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Ricoh GR1, GX and GRD comparisson

VladimirV

New Member
I wanted to do this for a while but never got round to. This is no scientific test but should give and idea of the 3 cameras and was done just for fun. This is a quick comparisson but if someone requires it I will expand certain points.

Build and Handling:

The build of the GR1 is the best, this camera feels very solid and will survive a lot. The GRD comes 2nd followed by the GX which is a bit bulky and feels flimsy.
The handling of the GRD is best with the dual control wheels followed by the GX with one and the GR1 which is very simple and fast but does not offer as much control and this is why I put it last.
The GR1 is very fast in it's operation although the film advance mechanism is typically Ricoh very loud and the lens makes the usual Ricoh noise when extending. The GX is very slow in the operation and takens a while to save even jpgs on the card and over 13sec for a TIFF image.


Image quality:

The image quality of the GX is surprisingly very good indeed but it has a lot of noise and the TIFF images are not really better. The GR1 has obviously the best image quality depending on the film used and the development but the GRD can get very close and especially if using RAW is not bad at all. I did not process the DNG file for this comparisson but will do at some point.
For the tests the cameras were set to the same settings as far as possible and the image parameters were on normal for the GRD and GX. The GR1 had a Fuji ISO 400 slide film in there that was a bit older, thus the green top and bottom parts of the image. The focus was set to the same point and the pictures were taken only a few second apart.

Here are the pictures:

Resized to the same size (preview only). Cameras (top left GR1, top right GX, bottom left GRD ISO 400, bottom right GRD ISO 64)
Compare1.jpg


All at 100%. Cameras in same order as above (top left GR1, top right GX, bottom left GRD ISO 400, bottom right GRD ISO 64).
Compare2.jpg


Resized (preview only), Cameras (top left GR1, top right GX, bottom left GX TIFF, bottom right GRD)
Compare4.jpg


All at 100%. Cameras as before (top left GR1, top right GX, bottom left GX TIFF, bottom right GRD)
Compare3.jpg


Fullsize versions of the images can be found here:
http://picasaweb.google.com/Cristian.So ... omparisson

Summary

I like all 3 cameras but for me the GRD is still the better camera as it's more versatile and can produce very good image quality. Also I simply do not like to compose shots using a OVF. The GX is a very capable camera and if found cheap can be a great companion for the GRD in instances where one might like a zoom but does not want to give up manual controls.
 
Interesting comparison! It is always more informative when you make relative reviews.

In my experience, the speed (or sluggishness) of the GX when saving images is highly dependent on the SD card used. I "upgraded" my GX to a larger card, and the saving speed went from nice (at least I never though it was slow) to awful.
 
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