Snap Focus Issue w GRD IV

[paulgiguere]

I recently read Sean Reid's review of the GRD IV (Sean runs a subscription-only web site with many great reviews http://www.reidreviews.com/index.html) and it was well done. It affirmed my decision to buy a GRD IV (whenever they come out in the U.S.). One thing though that Sean pointed out and that I found disturbing is that you can no longer change the Snap Focus distance by pressing the up arrow button while rotating the front dial in front of the shutter release button. This combination now allows you switch between different sets of Function button settings. Worse yet, you now have to dive into the set-up menu to change the distance setting for Snap Focus. Here is an email that I sent to Ricoh pointing this out. Feel free to use and adapt if you like (as an aside, I heard back from someone at Ricoh within hours and they are forwarding my message on to the appropriate folks . . . I hope):

Dear Ricoh: As a long-time user of the Ricoh GR Digital line of cameras, I was dismayed to learn that a feature that was present in the recent GRD III camera is no longer available in the GRD IV. The ability to set the Snap Focus distance using a combination of the Up button and the Front dial has now been replaced with the ability to switch between Function button settings. While this new feature is one that is appreciated, many photographers who use the Snap feature of the GR Digital cameras use the Up button/Front dial method frequently (myself included) to quickly change the focus distance setting while in Snap focus mode. Photographers now need to go back into the Control menu to change this setting and given the nature of Snap focus and why this feature was added to the camera (to quickly set focus at different distances) I feel embedding this setting in the Control menu without giving the user the ability to change it more easily using the Up button/Front dial method is a big mistake. In a future firmware update, I feel you should give the user the ability to decide how the Up button/Front dial works (maybe a choice between Function buttons and Snap focus distance setting). If the user chooses to use the Up button/Front dial combination to change the Snap focus distance, then the other Function button sets could be accessed through the Control menu. Thank you for your consideration.

 

[v_roma]

Given Ricoh's history with firmware updates and the fact that this has been raised by at least few people and reviewers that I know of, I wouldt be surprised if they didn't fix it with a firmware update.

 

[craigatkinson]

yes I'm sure this will be fixed. The only compensation, which is by no means a fix, is that if you set the snap distance to auto you shouldn't need to change the setting. When auto is unavailable it reverts to 2.5m which is as good as infinite anyway. I've been using auto and have had no problems.

 

[v_roma]

I've been using it this way as well and it works very well but only if your subject is in the center of the frame. One of the advantages of the full snap focus is that you don't have to have your subject in the center of the frame and you don't have to focus and recompose. I know you weren't saying that the auto snap focus was a replacement for regular snap focus, by the way. I'm just adding to the discussion

yes I'm sure this will be fixed. The only compensation, which is by no means a fix, is that if you set the snap distance to auto you shouldn't need to change the setting. When auto is unavailable it reverts to 2.5m which is as good as infinite anyway. I've been using auto and have had no problems.

 

[craigatkinson]

I've not used it enough yet but it seems strange that it only works with a central subject. I thought the snap function wouldn't care about subject and would just focus at a set distance regardless? Or maybe I'm misunderstanding?

 

[v_roma]

Actually, now that I think of it, I don't know exactly how it works. Either way, I was referring to setting the snap focus distance to "auto", in which case the camera uses the external AF sensor to very quickly establish a focus distance. Here is what the GRD4 website says:

Ricoh's original quick snap mode, enhanced by external autofocus
We have added a Snap mode in which you set the focus at a preset distance, so you can take photos with a time lag we have cut thoroughly. One of the focus distances you can choose from on the GR DIGITAL IV is Auto. This permits very fast, very precise focus adjustments made by the external autofocus sensor alone. You can take photos without having to worry about the distance to the subject. Using Full Press Snap, the camera rapidly calculates the distance using the hybrid autofocus if you pause with the shutter-release button pressed halfway, and using only the external autofocus if the shutter release is pressed all the way down in one motion. High-precision focusing has been added to the GR's characteristic quick shooting functionality.

