
have the camera remember
the zone distance (Im not
overly smitten with snap focus
otherwise, but this is a pretty
big deal), and the faster AF in
good light (which is not a big
deal for me, but its nice to have
anyway).

I like both cameras a lot Im

not a fanboy (and if I was Ive
been a Ricoh fanboy for a few
years and a Nikon fanboy for
a couple of months the zeal
of the recently converted?). If
the Ricoh had been announced
before the Nikon Id have
probably pre-ordered one and
never even tried the Nikon.

The biggest thing I dont like

about the Ricoh (and this
surprised me because its
Ricohs calling card and part
of what Ive loved about it in
the past) is the complexity of
its interface, which I just find
to be totally overkill for how I
shoot and I sometimes trip over
that complexity, even with a
relatively straightforward setup.

But because the Nikon was

For example, something as

simple as changing exposure

compensation requires pushing
the plus or minus rocker so
far so good because its instantly
armed and ready but then you
have to choose whether to keep
it open or hit the OK button to
lock in the new setting. And you
have to remember which youve
chosen to do because there are
consequences if you dont!
Hitting the OK button every
time I change something strikes
me as a bit of a pain. Sometimes
its nice to leave it open so you
can change again after the next
shot. But if you do leave it in
this active state, ANYTHING
else you go to change will only
affect exposure comp, so if you
go to change the aperture, for
example, all youll do is further
adjust exposure comp to an
extend you probably didnt
mean to and the aperture is
unaffected.

things on the Nikon and I find

it works really well. Exposure
comp I can do with one hand.

The GXR had an option you

could turn on so that as soon as
you pressed or half-pressed the
shutter button, that would have
the same effect as hitting the OK
button, but the GR doesnt have
this option. They may add it
back in firmware some day,
or not.

Nikon A Street Photography

Nikon A Street Photography
I can setup the GR to have
my most used options in easy
reach, but I can do that on
the Nikon too. The difference
comes in where to put the only
occasionally used items.

On the Nikon, by contrast, to

change exposure compensation,
you hold down a button and
turn a wheel (like snap focus on
the GR) and when you release
the button, its set this is the
way you adjust a number of

On the Ricoh youve got an extra

fn button or two and the five
banks under the ADJ controller
but youve got to DECIDE what
to put where and if you change
something later, and you have
mysets designated, you have
to remember to change it for

all of them or you risk hopeless

confusion. On the Nikon, the
lesser used functions are just all
in one place, about as quickly
accessible as the ADJ controller
on the Ricoh, but they dont
change theyre just there.
A sort of big one for me is one
mere detail in the auto-ISO
implementation. The Ricoh
limits you to a a high of 1/250 of
a second for minimum shutter
speed. The Nikon allows you to
go up to 1/1000.
This matters a lot to me for
street work in fairly bright
light because between subject
movement and camera shake
(I sometimes shoot while Im

still moving), 1/250 isnt high

enough for me. So, with the
Ricoh Ill use TaV mode and
set the shutter speed manually,
but I have to remember to
keep an eye on it and manage
it. Otherwise, as I move into
a shady area, the ISO can get
totally out of whack I had a
couple of shots done in a shaded
area on a super-bright day
recently come in around 80009000.
With the Nikon, I can still use
aperture priority and auto-ISO
and with a minimum shutter
speed of 1/500 and a max ISO
of 6400, it will logically start
dropping the shutter speed if
the ISO hits 6400. This is the

logic I would use but with the

Nikon it does it for me. TaV
works well (and Nikon has that
option too if I want it), but I
prefer the aperture priority
with a more flexible auto-ISO
approach personally.
Finally, theres the metering
and the colors, particularly the
colors that result from underexposure. The Nikon metering
is just about perfect. And the
default colors that come up in
Lightroom are already in a state
I like and can immediately go
to work with for those shots
Im leaving in color. The Ricoh
metering and colors in easy
light (bright light or low light)
are fine and the metering seems
OK. But in really tricky light
(sunrise, sunset, dawn, dusk,
fog, etc), the Ricoh metering,
as Wouter pointed out can
underexpose quite a bit unless
you stay really on top of it,
and I personally dont find the
default colors that result all that
pleasing.
This is totally subjective and it
may be made better if Adobe
adjusts the color profile thats
now in beta before they release
it to the general public, although
I am using the up to date beta
color profile. This alone would
NOT be a deal breaker for me at
all, but for now its a small point
in the Nikons favor. The Nikon
just gives me files I can work
with more easily right out of the
gate.

