Your opinion matters. Ricoh GXR vs. Olympus EP-3 vs. Fujifilm X100

[watzzup]

Hi. I have high confident in Ricoh product. Ok this will be my bias opinion and not going to comment on other cameras which I have little knowledge with it. Haha.. But like every camera have their Pros and Cons. Some module are slow in focus and noisy. Do dig in some more on this and only unique feature of this camera system.

Additional info for you is Ricoh has been constantly updating their firmware for their cameras. And the pace for their replacement are not as fast as other maker. I think they must have stick to some philosophy in designing their product. So far no rumours on GXR 2, but agree that their module are limited abit slow to expand their line up. So I feel Ricoh camera (GR and GXR model) are worth photographer's money.

Thanks, i love to hear from all views.
Thanks for your opinion.

I listed ricoh as 1 of the list i wanted because of the M mount (Giving the opportunity to explore leica lens) and its black and sleek look.

 

[watzzup]

You may want to consider the Sony NEX cameras...they are one of the better contenders in my opinion..

I love the look of the Nex 7 . Very nice.
I think functionality wise looks awesome too.
But i think my pocket empty if i buy that one.

 

[watzzup]

APS-C sensor is bigger than m4/3 and we should be expecting better noise control in high ISO setting. However with my E-PL1, I am sometime shooting at ISO1600 to 3200... sure there is noise, but to me, it is quite alright. If you are planning to shoot in good lighting or bright sunlight, there really is no issue with noise.

i want to the option of going out at night to shoot too, but i think that one is not a priority for now.
as i'm thinking of other "plan" for night.
right now, priority is just a camera to have with me 24/7.

 

[watzzup]

Hi, ok so i got a question for ricoh and maybe the x100
I know the ep-3 , panasonic gf-3 surely can do this.. because their focus is fast.
This is one of my deciding factor.

when the subject is walking past you, just walking fast. (be it at night or day)
and your standing still. waiting for that person to be just in front of you, hold up the camera,
can you focus in time to capture this person face up front while he's walking?

i know most cameras if the subject is still, any camera can capture the person face.
I've done it before.

 

[rhino123]

Hi, ok so i got a question for ricoh and maybe the x100
I know the ep-3 , panasonic gf-3 surely can do this.. because their focus is fast.
This is one of my deciding factor.

when the subject is walking past you, just walking fast. (be it at night or day)
and your standing still. waiting for that person to be just in front of you, hold up the camera,
can you focus in time to capture this person face up front while he's walking?

i know most cameras if the subject is still, any camera can capture the person face.
I've done it before.

I don't think that is a problem. I have done that before with my E-PL1... and EP3 should be much better in terms of AF.

In bad lighting or night, you would need to pump up ISO. to get good enough shutter speed though. But like I have said, I have shoot at ISO1600 to 3200 and the result is still quite alright. and what you need is a fast lens and a flash (if possible).

 

[tomcat]

Hi, ok so i got a question for ricoh and maybe the x100
I know the ep-3 , panasonic gf-3 surely can do this.. because their focus is fast.
This is one of my deciding factor.

when the subject is walking past you, just walking fast. (be it at night or day)
and your standing still. waiting for that person to be just in front of you, hold up the camera,
can you focus in time to capture this person face up front while he's walking?

i know most cameras if the subject is still, any camera can capture the person face.
I've done it before.

You didn't say whether the person is walking towards you or in front of you from left to right and how far from you when you want to take the shot (head, half-body, full body shot?). Most of the newer m43 cameras with faster AF can probably do the job especially if face detection is turned on.
It would be harder for the GXR with M-module to do this unless you are very fast with manual focus, or good at pre-focusing at a set distance. The choice of lens also plays a part. Some of the wider angled lenses like the Voigtlander 15mm are practically focus-free on the GXR but you would not be able to get half-body or head shots without fiddling with the focusing ring.

 

[sanfong]

Hi, ok so i got a question for ricoh and maybe the x100
I know the ep-3 , panasonic gf-3 surely can do this.. because their focus is fast.
This is one of my deciding factor.

when the subject is walking past you, just walking fast. (be it at night or day)
and your standing still. waiting for that person to be just in front of you, hold up the camera,
can you focus in time to capture this person face up front while he's walking?

i know most cameras if the subject is still, any camera can capture the person face.
I've done it before.

Ricoh has a function call SNAP which you can set the pre-focus distance. This function minimise the time by eliminate away the focusing. olympus-pen, sony-nex and panasonic-g ans focus ring on their lens? I'm not sure...

 

[rhino123]

Ricoh has a function call SNAP which you can set the pre-focus distance. This function minimise the time by eliminate away the focusing. olympus-pen, sony-nex and panasonic-g ans focus ring on their lens? I'm not sure...

Yes... Olympus and Panasonic lenses had focus ring on them which can also be use for pre-focusing in an area. I believe Sony's lenses had that too.

