GR User Forum

The spot for all Ricoh GR camera users

Register for free, meet other Ricoh GR users, share your images, help others, have fun!

Tell your friends about us!

Dark faith in A12 50

riccadonna

Member
Well, nonwithstanding the GXR demise menace rumors I still am one of faithful. A pity I shot it in JPG, should have exposed for the sky which was guite dramatic. Guess in RAW I could pull it down ( the sky ). Stanislaw
 

Attachments

  • R0035648web.jpg
    EXIF
    R0035648web.jpg
    387.2 KB · Views: 1,117
I keep the faith too and enjoy both my GRD4 and GXR A12s 28 & 50. I like your shot but having used my GRD4 in to the sun today, it would have been nice to have dynamic range compensation on the A12s.

Richard
 
Hi Stanislaw,
those look very interesting fortifications...made all the more interesting by your atmospheric picture!
GXR is likely to be my daily bread for some time to come...no reason to change at the moment.
Andy
 
Thank you Andy, Richard and Elefnt .
The fortification is a part of ramparts surrounding Kastellet, the old headquaters of Danish Army, it`s next to Little Mermaid.
 
riccadonna":2vdlnfxy said:
Well, nonwithstanding the GXR demise menace rumors I still am one of faithful. A pity I shot it in JPG, should have exposed for the sky which was guite dramatic. Guess in RAW I could pull it down ( the sky ). Stanislaw

An excellent shot Stanislaw, I like it just the way it is. The couple/statues on the roof just add that perfect air of mystery.

Myself I am overcome with a slew of camera gear. I had made up my mind to try the Panasonic GM1 which I thought was the mini-version of the GXR back that I have been advocating. With a twist of course as it does not conform to the GXR convention. But it does have lens replacement, and a good useful sensor. My idea was to recycle some of my MF lenses on it. In the end I have found it quite a powerful little beast but it does take an age to investigate it. Many will just see it as a compact-toy and never peresvere with the manual the necessary three days to see what hidden joys it can provide. But now safely set up with all six function keys set to my pleasure and the quickmenu working as a sort of adj-key system I find it a truly useful little beast. But I have had to backslide a little because although it is a very efficient manual focuser it is more a drean unit with AF lenses on board. But that was not my reason for comment, only background.

In the process of "GM1" I had the chance of a cheap A12 50mm module and a complete new A16 aps-c zoom camera at a very good price indeed. Couldn't resist. An attempt to get an A12 28mm module to make up "a set" failed.

However in the midst of breaking in a GM1 I am beset with the joy of a couple of GXR modules I have never previously enjoyed. The experience of the new and appreciation of the quality of these modules shows that even some years down the track the original GXR kit still gets the corpuscles flowing. Of course it was an easy peasy five minutes to get the new camera set up to an identical configuration to the rest of my GXR gear right down to all my shooting modes, copyright information, etc. No other camera manufacturer offers such a useful tool to make all the camera bodies in a set work exactly the same. One good reason for a smaller GXR type back as the ultimate replacement for the GR itself. For those that like the idea of multiple GR bodies each with their own lens on board then the smallest GXR camera back with multiple modules must provide the answer and a situation where all your bodies will not only have the same physical interface (guaranteed) but also the firmware will be perfectly set up to cross match against all other camera bodies. And there is nothing inherently wrong with all the current existing modules no matter what tizzy improvements are made in new sensor technology. The photographs here prove it without doubt.

Tom
price indeed.
 