Nikon A Street Photography

Nikon A Street Photography
Finally, what do I NOT like
about the Nikon? Well, it
doesnt quite become as much
of an extension of your arm as
the Ricoh does. Its still kind of
a foreign object down there in
my hand where the Ricoh sort of
becomes part of my hand.
Moving between auto focus
and zone focus take 1-3 second
usually, rather than a nano
second. Id love to hope theyll
update the firmware to make
the camera remember its MF
distance after a power down,
but Nikon is well known for lack
of firmware updates so I have to
figure this is something Ill have
to deal with.
This is not a problem for me I
may switch between auto and
manual/zone focus a few times
in a day out, but Im usually in
one mode or the other and its
rare that I need to switch right
NOW, so not an issue for me,
though it could be for some. The
AF is not as good or fast as the
Ricoh, but I tend to only use AF
for rather sedentary stuff, so
AF speed at this focal length is
never an issue for me.
What I DO like about the
Nikon is its relative functional
simplicity. For someone
who needs to customize
EVERYthing, ti wouldnt cut
it. But I usually only need to
customize a few things. And
then the camera just totally gets

out the way. There are only two

programmable buttons and two
mysets, but thats enough for
me to do everything I need to
do quickly and easily. The Ricoh
leaves me feeling a bit mentally
cluttered sometimes the
Nikon doesnt
Oh, and Don, the Nikon has
strap lugs Just putting it out
there. I actually dont care I
sort of like the Ricohs third
wrist strap attachment on the
bottom of the right side of the
camera and I have one of Luigis
skinny little wrist straps with a
string attachment that I love, so
this is another thing I actually
prefer slightly on the Ricoh. But
I suppose if I ever did decide to
use it with a neck strap, itd be
easier to do
Anyway, thats where I am.
Great cameras both and lacking
the option of the Nikon, Id
have ridden off happily into the
sunset. But the Nikon seems
to have stolen my heart. Ill do
the same type of shooting with
either, but it feels like a tool Ill
use more easily, or more of a
friend if you will. I guess Ill
have to name it now..
Thanks for your indulgence
Wouter:
Ray, I think your points should
certainly be posted on the
blog. It is not all praise. It
should make clear that anyone
interested in either the GR,

Nikon Coolpix A, or any other

camera shouldnt just jump
to conclusions. We all need
to realize that we all have our
preferences and these can differ.
I tell you, that if Ricoh didnt
introduce the GR this year I
might have saved up my money
for Nikon instead.
Olivier:
Last questions! What is your
priority in a camera? Image
Quality? Speed of operation?
Handling? How does the Ricoh
GR fare in that area? How are
you guys making out with zone
focusing-hyperfocal?
Ray:
Yes, all of the above. Speed of
operation and handling are
pretty critical in a street camera,
but theres no downside to more
horsepower in the sensor either,
unless its Dons concern about
the images being too clean. But
you can always dirty up a clean
image but its tough to do the
opposite. The presets you guys
sell is testament to that. While
the ultimate in IQ is not critical
in terms of the appearance of
the final image, a sensor with
more DR and better high ISO
capabilities make getting the
shot a lot easier, even when the
light isnt that low.
It allows you to push your depth
of field and shutter speeds in
OK light into areas that make
zone focus techniques are far

more effective than with a lesser

sensor. The flip side of that is
that a smaller sensor, as on the
previous GRDs have a lot more
DOF at a given aperture, but Id
still rather have a larger sensor
with more capability than a
smaller one with less.

wonderful for zone focussing.

In broad daylight you can

easily use hyperfocal settings,
but I dont see that as terribly
necessary because infinity
doesnt really have to be in
focus for most street shooting,
or anything else beyond
The GR is great in these regards. landscapes for that matter.
Those who like the basic Ricoh
interface will like the GR
With these new APS sensor
its pretty much the same as
cameras being really usable up
previous Ricohs with a few
to 6400 and semi-usable a bit
differences only in the details.
higher than that, its possible to
The Nikon is great in this regard still use zone focus in pretty low
too and, to my surprise I seem
light and make it work you
to like it marginally better, but
just have to realize that the zone
both are really quite good.
of focus isnt as deep. I tend
to use 2 meters as my starting
How am I making out with
point for zone focus.
zone focusing-hyperfocal?
Thats what I use almost always, When Im shooting really close
particularly on the street.
Ill tighten this down to 1-1.5
For scenic and architectural
meters (very easily done on
and more sedentary types of
either of these cameras), but 2
shooting Ill use auto-focus,
meters is my general starting
but the bulk of the time with
point and where I do most of my
a camera like the GR, Ill be in
shooting.
zone focus. On the Ricoh its
the snap focus technique on
In bright light Ill shoot at f6.3
the Nikon its just the by-wire
or 7.1, which is basically around
focus ring on the lens and an
hyperfocal territory, with
electronic distance scale on
everything from about a meter
the screen.
on out in focus. In OK outdoor
light I open it up to f4.5 or 5
The Ricoh is a lot more
which still gives you everything
convenient to get into and
from a little over a meter out to
out of the Nikon a bit more
about 5 meters in focus.
convenient to change focus
distance, at least to me. While
In really low light, Ill open it
these larger sensors give up
all the way up to f3.5, at which
some DOF to the small sensors
point Ive got about from 1.5-4
in the GRD3/4, with such good
meters in focus. But really, most
low light capability, its still
of the key action in most street

