Ricoh GRD III released

[aslavihervuori]

<p><a href="http://www.dpreview.com/news/0907/09072701ricohgr3.asp">http://www.dpreview.com/news/0907/09072701ricohgr3.asp</a><br>

a s l a</p>

 

[thomas_sullivan]

<p>f/1.9 max aperture....oh yeah!</p>

[oofoto]

<p>Cool. Lets hope they follow it up with a GX300 with less sensor noise.</p>

[bill_tuthill]

I was hoping for CMOS, like the CX1 with more control and faster lens, but this looks fairly good based on nothing but the press release.

[unangelino]

<p>I was waiting for that shoe to drop but after reading about the improvements of the new model, I'm happy to stay with my trusty GRDII.</p>

<p>The original GRD was a work in progress, the GRDII does just what I need and I can't quite see a reason to drop the coin on the GRDIII.</p>

<p>IMHO, f 2.4 is <em>fast enough</em> and 2.7" is <em>big enough</em> for the LCD.</p>

[Brad_]

How is the RAW write time?

[jtk]

<p>...yes, but: <a href="http://www.dpreview.com/previews/olympusep1/">http://www.dpreview.com/previews/olympusep1/</a><br>

Sensor size counts.</p>

[michael s.]

<p>Ricoh says this about raw write speed:<br>

<em>"With the expansion of buffer memory, continuous shooting of up to five images is possible even for RAW. This facilitates bracketing as well as the shooting of quickly moving subjects. The RAW card write speed has also been accelerated (under 3 seconds per image). These specs will help reduce your "shooting stress."</em> <br /> <em>*When noise reduction is OFF. When it is Weak or Strong, the maximum is four images." </em></p>

<p>Quoted from this page: http://www.ricoh.com/r_dc/gr/gr_digital3/features2.html</p>

<p>For me, the ability to preset a manually focused distance is a big plus. I was under the impression -- a mistaken impression perhaps ? -- that prior cameras such as the GRD II and the GX200 allowed this as well.</p>

<p><em><br /> </em></p>

[jimsimmons]

<p>Michael, the Ricoh cameras have what's called a Snap focus mode, which is a fixed focus at around 2 meters, which is sort of hyperfocal distance on even the widest aperture I think. I've got the lowly GX 5mp model, and it too has Snap. Also manual focus, which you can set to any distance you want, and then leave at that position.</p>

[michael s.]

<p>Thanks, Jim.</p>

<p>At wide angle, of course, all the small sensor cameras offer extraordinary depth of field, whether you want it or not. :)</p>

<p>I'm a street snapper, so for the me one of the keys in a compact is to be able to shoot <em>right now</em> , the less lag the better.</p>

<p>The ability to shoot at f/1.9 will influence d.o.f., but not as much as some might think. Quick look at a d.o.f. table shows that on a 5.9mm lens, set at f/2 and focused at 8 feet, 'near limit' is 4.35 feet, while the 'far limit' is 45.2 feet.</p>

[thomas_sullivan]

<p>The original GRD DOES manual focus. It actually has 3 manual focus set ups. Snap focus, as described by Jim, Infinity focus which sets the focus distance to infinity, and an actual manual any distance set focus. The manual set distance is not quick to set up but it does work. It is NOT by distance (ie...you don't dial in the actual distance), you actually have to focus it....however you can magnify the screen with a button push to see the center focus area better, and then use two other buttons to actually focus it. All three modes stay at the set distance until you actually change it...as long as the camera is left on. When you turn the camera off, and then back on....the snap and infinity focus are still set where they were prior to turning off, but if you were in the manual mode at say 12 ft....you will have to re-focus as turning off resets the manual focus to it's default position, which happens to be infinity.</p>

<p>Luckily for me, with street photography, my "normal" pre-set manual focus distance on ANY camera I own , is 7 feet. Close enough to 2 meters for my purpose. So, I always use the snap mode anyhow.</p>

<p>The f/1.9 max aperture is the feature that interests me on the GRD III....as I imagine you have already guessed. On my GRD the max aperture was f/2.4 which works, but in street faster lenses are always better in my mind. The 3 second RAW aint bad either.....at that write speed i might actually use RAW in the GRD. </p>

[michael s.]

