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Hopelessly addicted by now

R

Ricohfanboy

New Member
After having posted a few comments already, I feel it's time I introduce myself: As with everything Ricoh, it seems I won't be able to let go of the Ricoh Forum, either...

... which is, after all, why I've chosen Ricoh: I can't seem to help it. After I'd first bought a digital camera (a Fuji 601z in 2003, beautiful camera at the time, actually), I went back to the store a couple of years later to buy some accessoires for the Fuji. And on display was a Ricoh GRD. And the sad fact is, I probably shamelessly ogled the poor thing, it was so beautiful. So later I returned to the store and let them show me the actual camera. I decided it wasn't for me (since I still thought I needed a zoom and all the other rookie features on my camera at the time), but boy did it feel nice in the hand! Skip forward a couple of years, and a GRD III, GXR, and some old film Ricohs have miraculously wound up in my possession. And I don't think I'll be able to stop quite yet... ;)

My style with the Ricoh is mostly "stroll photography", I'd say: I always have one of the cameras on me, to record those everyday observations that would otherwise be lost. While I've also used a DSLR for a couple of years now (a Pentax -- coincidence? I doubt it...) this makes the Ricohs the two cameras I take the most photos with -- and by a wide margin, too. Like the title says: These cameras just seem to beg me to take them out. And try this and try that and shoot and shoot -- I'm addicted! :D

I'm very much looking forward to the lovely pictures, great info, and (last, but definitely not least) the friendly people on this forum!
 
Nice to have another fan on the site - I also stroll with a GRD or GRD IV in a pocket or close to hand - unless the weather is really bad when I carry the PX.

Looking forward to your posts.

Richard
 
Welcome aboard the Ricoh forum fanboy. Its a great little forum with free info from like minded fans & Paval at the helm with his knowledge to keep it real.
I like that term. "stroll photography", ha' where ever my camera takes me I suppose.
What film cameras & film are you shooting with?
 
Thanks for the welcome, u 2!

Richard, how bad is the weather where you live -- you need a *waterproof* camera outside? (Atlantis? :) )

On a more serious note: How do you like the handling of the PX? I have seen the PX in stores, and it seems surprisingly small for a water/crush/everythingproof camera. Haven't had time yet to check it out -- so what's your thoughts on image quality?

As for film Ricohs, 33dollars: I use an old Ricoh XR-S SLR -- but haven't lately, since I'm worried that the light seals have started to crumble and might make their way into the mechanism. I have the seals already, so I should be back on track soon. I also have two 500GX film cameras, but haven't been able to bring them back to life yet. My XR-2 has smudges on the focussing screen (don't know how they got there; don't know how to get rid of them). Alas, no GR1v hasn't materialized in my hands yet -- and I here they can be temperamental? Maybe it's heresy on the Ricoh Forum, but I also very much like my old Olympus XA, as far as film is concerned... :oops: But to redeem myself (if I still can): Maybe the XA's fortes are what drew me to Ricoh as well: small cameras, swell handling, great IQ... :) As for films: I like Kodak slide films for color, and both XP2 and FP4 for B/W -- but have bought two Velvias, too, to try out.

The best thing about stroll photography is, actually, that there is not much need for complicated planning, or bags full of gear: What I try to do is simply see *not* the cars and the houses and all that -- but try to learn to find nice graphic arrangements, dramatic contrasts, appealing colors, etc.. And any camera could probably record the scence, if only I manage to find it first. And here is what I think I may have learned since my rookie days: With those enormous 10x zooms and what not, I could take a picture of everything I could possibly see -- but with the fixed 28mm equiv. lens of the GRD, I see more! Best of all, what I see are all wide angle scenes! :D Like many people have said: At some point you know whether you should take a photo before lifting the camera to your eyes...

So, I guess I want to strike a balance: Maybe the GXR with 28mm and 50mm A12, and hopefully some tele solution, and I hope I am all set -- could Ricoh please make an A12 somewhere in the 90-135mm range, please?
 
Ricohfanboy":1ihnkg9l said:
Thanks for the welcome, u 2!

Richard, how bad is the weather where you live -- you need a *waterproof* camera outside? (Atlantis? :) )

On a more serious note: How do you like the handling of the PX? I have seen the PX in stores, and it seems surprisingly small for a water/crush/everythingproof camera. Haven't had time yet to check it out -- so what's your thoughts on image quality?
Click to expand...

Scotland OK....known to be wet occasionally (although the sun is out right now). I bought the PX for on-water use (sailing, dinghy instructing) when it often has to live in a damp pocket or even a very damp buoyancy aid. It's well up to that sort of abuse as long as you remember that it does not float! The handling is OK provided you understand that it is a program mode camera and the only real input you have is to choose a different image settings mode (there are 23 pre-sets), decide on the ISO limits and adjust the exposure compensation - you can also adjust white balance and metering & focus modes - with the focus it does not have an infinty option which is a shame as the autofocus doesn't always cope with distant object. The IQ is not that great - the lens is the limitation - but you can pull off some good shots with a bit of skill & luck. Quester is the champion of the PX shot - take a look at some of his posts. As a camera to take every where that's currently very cheap and will fit in most pockets and doesn't need extra protection (ignore the silicon skin) it's hard to beat.

Richard
 
Thanks for the assessment of the PX -- yeah, it's temptingly cheap at the moment. Actually, I've always wanted a G600 or something like it, but the price put me off. I'll check out Quester's pictures and give it another thought...

As far as actual control over the output is concerned: with the old Fuji (and other compacts I could use temporarily), exposure compensation was actually *the* most important control for me: If you're outside of macro mode, nothing is really oof anyways, so aperture priority (my favorite mode) isn't as useful as, say, on the A12 50mm. So that, and white balance, and I oughta be all set for the most part. Come to think of white balance: There is absolutely no outdoorsey camera with RAW, is there? Not even the fancy Panasonic ones?

Well, for so much less than the price of a G600, maybe I can live with jpgs after all... let's go and check out Quester's pictures!
 
A belated welcome from me Ricohfanboy! Pleased to see that you are enjoying Ricoh cameras ;) . Hope you like it on the forum so far :) .
 
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