Image Quality. My IQ meaning

a number does not allow me to
think about IQ, either way. My
initial thoughts about the GR
were that it may be too good for
me. I still feel a little that way
but I am adapting to the sterile
quality the camera provides.
Dont sweat, Ill find a way to
bugger up the files and still have
them work.
The GR was given birth from
the GRD4. Its operation is as
good and maybe better in some
scenes. Its very fast like its
little Momma and the handling
is equal to her. I found that the
GR is a femle. Most dont pay
attention to camera gender or
names but I do.

where we can discus and share

our thoughts and experiences.

shots happens in that range

and Ive had great luck shooting
like that in low light. Here are a
couple of indoor, low light shots
done in zone focus with those
settings, one with the Ricoh, one
with the Nikon. (I think I may
have sent these previously not
sure).

My phase of getting familiar

with the camera is becoming
a closing chapter. I learned
some of the limitations, which
I feel are necessary for my
photography. I am getting used
to some of the new possibilities
and learned some of the new
features.

Wouter:

I will never learn all of the

possibilities of the new GR, nor
do I feel I have too. From what
I know I can use it without that
the camera hinders me. And to
me, that is what matters and
makes the GR excel.

My priority for any camera

is that is keep up with me
and doesnt get in my way. I
want it to be there and show
its presence but as an equal
partner. I am totally aware
that photography and I are
partners in a collaborative effort
to make the images. If I have a
new camera after a week, its a
keeper, if notwell maybe for
someone else it is..

Thank you all! And thank you

Olivier for providing a place

I know these guys are smiling if

your asking about IQ meaning

My main priorities are handling

and speed of operation, and that
to a sense where I just dont
notice the camera anymore.
After almost two weeks of using
the GR I notice that it is starting
to fulfill those priorities.

Streetshooter:

Like Ray and Im sure all and

all that ever use a Ricoh will use
Zone Focusing. I think thats a
very big advantage with the GR.
The Hyperfocal Distance works
great on the GRD4 with a nice
close range to infinity. The GR
has a shallower DOF and thus
offers a different way of thinking
the image.
Its been a challenge but I have
to admit that I like rethinking
what I know and have used
for so many years. Rays
figures for Zone are Im sure
what we all are using. I read
Wouters post a few days ago
about using f/4.5.hmmmm
I thought..hmmmmm that
does not compute. Well, it does
compute..

Craig:
Sorry for the delay with this.
Everything conspiring against
me replying! What is your
priority in a camera? Image
Quality? Speed of operation?
Handling?
All of those things are
important. I get sucked in to
trying a lot of new cameras.
Its my weakness! What Ive
found is that generally Im never
satisfied, which is good and
bad depending on the context.
Speed, AF speed, zero shutter
lag both very important for
walking and shooting.
So the snap function is really
the only answer to this. Zone
focussing on any other camera
isnt as fast, for me at least. The
only other camera that comes
close is the lego-brick-like
Olympus EM5, which is far too
electronic.
Image quality. Yes, important
and again I get sucked in by
this. I got the Fuji 35mm lens
for the XE1, amazing lens, iQ
is outstanding, lovely bokeh
etc but really, when do I want
bokeh?! So it all went back. IQ
is important. I like to start with
the best, at least then you have
the option of destroying it if
you wish. Image personality is
perhaps more important.

would say neither handle very

well. Neither have a grip, both
require two hands the Sony
because its so small. The Ricoh
is one of the most ergonomic of
all cameras Ive used.
The menu system I find really
logical too, much more than
many others. The scroll is a little
long but its better than having
several menus. So far, I hate
touch screen cameras. Seems
so unintuitive. I guess the next
generation will grow up with
them and find them better.
Liverpool, Cornwallis Street
I go through hyper shoot
everything months, then have
quiet months to reflect and
revisit a lot of old stuff. So,
although Im still shooting,
the images attached arent
my usual but perhaps for the
sake of this discussion about
the more varied merits of the
camera these might be better
anyway than my normal work.
One other thing that usually
drives me back to Ricohs. I love
drawing. I always fight between
drawing and photography.
Generally those who are
interested in one arent in the
other, in the context of my own
work anyway, which makes
it more difficult to use and to
place both.