<p>Thanks, Tom.</p>

<p>I gather you want the faster f/1.9 lens for low light capability and the correspondingly faster shutter speeds it'll allow, rather than much hope of bkgrnd blur on the small sensor camera, correct ?</p>

<p> </p>

[ray .]

<p>I love the original version GRD in use but never have been satisfied with the prints I get from it. Never shot it in RAW though, but I don't think it makes that big of a difference with this size sensor, does it?</p>

[dmanthree]

<p>Looks OK, but the lack of a zoom kills it for me. I couldn't live with a fixed 28mm (eq) lens for ever. And why buy this when you can get the EP-1, a camera with a much larger sensor of similar size?</p>

[unangelino]

<p>Indeed, the Olympus EP-1 looks like a viable alternative until you attach a lens to it and then it's not much more than a DSLR. Oh, except that it lacks a viewfinder. Oh, and also except for the fact that its sensor is smaller than most DSLRs.</p>

<p>I'll bet that over 95% of PNETers have <em>both</em> a P&S and a DSLR, so why would we want/need something in between?</p>

[jtk]

<p>Paul, EP-1 is vastly better than any P&S IQ-wise...probably equals 6mp prosumer DSLRs. DSLR is a goofy, oversized form factor for many photographers (which explains the survival of Leica M). The optional EP-1 bright frame viewfinder is a traditional approach that many of us welcome..Leica, Linhof, Canon, Nikon, Voigtlander, Ricoh GRD, Fuji, Hasselblad, and Graflex have all offered similar viewfinders...but of course they all appeal to people who want something more than DSLR or SLR offers, irrespective the size.</p>

[thomas_sullivan]

<p>yes, Michael....faster shutterspeeds.....lack of background oof on a 28mm equiv P&S is a fargone consideration.....even at 2.4 it's hopeless. But that's ok.....that's why I have a full frame cam also.</p>

<p>I guess you could say....and maybe I just actually realized this......FULLY....that in digital especially, one camera format don't do it. When I say I like the Ricoh GRD, that's kinda implied that it fits in nicely with my 5D, 20D, and my film Mamiya 7 (as of late). Those 4 cameras pretty much do everything I want to shoot these days.</p>

[unangelino]

<blockquote>

<p>EP-1 is vastly better than any P&S IQ-wise...probably equals 6mp prosumer DSLRs. DSLR is a goofy, oversized form factor for many photographers (which explains the survival of Leica M). The optional EP-1 bright frame viewfinder is a traditional approach that many of us welcome..Leica, Linhof, Canon, Nikon, Voigtlander, Ricoh GRD, Fuji, Hasselblad, and Graflex have all offered similar viewfinders...but of course they all appeal to people who want something more than DSLR or SLR offers, irrespective the size.</p>

</blockquote>

<p>I'm sure it's IQ is better than a P&S but you still haven't explained how it betters a DSLR, which most of us use in addition to our P&S and other cameras (like Thomas' full frame Canon and his Mamiya 7).</p>

<p>My point is that the EP-1 will get me nowhere my DSLR can't get me and is nowhere near as <em>carry anywhere convenient</em> as my GRDII.</p>

 

[bill_tuthill]

<p>Well Paul, the Dpreview test of the EP1 has been published, and its JPEG results are superior to the Canon D500 and Nikon 5000D, even at high ISO.  Throw all your conventional wisdom about sensor size out the window.<br>

Back to the GRD3.  Best thing about this announcement is that it probably indicates there will be a replacement for the GX200, which to me is the most interesting Ricoh model from a spec standpoint.</p>