Ricoh GXR S10 or Ricoh GX200

[Pjotr27]

I`m new on this beautiful forum and looking for a new camera.
I don`t like the big names and decided to buy a new Ricoh camera.
Most pictures i made are on holiday, citytrips and for my business website.

In my country prices of a GRX with S10 or P10 unit and GX200 with VF1 are the same.
What`s the better camera? A GRX is somewhat bigger but you have upgrade options.
A GX200 is delivered with viewfinder which is sometime pretty and has 2 mb pixels more.
S10 lenses or GRX S10 are the same, the P10 has more zoom but i don`t need that.
So i decided to buy a GRX S10 or a GX200.
Which one would you choose and why?

 

[Wiener]

Pjotr27,
as a long-term user of a GX100 I was never really tempted so much be the GX200; the extra 2Mb's of megapixel seemed to create no real quality benefit, although I did very much crave a faster re-write speed. I decided to wait for the GX300, which of course, never arrived (so far!)

What I do/did like about the GX100 is its extreme portability; it really is a camera which you can carry 24/7 without it ever being cursed for being carried and not used. The dimensions and weight of the GX200 are very similar.
As a photographer of interiors of buildings, I also very much liked the HA-2 & DW-6 attachment for the GX's which can be stuffed into a coat pocket when extra width might be required.

I am also a user of the GXR. To my mind, the GXR + S10 is a very different animal, purely in terms of weight and bulk. I find it a camera which I do regret carrying all day if no suitable subject presents itself...
I talked myself into buying the GXR (rather than a GRDIII) because of its 'upgradeability' and potential for better low-light pics with bigger sensor 'lensors'...so far I love the A12 28mm...but if you were not thinking of splashing out another 600€ or whatever on one of the A12's, then the GX200 might serve you better, at least in the short term?

In a way you summarise the options rather precisely in your question above. As you said, one has to decide between a more adaptable (but heavier & larger) piece of GXR engineering, or a lighter less sturdy but more portable GX200...
It may help you to be told that my GX100 has over 16,000 frames on the clock with no problems so far (probably a rash thing to say...!) and there are many forum users who use GX's for time-lapse who have clocked them several times further than this.

Either way, I hope one of them brings you much fun!

Andy

 

[odklizec]

Hi Pjotr27 and welcome on the board!

Andy summarized it very well. GX200 is better pocketable but with noticeably higher noise (visible even at low ISO) and stronger NR. GXR S10, on the other hand, offers future upgradeability at a cost of bigger/heavier body. At low ISO (up to ISO200), you can't go wrong with either camera. S10 (if you shoot in RAW) offers usable ISO400/800. So if you are a daylight shooter and you need small camera, get GX200 + EVF. But if you are planning to use the camera in low light, S10 is definitely better option. Not ideal, because it still uses too small sensor for low light photography. But way better than GX200 in low light.

Hope this helps? Enjoy the forum!

 

[Pjotr27]

Thanks a lot for your answers. Next week i go to a shop to watch both camera`s.
Important for me: good macro, good pictures also in low light.
Most pictures i made are on tradeshows ( inside) , for my shop ( also inside and many of them macro) , on holidays mostly in very sunny places.
So first i think a GRX will be a better option.
But i like also the smaller body of a GX200... easy to take with me all days and you don`t need a bag. The GRX is bigger ( but also a small camera ).
In Holland, my country prices for a GRX with S10 or p10 or a GX200 are the same, GX100 is out of stock but i find a GX100 with EVF (new with full warranty) for 120 euro less then a GX200.
So i can also consider a GX100 and spend the money for the HA-2 or the DW6 or is the GX200 much better?
All three of them will bring me a lot of fun, trips to HIGHEND show in München, a trip to Israël, and a holyday in the South of Europe are in the pocket next monts, so i gonne shoot many pictures.

 

[Pjotr27]

And finally i ordered a GRX with S10 , tomorrow the camera will arrive, il will post some photo`s next week!