I havent found a way yet of

Handling. Absolutely. The
X100s is a beautiful camera. The combing both. I dont really
know even if I should as it might
rX100 produces great images. I

dilute both. Anyway, the Ricoh

is a little like drawing, and the
marks, grain etc achievable with
the Ricoh are drawn marks.
Olivier:
Hey folks, hope all is well with
you guys. Its been a while since
we last talked, I know for a fact
that sometimes a camera that
seems perfect starts showing its
nasty side, and vice versaSo
heres a few follow up questions:
How are you guys doing with
the camera?
Any issues that came up during
that time?
Streetshooter:
Hey back at ya.
Theres a few things that need to
be addressed on the firmware.
I got caught up in the negative
aspects of things and then I
decided to just make photos.
The camera is very responsive
and I find working with it very
intuitive. 2 of my photos have
gone viral on Explore at Flickr
and the overall response to my
work has been positive.
Thats how I judge whats going
on. Photography is about visual
communication and if people
arent responding to your work,
theres a language barrier that
must be addressed. The GR
helps me with the syntax of
photography.

Craig:

Ray:

Hello hello hello and hello,

Mine loaner GR is boxed up

and heading back. I decided
to buy the Nikon instead, as I
indicated was very likely in an
earlier email. It was not due to
any deficiency with the GR at
all the Nikon just has a way
of dealing with auto-ISO that
really frees me up to just read
the light and shoot in a way that
no other camera has managed
before.

At present the camera is my

only one, everything else has
gone. Im enjoying it. I think
some people think its a gun
because of the way I hold it
when Im walking so I need to
change that before I get shot.
I always compare the snap
function to a gun though, its
so fast. Ive never fired a gun
by the way. The camera is very
unassuming and discreet and
really a pleasure to use once all
the custom settings are set. The
ISO rocker is brilliant. Paired
with some new features in LR5
its a great little camera.
Im working with Jpegs and
RAW files for the first time in a
long time, thanks to a comment
from Wouter. Some of the jpegs
have a lot of character and dont
have any less detail than the
RAW. There are no real issues.
One weird thing happened
when I had the camera in macro
mode and turned it off, the lens
jammed and struggled in and
out a few times before finally
shutting down correctly. Its not
happened since but Im always a
bit scared of it happening again,
it didnt make a nice noise when
it happened!

The most comfortable workflow

Id arrived at with the GR for
street work was to just shoot in
Aperture priority with manual
ISO enabled on the ADJ rocker
this was exactly the way Id
shot forever with the GRD3 and
the GXR-28 and if there hadnt
been another option, Id have
used the GR happily and sung
its praises to anyone whod
listen.

control as my position relative

to the light changes and let the
camera handle the rest. And
mostly focus on the moment
and the framing. The only other
thing I have to change on the
street is the aperture when I
move from good light into low
light.
I usually shoot at f6.3 or
7.1 in good light and 3.5 in
low light. For me, the Nikon
gives me a sublime shooting
experience where the Ricoh
was just very very good. And
for more varied work, I slightly
preferred the Nikons signature
colors, but this was not a major
consideration Id have been
perfectly comfortable with the
Ricoh. Just down to one fairly
small detail that became a very
large detail in how I shoot with
the two cameras

The Nikon is slightly less

wonderful in a couple of ways
(feel in hand and snap focus
being the main things, but its
good enough in those areas),
but its auto-ISO setup allows me
to set the camera to automate
the whole ISO / shutter speed
relationship and I know it will
handle it in the same way Id
handle it if I was doing ISO
manually.

There are some workarounds

under discussion at DPR
regarding ways of getting the
GR to behave in a similar
manner in TaV mode to
what Im doing on the Nikon
and it seems promising (a
combination of DR controls and
Shutter/Aperture Auto Shift),
but my experiments indicated
it wasnt quite there and would
probably need a firmware
update to get it where Id be
comfortable with it.

And its just something that frees

my head that much more from
the exposure details and I can
just work the exposure comp

There was more inconsistency

in the ISO behavior that I didnt
understand well enough to get
comfortable with it. So, Im

shooting with the Nikon and Im

not feeling any regrets or second
thoughts. Its far from my only
camera, but a 28mm that fits
in a pocket with this level of
capability is destined to be my
favorite and most used camera.
Probably by a large margin.
Both great cameras, plenty of
good reasons for any individual
shooter to prefer one to the
other. I came down with the
Nikon, but Id have been happy
enough with the Ricoh if Id
never shot with the Nikon.
Happy shooting everyone
Wouter:
Interesting observations from
all of you. For me, the GR is
like my GRD3. I dont notice.
I operate it with my thumb
without looking at it. I have
learned that the exposure
metering is very consistent and
I am very pleased with that.
I had to make some adjustments
to my post processing. And the
most important reason for me is
how the camera imaging engine
is handling moir in the jpegs.
Even with all corrections set to
zero it still does strange things
which can be most noticeable
in brick walls. I moved to RAW
only instead now.
The other issue that I still have
are the hot pixels at high ISO.
Don shared some photographs
and those looked a lot, I mean

a lot better. So I still believe I

have a one off. And I have new
issue that can randomly become
apparent in good, bright light.
And these are some kind of
strange small white orbs.
Not too long ago Don asked
us about it as he saw one in
a photograph. I checked his
image too and it looked quite
similar, although the spots were
smaller in my images. I shared
my observations and images
with Pentax Ricoh and I hope
their engineers can fix it with a
firmware update.
In all other cases, the camera
works reliable and I use it in
auto pilot mode.