 

[watzzup]

You didn't say whether the person is walking towards you or in front of you from left to right and how far from you when you want to take the shot (head, half-body, full body shot?). Most of the newer m43 cameras with faster AF can probably do the job especially if face detection is turned on.
It would be harder for the GXR with M-module to do this unless you are very fast with manual focus, or good at pre-focusing at a set distance. The choice of lens also plays a part. Some of the wider angled lenses like the Voigtlander 15mm are practically focus-free on the GXR but you would not be able to get half-body or head shots without fiddling with the focusing ring.

The person is walking from the front towards me, i want a head shot.

 

[watzzup]

Ricoh has a function call SNAP which you can set the pre-focus distance. This function minimise the time by eliminate away the focusing. olympus-pen, sony-nex and panasonic-g ans focus ring on their lens? I'm not sure...

Is the snap function hard to use?. i've read about that one.
so if he goes out of the area it'll be out of focus rite?

 

[kei1309]

LOL you should wait for the NEX-7

 

[watzzup]

LOL you should wait for the NEX-7

This one nice. but surely expensive ha..:bsmilie::bsmilie:

 

[tomcat]

Is the snap function hard to use?. i've read about that one.
so if he goes out of the area it'll be out of focus rite?

Don't think the snap function is available for GXR + M-mount as it is for those modules that has AF.

 

[kei1309]

This one nice. but surely expensive ha..:bsmilie::bsmilie:

i don't know the price, yet i'm already saving up for it :bsmilie:

 

[sanfong]

Is the snap function hard to use?. i've read about that one.
so if he goes out of the area it'll be out of focus rite?

As one of the cser shared its not available for M-mount module. Yes you are right that you need to develop the habit to judge the distance. I always set 1.5m on my GRD III and will adjust accordingly to my judgement between the cam and subject. For GRD III has 1m, 1.5m 2.5m and infinity. But it will get tricky when using large aperture. Its not difficult to change the focal distance as it require one hand operation without digging into menus.

 

[pinholecam]

Hi. I have high confident in Ricoh product. Ok this will be my bias opinion and not going to comment on other cameras which I have little knowledge with it. Haha.. But like every camera have their Pros and Cons. Some module are slow in focus and noisy. Do dig in some more on this and only unique feature of this camera system.

Sometimes we try not to look at how appealing the design is or how advance it is cos after all it is for the same purpose which is to make photo. We should also look at how the maker handle their own product. Just spend some time think why this low profile company such as Ricoh could survive with seldom appear on IT magazines or photography magazines... (Sorry maybe I too long winded but just share how the company works, strategy and philosophy do bothers me a lot haha...)

Anyway, Ricoh has been constantly updating their firmware for their cameras. And the pace for their replacement are not as fast as other maker. I think they must have stick to some philosophy in designing their product. So far no rumours on GXR 2, but agree that their module are limited and abit slow to expand their line up. Most of their accessories are usable on their predecessor models so far I can think of one good example is their GR series. GRD 1 & 2 shared the same accessories and GRD 3 & 4 shared the same. So it is less destructive to your piggy bank. Needless to say their IQ n colour production are excellent. Therefore I feel Ricoh camera (GR and GXR model) are worth photographer's money.

Yes, very good points in favor of Ricoh.
They are the only ones AFAIK who have released so many firmware versions to keep improving their system.
Most other brands just make 1-3 necessary ones and then ask you to look for improvements in next years model

 

[kuryakin]

Further to the above comments on Ricoh, its GR Digital IV is just out. Good for street photography. But uses just the usual PnS sensor size & focal length is FIXED. The SNAP function is a snap! It got 1:1 format too.

 

[pinholecam]

Hi, ok so i got a question for ricoh and maybe the x100
I know the ep-3 , panasonic gf-3 surely can do this.. because their focus is fast.
This is one of my deciding factor.

when the subject is walking past you, just walking fast. (be it at night or day)
and your standing still. waiting for that person to be just in front of you, hold up the camera,
can you focus in time to capture this person face up front while he's walking?

i know most cameras if the subject is still, any camera can capture the person face.
I've done it before.

Personally, I still focus much faster with OVF than EVF in challenging conditions.
This is mainly due to EVF/LCD refresh rates and gain (esp. in low light conditions)

A lot of such focus issues for the scenario you mentioned can be lessened with preperation.
For me, these are the 2 things I'd do :

1. Esp. with primes, you roughly know what framing you want/like for most of your shots. I like half body shots. So with a 35mm lens on APS-C, I know its about 3m from subject. So my lens is typically pre-focused to 3m.
Move up to approx 3m (or subject approaches to ~4m); pick up camera, and by then subject has stepped into field of focus. Snap the shot.

2. Stop down f8 for hyperfocus or zone focus. It also works for f5.6 and f4, but obviously the 'zone' where subject remains in focus decreases.

 

[watzzup]

Further to the above comments on Ricoh, its GR Digital IV is just out. Good for street photography. But uses just the usual PnS sensor size & focal length is FIXED. The SNAP function is a snap! It got 1:1 format too.

What is 1:1 format?

 

[sanfong]

What is 1:1 format?

Square format.