* The focus distances that can be chosen with Snap and Full Press Snap are Auto, 1 m, 1.5 m, 2.5 m, 5 m, and ∞.
* The distance information calculated by the external autofocus sensor can also be displayed on the monitor.

What I'm not sure is if, in this mode, it uses Spot AF or Multi AF to determine focus. I assumed the former, in which case your subject would have to be in the center of the frame for Snap Focus set to Auto to work properly. As for the regular Snap Focus, where you preset a distance, you're right, of course, and it doesn't matter where the subject is.

I've not used it enough yet but it seems strange that it only works with a central subject. I thought the snap function wouldn't care about subject and would just focus at a set distance regardless? Or maybe I'm misunderstanding?

 

[sanfong]

The first thing I took it out of the box was to test the SNAP. Initially I thought I was missing some thing or overlook the menu, it surprise me in the end that I have to depend on the secondary AF sensor to set the focal length.

I welcome the new function, probably its a good thing that Ricoh did not put it back the GRD III way. I think we should try to adapt it for awhile. If Ricoh does bring back in the next update, it will kind of duplicate in some way.

 

[paulgiguere]

Well, as I understand the Snap feature of the GRD IV, when you use Full Press Snap, the snap distance will be the one you have manually set in the set-up menu. For example, if you have the snap distance set to 1m then that will be the focus distance when using Full Press Snap. According to the manual though, Full Press Snap is not available when you are in macro mode, manual focus mode, or snap focus mode. In general, the main difference between Full Press Snap and regular Snap Focus mode when you have the snap distance set to Auto is which autofocus capability is used. For example, when using Snap Focus mode (with Auto as the distance setting), the hybrid autofocus system comes into play (same as with the Multi Focus mode). When using Full Press Snap, only the external focus system is used.

I'm still playing with the Auto setting for Snap but in general I find it works quite well and it hasn't missed a shot yet. Also, I think the field of focus when in Snap Focus mode is rather large so yes, you do need to have your subject somewhat in the middle of the frame but in general you have a lot of latitude with the area of coverage. You can also just compose your scene holding the shutter button down half-way and then recompose by moving the camera so that you have the composition you are looking for (of course this doesn't work if you are using Full Press Snap). If I'm missing something regarding my assumptions on the above, someone please correct me. Ricoh explanation of the new Snap auto feature is somewhat contradictory.

In some ways though, the Auto setting for Snap makes me even faster and more fluid than before when taking photos because I'm not trying to make changes to the distance setting so I just shoot away. To be honest, I didn't expect this but it is welcome. Basically, the more I use the GRD IV, the more I appreciate it.

Paul

 

[norman shearer]

My experience with autosnap is this.

If you set it to autosnap mode the focus area is enlarged and the camera is constantly checking the focus area and noting the distance using the external AF sensor. If you press the shutter button it will set the snap distance to whatever distance it last recorded and take the shot focused at that point. Whether it merely picks the nearest applicable snap distance or is more accurate than that I suspect only Ricoh could confirm.

I had it set to autosnap for the first few days and at first was happy with that mode. Then I switched to 2.5m snap and found my pictures were sharper and my keeper rate went up. On looking back through my photos taken with autosnap it appears the focus point was often behind the subject so clearly I was not aiming the camera very accurately for the focus point to miss my subject. It's not always obvious because of the huge DOF this sensor gives but the more you open that lens up the clearer the misses will be. I gather it reverts to 2.5m snap if it fails to find focus but judging from my shots it found focus most of the time, just not where I wanted it.

IMO, autosnap is more useful for those who shoot using the LCD or the external VF. It will give you a faster response without the need to use the battery draining "pre-af"

If you are shooting from the hip then you really need to master your aiming if you are gonna benefit from autosnap. A feature for hipshooters to aspire to I think. Congrats if you are already there!