Thanks to Don, Craig, Wouter

& Ray for their input, following
is a sample of their work with
the GR, please make sure you
follow them by clicking the links
below!

Don Springer
Wouter Brandsma
Craig Atkinson
Ray Sachs
Check out Craigs nice Art Books:

Cafe Royal Books

Don Springer x Ricoh GR

Wouter Brandsma x Ricoh GR

Craig Atkinson x Ricoh GR

Ray Sachs x Ricoh GR

The Ricoh GR IV is a camera that has achieved the mythical cult status that every camera hopes to
be. The Ricoh GR is too young to be a cult camera but will probably end up being one. Cameras come
and go, but a select few stay and are used actively. Some cult cameras include the Contax G2, Epson
RD1, Contax T, etc. But you dont become a cult camera for nothing, so what makes the GR a cult
contender?

I had the Ricoh GXR for a while

and wanted to buy its leeeetle
bwother to take away with me.
In my head my main camera
would be the GXR and the
GRCD III a point and shoot.
Not in my wildest dream I
would have believed that I
would consider the GRD III as
my main camera, but that is
what happened. I had 4 GXRs
with different modules at some
point. The GRD III killed them
all just like the GXR killed my
Pentax. The GRD III is the
big brother, not the other way
around.
Fast forward a couple of years,
Ricoh released the Ricoh GR,
the successor to the Ricoh GRD
IV.

82

A mix of old and new

Even if the Ricoh GR was first

called the Ricoh GRD V, its
really a departure and at the
same time a coming back to the
original roots.
The Looks are 100% like the
Ricoh GRDs but the way the
camera operates is more like
the First Ricoh GR film cameras
because it has a bigger sensor.
If you had a Ricoh GRD before,
its the same, while being
different at the same time.
Makes sense?

Ergonomics

When I first got my GRD III,

I picked it up and I felt the
difference. The ergonomics are
nothing short of breathtaking
and Ricohs GR handling
became my benchmark for
which to judge other cameras.

The Ricoh GR has a different

feel to it than the previous
GRDs, but its definitely a
true Ricoh GR camera. The
impression I have, being a
Ricoh shooter for 3 years, is
that the camera gets out of the
way. Its the kind of camera that
gets away from you and your
Vision. From the thumb rest, to
the perfectly balanced weight,
that camera is some serious
craftsmanship. I would love to
tell you Im overhyping it, but
more than one user state that
they didnt believe the reviews
until they held one.

GR Lens

Most camera manufacturers

have lenses, but also Lenses,
with capital L. They have a
regular line of lenses, but
another breed that is ultra
sharp and of the highest

quality. Sonys got the Zeiss,

Canon the L series, Pentax the
limited series and Ricoh has
the GR series. Its sharp, deadly
sharp.And its fast at 2.8, good
for low light. Its slower than
the 1.9 of the Ricoh GRD IV, but
since it has a bigger sensor, it
has better handling of ISO.
The lens of this camera is of
the highest quality, its the
GR legacy. The focal length is
28mm and its perfect for street
and less limiting that you might
think. The macro mode is also
more than an addition, I found
myself using it more than once.
When shooting with a regular
camera, I always forget that not
every camera can do macro! Its
sharp and you can get very close
with the GRs macro.

APSC Sensor

The Ricohs GR Lens is couple

with an APSC sensor. The GR
is unique in the sense thats its
a very compact camera with
such large sensor, besides the
Nikon A. Most cameras that
size contain a 1/1.7 inch sensor,
while the GR packs a DSLR
sized sensor. Pack a large sensor
with killer glass and you have
great image quality,

Malleable files

The Ricoh GR can output

drop dead amazing DNG files.
Why dont all manufacturers
adopt DNG and be done with
it? Anyway, the JPGs are very
good straight out of the camera

(especially if you customize to

taste) and many are content
to upload directly to Flickr or
other sites. But my personal
policy is to bunk the JPGs, and
let me tell you, these RAW files
can take some stretching.
What can be recovered and the
amount of Dynamic range is
just great. Some camera files
cannot handle such stretching,
but the GR can handle multiple
exposure blending very well.

Snap focus

In short (See the detailed article

for in depth info) snap focus
allows the camera to have a
preset distance to focus, like 1m,
1.5m, etc. But it also allows you
to have two focusing mode at
your fingertips: One full press
will focus at preset distance, half
press will autofocus.