Tom, I must admit to not being a complete luddit. I`m more a steampunk, something that fits me well. A fusion of old and young, crossbreed of my oldish age and youngish curiosity.
On one hand a piece of paper and a pencil is my heritage being trained as architect and later doing kind of visual art. On other hand there was AUTOCAD and FINALCUT and PHOTOSHOP as a demand of proff time.
I do follow the digital development in cameras and computers even that lately I find it increasingly trivial. Me too syndrom gets to me now and then, thoughts of getting 5 axis stabilisation, noisefree 6400 ISO, lightning AF, 10f/sec just too catch those fleeting moments and so on on on.
Then cames a reflection telling me, that I cant be and do all things equally well. Looking at my way of seeing the world and depicting it, I have to accept my preferences and visual style. Too late teach old dog new tricks.
Like a man with his field camera taking his time unperturbed by the world rushing by, so do I walking the streets looking for small dramatic moments in plain daily life, well knowing that I cannot stop the flow of visuality, neither record its complexity.
I do, wittingly or not, what my habits and preferences tell me to do. Like a pair of well worn shoes you wouldn`t swap for the smartest and best, so do I, sticking to the poor old GXR which serves me well and whose potential I certainly havn`t fully explored. I just simply got used to it and for time being will keep using it. It feels familiar to my hand, I know layout and menues in a sleep and the rest is up to my ability to see and render.
Of course I have my small improvement wishes but they stem more from the way I use it meore then from its actual performance. I wont list them because Ricoh anyway doesn`t seem to listen to fotogs like they did in old time ( GR 21 anyone? ). When I look at my GXR A12 with collapsed Elmar 50/3.5 or likewise Summicron 50/2, I don`t see around smaller APS-C package with 75mm FF EQ.
Well Ricoh could build GR lens in a flatter A28 package, make A12 75 and A12 10 but I they wont, that`s for sure but I wont cry. Like you said, there`s more to photography then following the maddning digital crowd. Cheers and hurrays from Stanislaw
 
Stanislaw

I think our minds are close on the subject if not in complete synchronisation. I enjoyed your reflections on what photography is all about and I think that you have nailed the philosophy very well. The switch from film to digital has completely changed the game of taking photographs and made the exercise easier. By shedding the tyrrany of processing film a whole new type of photographer (like myself) has entered the scrum simply becasue it is easier to make images and thereby learn.

However there are two parts - the machine that makes the images and the craft of the photographer. Machines only make it easier to learn the craft by dealing with the tedious side and also good tools make the craftsman at least appear more skilled.

The runaway develpoment of digital cameras has sparked the belief that digital camera technology will improve forever. It may well do so but the frenetic pace has already slowed. Everyone must have their own tipping point where their own gear must be "good enough". I think that Ricoh realised that they could not compete in the insane rate of "progress" and so concentrated on something like the GXR which would not always be the latest and greatest but was the very best at its time but also lasting. Ricoh got their firmware and user interface right and I think that this is more lasting than filling up their camera with the latest gee-whizz electronic gadgetry. For example I used to think that image stabilisation was the greatest invention but now I think it is merely good and another tool rather than the cure for all ills.

It is interesting to be on a micro 4/3 forum (via GM1). I take to the GM1 readily because of my Ricoh camera background and MF lenses do not worry me. However the Micro 4/3 forum is a glimse into camera future where the manufacturers have caught up with the supply variety of lenses. This suddenly dumbs down camera talk to some sort of supercharged version of the lens-talk of film days. It seems that ease of use predominates in Micro 4/3 land and talk of new lenses is the word of the day. But please, never too expensive, $1,000 is quite enough, and make them automatic ....

The machine rules the imagination that a good-enough combination of machine and lens will make anyone a photographic genius. But of course there is a discrete limit on how much can be spent to achieve this.

Therefore the poor little GM1 with the same engine virtually as the big-banger micro 4/3 cameras is dismissed by its inconsequential size to the role of "pocket camera" or only suitable for "the wife" to carry in her handbag. When you look at the GM1 all that has been removed are the user-convenience items such as evf, tilt lcd, IS, and larger grip. Curses on the GM1 for its lack of easy-use facilities, they would rather a GX7 shrunk to the GM1 size, but don't like what had to be left out.

The end result of course is that it takes a Ricoh man to see a good Panasonic ...

Tom
 
Back
Top