Tale of a GXR trial

[Mainiac]

There are only 5 Ricoh dealers in the US and the nearest is an 8 hour drive from my home. Popflash ( on the other coast) offers a 7 day GXR one week loaner kit with three lenses the latest firmware etc. The 28mm is not yet part of the kit. I tried the kit and returned it yesterday ( they take a deposit worth the cost of the kit while you try it). Pavel gave me some hints on using the camera but one week was definitely too short to do much except scratch the surface for me. I did not get stunning results but love many aspects and am buying the GXR+ A10-50 and P-10 and the VF-2. Pricing is tightly controlled by Ricoh.
Using the 50mm lens brought back memories of a Leica IIIC that I used in the 50's. Evidently my body had not forgotten the 50mm lens framing!

First photo.I did a number of macro shots. With this one the auto-focus could not settle in accurately, so for the first time in many years I went to a completely manual mode. I had to use the exterior viewfinder to steady the camera in my shaking hands and with 2 attempts I had this 1/10th second exposure photo. I enjoy being able to go back to complete manual control, but it does slow the photo making process considerably.

Second photo.I don't know the cause or how to eliminate the bluish tint in the cat photo.

Third photo.Yesterday morning before returning the camera I used the macro to catch some frost on what is left of our lavender. The narrow dof of the lens clearly shows. Something new for me to explore after the CX3 but familiar from much earlier cameras.

Fourth photo.Thanks to Gerd's posting I had no hesitation in shooting ISO 1600 at the Thanksgiving day dinner. The lighting was horribly mixed and being able to adjust the temperature in LR3 made a huge difference. With a shift of only 1 or 2 hundred degrees awful color balance could be controlled. Without the posted high ISO comparison shots on this site I would have had to do a lot of testing to have the confidence to use the high ISO. I hate flash for people photos either as a photographer or subject. Having the big sensor is a big step for me in my camera use.

Fifth photo.If you look closely at the sunset you can see in the center at the horizon line, the Boston skyline. This was taken with the P10 a lens I am familiar with since I own a CX3. As winjim said the GXR produces a slightly better image than the CX3 . My experience so far is that this image can be edited and produce better results than the jpeg from the CX3 ( more work, more time). Of course one looses the pocketablity with the GXR, a problem I am not sure how I will solve.

Last photo.I have much to learn about outdoor shots using the camera.I struggled with the last shot in LR-3 to get the skin tones accurate. This is my first camera experience with RAW and I was very pleased with the editability of the photos compared to a jpeg.

If you have read this far thanks for joining me on the trail as I seek excellent photographs.

A tip for LR3.2 users. If you check the "limit file size" in the export dialog your exif data will not upload to this site!

 

[meditate]

hi mainiac,
jeeze, 8 hours to the next ricoh dealer ? within 8 hours i reach all neighbour countries here in germany...but hell...i like the sunset pic of the p10 very much !
as dpreview.com stated that the 50mm is the best systemcam available i think you cant get wrong there.. so enjoy...
greetings,

 

[waloszek]

Hi Mainiac,
I was glad to read that my ISO comparisons were useful for you.
As meditate wrote, enjoy your new GXR!
Like you, I discovered that the 50mm lens proved very versatile (my first SLR had a 50mm, too -- but that was when I was still at school...).
Best regards, Gerd

 

[Mainiac]

Thanks meditate, I was not aware of the dpreview statement.
And Gerd thank you also. Your comments on your web site about weight and a bad hip resonated with me!

Best
Peter ( nom de Ricoh-Maniac)

 

[odklizec]

Nice to see the popflash trial helped you with your decision. Good set of photos! As for the blue tint in kitty shot, I think it's normal tint caused by the mixture of the inner artificial light and outer natural light coming through the window? Try another WB option. I'm sure it can be eliminated with post processing. Unfortunately, I don't have any clue how to do this in LR3. Another solution could be using the in-camera WB compensation an/or detailed color settings.

 

[Remko]

Nice set of shots. Great combo set of gear I would say.

As for Lightroom and RAW processing, the white balance is easy corrected. My Ricoh GX100's white balance is on the cool side. Typically I start with Lightrooms auto setting for white balance. That does a better job for me than Ricoh's. Might be that the GXR is different.

For more detailed White balance the Develop module is the go to mode. There you can select the fixed modes (as shot, Auto, Daylight etc etc) but also control the warmth and toning via 2 sliders. For your last photo I would suggest day light first and see if that is to your liking. Other strategies include selecting a while or neutral grey spot with the color picker tool.

To boost the colors I also up the clarity and vibrance a bit quite often (+10 to +15 each).

As for the blue color cast on the cat, that is always a trade-off due to outside cooler natural light and inside warm artificial light. Its either a blue cast or a much warmer picture.

Regards Remko

 

[Mainiac]

Thanks Remko. I tried the eyedropper trick and it gave very good results.
Pavel thank you for your help, the camera etc arrived today. Now I have to upload new software into my head by reading the manual, maybe I will sleep on it :roll:

 

[thelps]

I'm not trying to be a salesman and push the GXR but I think "kitchen electronics" and "Daughter-in law.jpg" are rather good. Perhaps the way the GXR operates suits you. I recall you were looking at the LX3, did you get to try one? Would the GXR be better do you think?