Customization

The GRs are highly

customizable, both the image
and the interface. I only shoot
black and whites, but most BW
modes on cameras are simply
content to desaturate the image,
the Ricoh allows for custom
image settings like Contrast
and Sharpness so that you can
make the on-screen image
close to your Vision. With the
camera customization, you
can change almost every single
setting on the camera and save
it in one of the 3 MY settings
in the dial. You can put even
more settings in storage and

recall them afterwards. This is

extremely useful and saves you
a lot of time changing settings.
You might want a BW a certain
way and your color a certain
way, your focus, your aspect
ratio, you can customize a lot
of options and recall them by
turning the dial. Normally you
adapt to the camera but this
camera adapts to you.

Trustworthy

Trust is very important when

it comes to cameras, you are
relying on it to do something
for you. Some cameras are
awkward and are unintuitive,
but the Ricoh GR is simply
trustworthy. Its quiet, great and
always there. That last part is
important, photographs wont
wait for you, you need to have a
camera in your pocket always.
Ive only encountered a few
people who didnt like the
camera, but after a small cross
examination, they never really
took the time to develop a feel
for it. Camera bonding takes
time, but once you master it, it
melts in your hands. One user
remarks that the Ricoh GR
transformed him into a
street beast.

Life is full or paradoxes, things that appear so counter intuitive that you would bet against them.
One of them is limitation creativity, the idea that the more limited you are in your choices, the more
creative you will be. Give your brain restraints and it will work its way around it.

The best example of limitation

creativity in art is Rembrandt
who use only a limited palette of
non primary colors to make his
masterpieces. The best example
in photography is the whole
One camera, one lens thing.
It works because instead of
doing to straightforward thing
(Stay where you are, zoom in
or change lenses) it forces your
brain to come up with a creative
solution to the problem (how
can I shoot a portrait at 28mm,
without being to fill the frame?).
The GRs 28mm can Bokeh
to a certain extent, but most
likely you wont be able to blur
your way out of every situation,
except if you are really close.
The 28mm is a focal length
close to the human field of view,
and what I like with it (and
the fact that you cant blur the
background that much) is that
it FORCES you to always be

conscious of your background.

Thats where you have to come
up with different perspectives,
leading line and other to get you
out of a situation.
Plus it forces you to get close.
Ive personally never found
the 28mm limiting because it
forces me to find a solution to a
problem. I used to be a 50mm
but it changed my way of seeing
completely. It forced me not to
take pictures of isolated subjects
(a tree, a leaf, a car) but
try to make the subject work
with its background.
Ive grown exponentially when
I stopped thinking blurry
background and started
thinking how do I make this
work, something that the GR
excels at, well, because there
are no alternatives: Cant
zoom, cant bokeh much. The
straightforward solution being

absent (1.8 and its all blurry

goodness!) creativity starts
flowing (lower angle to hide
bushes? Make the road converge
to her face? How to draw the
eye?) Its freeing, believe it or
notif we could fly, nobody
would have invented airplanes,
no?

The Ricoh GR is a versatile camera, I can be used for everything. Family? Snap! Birthday? Snap!
Wedding? Snap! you get the drift. But will the camera is good for all situations, its particularly excels
for street photography, heres why.

Legacy

Before getting into details,

we must have a little word on
legacy. Every single GR camera
excels in the streets ever since
the first one, so it has a lot of
weight and history behind it,
it just didnt pop out like that,
actually maybe it did. I cant
verify this but it seems that the
Japanese photographer Daido
Moriama really put Ricoh on
the map as a street camera. But
beyond his say so heres some
reasons why its deadly.

28mm

The 28mm focal lenght is highly

prized in street photography.
The reason is because you
can get lots of street action in
the frame with, because its
a wide angle. The longer the
focal length, the easier it is to
balance because the less there is
to balance, the opposite is also

true.the 28mm takes some

getting used to but you can get
lots of action in the frame. Most
street photographers want to
show the whole depth of the
streets and not pull out an
element from its surroundings,
the 28mm is great for that.

Stealthy/Touristy

Most street photographers

do not want to flaunt their
credentials, you just want to
blend in. Something that is hard
to do with a dslr in your hands
or neck. People are very aware
of the camera, even more if its
serious looking. The GR is a
very nice looking camera, but
lets face it it looks harmless.
Its guts can pack a punch,
but it looks like a Point and
Shoot, making it a very
attractive package for street
photographers.

I take it a bit further and look

extra touristy with it, I hold it
like I would an iphone when
taking photographs (with all
my fingers up). People never
seem to take me nor the camera
seriously.absolutely perfect
because I dont want them
to. Plus the camera operates
silently!

Snap focus

Snap focus is in my opinion

THE street feature of the Ricoh
GR for street photography. You
can set it up at f/11 for 2meters
and everything from 1 meter on
will be in acceptable focus!
If I want to auto focus I half
press then press, if I want snap
focus I simply full press. That
system is simply deadly (enable
Full press snap in the settings).
I told you this camera gets
out of your way, this is one of

reasons why, you dont think

about settings, you just focus on
shooting, if they have to change
you can do so extremely fast
because of shortcuts.

