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Good morning from Solihull, UK.

T

trickletreat

New Member
My name is Nigel, and my interest in photography grew rapidly as a teenager having bought a Ricoh XR1. I worked in a market shifting spuds to fund it and to buy the film. Unfortunately I sold it as an older teenager in order to fund studies and DRINK. I have always missed the simplicity of that camera and its beautiful fast lens.
Jump forward many decades, family children, work etc. and my interest in photography saw me purchasing a secondhand Canon 30D and lenses. Found this heavy, and never had it with me! This was dispatched and I was lucky enough to come across the X100. Beautiful images, but the camera got in the way, and after getting on first name terms with Fuji service, the second replacement was sent back.
I now have been the happy owner of a Nikon P300 and Pentax K5 for almost a year. My photography in that time has changed direction somewhat. I began to realise that I liked to take pictures of people, candid or otherwise, and using a variety of focal lengths. I like my DA 55 1.4 for posed portraits of strangers and an old k 28 2.8 when I want to include more of the scene. I will also use a Sigma 8-16mm, but have to get in really close!
I get reasonable results from the Nikon and its weight is an advantage when walking the streets, but I really love the results from the K5. The big problem is that I am spending longer and longer walking about with the camera, and the weight is getting in the way. I tend to carry the K5 on a homemade wrist strap for security, or on a Black Rapid if using a longer lens. After a few hours this is becoming quiet awkward.
I have for some time held Ricoh in high regard and regularly view the photographs from the GR and GXR. It would be nice to think that they may bring out a K mount for the GXR, although I only have 28/90/135 with aperture rings...but a great excuse to buy some of the FA glass.
I have handled the GXR recently, and it felt perfect for one handed, zone focused use. This would be its main use, but I realise that it would be a very capable camera for light weight travel.
So I find myself with many questions: do I buy the GXR with the 28mm to get used to the camera, and wait for a K mount module. Do I buy the m mount, and try to choose between the highly acclaimed m glass options?
Initially I would carry the K5 with 55mm on the black rapid, and have the GXR in my hand. I would probably want a couple of focal lengths...15/18 and 21 or 25.
So many options so little time.
Any and all help with my intended purchase gratefully received.
Nigel
ps here is a link to a short article I was asked to put together. Since writing it I have moved more towards candid work, unless I need a fix and have to "approach another stranger"!
http://pentaxslr.eu/Pro_News/aid=22/app ... ots_guide/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/75046743@N05/
 
Hi trickletreat
Maybe a little help, here are my thoughts:
I own an extensive collection of high quality optical analogue.
When was the moment to get into digital, I thought: I have a good amount of optical, I will use them! This seems a good idea, but not really.To make some good shoots,to play a little, yes, certainly.
But specialized optics, that greatly increases the chances to good shoots.With a GXR, I found all this, the very high quality image, a color rendering that I like, no problem of dust, rendering B & W is equivalent that of the film, the possibilities to customize the operation of the aircraft as I please and easily, and many other things.
But we must add a detail: none of this is possible without having read and understood the instructions, and a good knowledge of the technical picture.
No way to cheat.Memory card of my GXR, bought used, was full of pictures missed!
Regards, and good choice
 
Thank you autochrome for your considered reply. I took the opportunity today to handle the gxr with 28mm and all the controls fell easily to hand, very impressed with the intuitive menu and degree of customisation available.
Nigel
 
Hello Nigel, welcome to the forum.

I came to the GXR because I was attracted to the A12 M mount as a long standing Leica user and having some nice Leica lenses. I also use a K-5 when a DSLR is more appropriate. I have not been disappointed and due to its compact dimensions and relatively light weight I find that I am using the GXR more and more.

You can already get third party Pentax K to Leica M adapters which work well with the A12 M mount but of course they need older lenses with aperture rings as you know. As Ricoh now own Pentax it is possible that they might at some future date produce a proper Pentax KAF mount camera unit that would control aperture and have screw drive and SDM contacts to allow the use of the current DA lenses. Such a unit would be expensive.

The Ricoh lenses are very good so you might find the A12 28mm unit very satisfactory. Remember the crop factor of 1.5 when using non Ricoh lenses. Ricoh describe their lenses in 35mm equivalent terms so the A12 28mm is really an 18.3mm lens that behaves like a 28mm due to the crop factor. If you use a Leica 28mm on the M mount it will behave like a 42mm lens.

The most recent unit is the A16 24-85mm zoom which uses either the same or a very similar sensor as the Pentax K-5. It is very light though rather bulky and is as good or maybe a little better than the Pentax kit lens.

I agree with autochrome that there is a learning curve and you need to read the manuals - play with the camera and units then go back to the manuals and with luck begin to understand them! Still if you have mastered the complexities of the customisation options of the Pentax K-5 you should not have too much trouble.

Best of luck with your decision. We will all be interested to learn what you decide and how you get on.
 