Operation Speed

The Ricoh GR is fast, very fast,

faster than the GRD IV. From
changing settings to actually
taking a picture, everything is
done very quickly. The Streets
dont wait for you so this is
an important point. Theres a
time that you know the camera
so well that you can change
settings without looking.
Turning it on takes about a
second and its ready to fire,
the way the menus are set up
you can change your settings
pretty quickly, even flash power.
Everything in the operation
department is straightforward
and simple, what you need is
never too far.

Post Processing

If you want to post process

your images, good working
files are necessary, and the GR
delivers exactly that. I tend
to underexpose to recover
later, and with my GR there
is always enough information
to play around with. Most
people want to punch up their
images in terms of contrast
and other areas, the GRs
RAW files deliver, they even
handle overexposure and
underexposure very well.

If you never really understood the snap focus, fear not! Heres a complete explanation of it all.

Understanding Depth
of Field
The first things first: What
is depth of field? Without
fancy words, its the area that
is is focus in a photo. More
specifically its the amount of
acceptable sharpness before and
after the focused area. Shallow
DOF means a really small area
that is in focus, the rest is out of
focus, like this:

Note: Taken with Ricoh GXR

50mm, you cannot produce a
photo like this with a Ricoh GR,
because being too close would
deform the face.
A large depth of field means that
there is a large area in focus,
like so:

Notice how everything is pretty

much sharp. Now the thing

you have to understand (and

engrave in stone in your mind)
are a few factors that influence
depth of field:
Aperture
Focal length
Camera to subject distance

The larger aperture, the lower

f-number, the faster the lens,

and the shallower the depth of

field. The smaller the aperture,
the higher f-number, the slower
the lens, and the increase in
depth of field. So f/1.8 will give
you shallow DOF And f/22 will
give you a great DOF.
The longer the focal length, the
higher the mm, the shallower
the depth of field. The shorter
the focal length, the lower the
mm, the increase in depth of
field. So a 50mm will have
more stuff in focus at f/8 than a
200mm will have at f/8.
Note: The longer the focal
length, the more compressed
the background (it will appear
close), the shorter the focal
length, the more decompressed
the background (it will appear
far).
See the compression effect with
a zoom lens here to understand
(called Dolly Zoom). Click
HERE
The longer the focus distance,
the larger depth of field. The
shorter the focus distance, the
shallower the depth of field.
So focusing on something
at 0.5 meters will have less
stuff in focus than focusing at
something at 5 meters.
All of the above is pretty
straightfoward, but heres the
catch: sensor sizes. Without
going too much into the details,
the smaller the sensor size, the
longer the same focal length will

appear to be. A 50mm

on a 35mm camera gives
you a FOV of 50mm
A 50mm on an APS
camera like the Ricoh
GXR, Leica M8, Epson
RD1, etc gives you a FOV
of 75mm A 50mm on
a m43 camera like the
Olympus Pens, OMD or
panasonics gives you a
FOV of 100mm A 50mm
on a Pentax Q (small
sensor) will give you a
FOV of 250mm

f/16, and put the first

marking of f/16 on
0.7, automatically
I can see that from
0.7 to 1.2m will be in
focus at f/16.

For the sake of

comprehension, lets
say that the Ricoh GR
actually had a crop factor
of 5 and could mount
lenses. A 50mm on a
Ricoh GR would act
as a 250mm, so if we
wanted for the Ricoh to
have a 28mm, it would
have to be a 5.6mm lens.
At this very short focal
length, what happens?
The depth of field is
immensely greater.

Few, ready for it?

Ricoh GR (And GXR
and GX100-GX200)
have a feature
called snap focus.
the idea is simple:
On snap focus the
camera focuses on a
specified distance:
1m,1.5m, etc. Thats
it. What is the fuss
about? Well that
you can simply
shoot without even
thinking about
focusing. Lets say
you are a relatively
fast shooter, you
simply set you
shutter speed at
something like 250
(if you are slow you
can do 80-100),
lock your aperture
at f/11, leave your
ISO on auto, and you will be
pretty much guaranteed a good
exposure and depth of field
from 1m (depending on your

That would be my
first zone, if I twit
the lens than another
zone will be in focus,
etc, etc.

Snap Focus

Zone Focusing
Before getting into snap,
you have to understand
zone focusing. Before
auto focus, even
rangefinders, people
had to find a way to
focus quickly, so what
they did is use zone focusing.
Basically they looked at the lens
markings to know what areas
were in focused by looking at

their depth of field scale. At

the smaller apertures the scale
could be divided into zones to
have large areas in focus. Look

at the lens on the left.