Hello Archie and thanks for the welcome. I think I will find the GXR suits my needs very well, and yes understand the focal length re the 28mm unit. Where I am having some difficulty is with possible lens choice for the m mount. I have been using the kit lens on the K5 set at either 21mm'ish and 35mm to see which best suits when on a walkabout. Today I only used a 28mm, so approx. 42mm and really liked the results. I have no prior experience with m mount glass and realise that it will be a matter of personal choice re focal length, and suspect would be happy with a lens of between 21 and 28mm, giving equiv. 30-42mm on 35mm. So the difficulty, without going to too much expense owing to trial and error, is choosing an m lens to suit my needs.
Nigel
 
There are quite a lot of rangefinder lenses in the 21 to 28mm range. The Leica glass is very expensive but you could also consider Zeiss and Voigtlander which are much more affordable if buying new. My experience is limited to lenses I own mainly the Summicron 35mm, Summilux Asp 50mm and Tele Elmarit M 90mm but of course when used on the GXR the FL has to be multiplied by 1.5.

My widest lens is a Voigtlander 25mm Color Skopar F4 which is within the range you are interested in but it might not have a sufficiently wide aperture for your needs. It is a very nice small lens with good performance and as rangefinder lenses go comparatively inexpensive.

The A12 28mm and the A12 M mount cost much the same but the mount is more versatile and much more expensive when you factor in the price of a lens.

One thing about Leica lenses is that if you make the wrong choice you can usually get your money back on resale - they do not depreciate - quite the reverse as every time Leica put up their prices the secondhand values go up as well.
 
The Voigtlander 25 is one that I am considering, the f4 is fine for what I will use the combo for, and being small is an advantage. The others that seem of interest are the Zeiss 18mm/f4, 21mm/f4.5 and 35mm/f2.8, rounded off by the 50mm/f1.5. The images that I have found from all of these have impressed and show what an excellent and compact system it is possible to build on the GXR.
I know that some of these fall outside the 21-28mm, but I can always move in or out for the shot :)
Nigel
 
Welcome to this friendly forum Nigel! I read your article and looked and some of your pictures on flickr, and both were amazing!!! Very well written article, along with brilliant pictures. You certainly have talent. Look forward to seeing more of your pics on here ;) .
 
Hi Athena,
Thank you for the warm welcome and comments. I hope that you can see from my pics why I am drawn to the GXR and think that it will be a useful tool with the right lens. My photography is changing rapidly, and even the idea behind that article seems a lifetime ago. I have been trying my hand at more candid work, while trying to avoid stacks and stacks of mundane shots of people walking about. I am beginning to realise that I have no idea where this is going, and do question if I am wasting my time...so your comments are gratefully received.
Here is a link to some more recent stuff.
http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v425/ ... =slideshow

http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v425/ ... =slideshow

Nigel
 
Welcome to the forum Nigel and please excuse the delay in my response to your first post...
Must say that your 'brand' of street photography is one of the more appealing I've seen in a long time. It's refreshing to be able to almost 'see and feel' the story of the moments/people you've captured. There's a lot of real stand-outs on your photobucket site......Great style. Looking forward to more... ;)
 
Many thanks Marcus, your comments are well received, especially having just viewed your entire flicker photo stream. Inspirational stuff.
Nigel
 
Thanks again Nigel... Ditto from me.
Must also mention, your consideration towards your 'subjects' (Approaching strangers - an idiot's guide) is inspiring indeed. Should be 'required reading' for aspiring shooters of the street IMHO. :cool:
 
Wow - your photobucket pictures are simply brilliant!!! I spent quite a while looking through them all - couldn't drag myself away from them, just had to keep looking at more and more :D ;) . Mind-blowing, inspirational stuff indeed :eek: :cool: .
 
Athena":2vjmknse said:
Wow - your photobucket pictures are simply brilliant!!! I spent quite a while looking through them all - couldn't drag myself away from them, just had to keep looking at more and more :D ;) . Mind-blowing, inspirational stuff indeed :eek: :cool: .
Click to expand...

Many thanks, but stop it now :oops: :oops: :oops:
Nigel
 
Hi Nigel, and welcome here.
I agree with others who have read your article on approaching strangers - very well written, and a very healthy and considerate attitude manifested. You have touched upon many nuances that some "street/candid" photographers sort of gloss over...we should open a discussion on this sometime here...
 
Hi Quester, thank you for your kind comments. My approach is still a work in progress, but try to ground it with respect.
Nigel
 
Hi Nigel! A belated welcome to this forum. I read your article and looked at your pictures, all wonderful! I liked in particular those of the oriental girl, very well done.
 
Hi Gab and thank you for your comments and welcome. I was very lucky to find that girl. Her name is Sal, and it turned out she had alopecia totals, so I felt privileged to photograph her. I found out that she had some issues, but has overcome her fears and visited a 'proper' photographer and has been taken on by the agency. She has been brave enough to be photographed without anything on her head.

IMGP0531.jpg


Nigel
 
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