I simplified it so that you could
understand, I put my lens at

snap setting, to have everything

in acceptable focus at 1m, you
set the snap at 2m) to infinity.
Pretty useful, no?
In essence, to bring everything
down, snap focusing is zone
focusing at a specific distance.
But the REAL treat is the fact
that you dont even need to go
into the menus for snap focus,
you can set it up to full press
snap. So you can focus regularly
with a half press than shoot, or
you can full press (with no half
press) to do snap.
The double operation, and semi
automatic controls of the Ricoh
GR makes you more like a ninja
than a photographer. You are
limited by your gear, I learned
that the hard way once I sold
my GR III, I bitterly regretted it
and never felt so constrained by
other cameras in my life! Many
of my shots I would never get if
it werent for the blazing speed
of operation of the Ricohs. Here
are some examples that I took
with the Ricoh GRD III:

Theres been folks who made their name in Photography by using flash, one big name is Bruce
Guilden, and before him was Weegee the great. Many like this style of street photography, so here is a
primer on how to do it with a Ricoh GR.

Why flash?

Flash of course is here to create

light when there is none, but
many actually use it in plain
daylight. I have found out
that there are two easy ways
to separate the subject to the
background: Putting your lens
at 1.8, or putting your flash on
the subject and underexposing
the background.
One of the best reasons then to
use flash is to create contrast
between the subject and the
background. If the subject is
light and the background dark,
it makes the eye go directly to
the subject. You can even take
this further and completely
darken the background,
essentially capturing only your
subject on a black background.

How flash works:

Flash is a beautiful thing in the

way it works. When using it, you
are essentially controlling two

aspects of the image: The part

of the image lit by the flash, and
the part of the image that is
naturally lit.
So if you are using flash, you are
controlling the flash exposure
and the ambient exposure. You
could of course use the auto
flash or fill flash, but its useful
to know how to control flash in
order to get what you want and
not what the camera thinks you
want.

Controlling flash:

You control flash in three ways:

- Flash power
This is how powerful your flash
output is. It can be full power
(The POOOF! sound), half
power, quarter power, an eight
of power, etc. As the power
goes down, there is less light
outputted.
- Flash-subject distance
The Inverse Square Law, is

in layman terms the flash to

subject distance. The definition
is that a subject twice the
distance from the light source
(our flash) will only receive
1/4th of the illumination.
It basically means that light
drops VERY fast, and your
subjects distance to the camera
can be the difference between
under and over exposure of the
flash.
- Aperture
As you close your aperture
(Higher fstop) the less flash that
enters the lens.
- ISO
The higher ISO, the more light
sensitive.

Controlling ambient
exposure
You control your ambient
exposure with your shutter
speed.

The flow

Sync Speed
I shot all of the images in this
article with the Ricoh GR with
on camera flash. The image of
the Asian Lady was taken at
a very fast shutter speed, the
Ricoh GR allows you to use
the flash up to 1/2000th of a
second, something that is not
possible with other cameras.

If my subject is too bright,

I ether make the flash less
powerful or I close my aperture
down a bit. When I like what
I see, I then adjust my shutter
speed to let more or less of the
ambient light in. The more
time I let my shutter open, the
brighter my background would
be. I really like to separate my
subject from my background
so I intently make my shutter
speed fast so that it could be
dark. I then go on shooting, only
being careful for my subjects to
be at about 1 meter.

It was pretty much sunny

outside when I took the
photograph but because of the
high sync speed I could make
my shutter speed really fast so
that I could underexpose the
ambient background. it would
not have been possible with my
Nex7 for example because it
only has a sync speed of 1/160th
of a second. If I wanted to, I
could have made the shutter
speed even faster and make the
background completely black.
Many photographers use this
technique to create portraits on
a black background outside.

Heres how I shoot flash with a

Ricoh GR. I decide what I want
to shoot, most likely I want my
subject at about 1 meter away
from me. I fire a couple of test
shots, playing around with my
flash power and aperture to
expose correctly for my subject
at one meter.

1st cutain vs 2nd curtain

Lets say for examples sake that
the exposure we are doing lasts
5 seconds. If your flash is set up
at 1st curtain sync, its going to
pop at the very beginning of the
5 seconds while if its second
curtain, its going to pop at the
end of the 5 seconds.
This is important to know if you
intend to blur your background
a bit by dragging the shutter. 1st
curtain would freeze the lit area
before the blur trail and second
curtain would freeze the lit area
after the blur trail.

Im a big fan of saying that there is more to photography than the camera, and there truly is. You
getting your Ricoh GR is only the first step. it does not end there. It is my hopes that this ebook guides
you to understand your camera more. Only you can learn your camera, and that is done only by going
out and actually using it.
Beyond the camera theres photography and before photography there is the camera. Its very
important that you take time to learn your camera so that it can give you what you want. Go out and
shoot, experiment and learn.
If youve enjoyed this mini-guide, would you please consider
subscribing to Inspired Eye Magazine? Its all about photography
and is designed to develop your Eye, Heart and Mind. A reader said
It is the best photography magazine I ever seen. Print or online!
thats worth a few credits, no? Plus its made with sugar, spice and
everything nice!

Click Here for

more info

www.theinspiredeye.net