Kit Laughlin
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 p.21 #4 · Still no love for the Ricoh GXR? | |
Ron, great explanation; and the reason the CV lenses are just so good on the GXR.
Here's a selection of images, no sharpening, from the interior job the other day:
http://kitlaughlin.com/bodypress/Laman_Pl_SELECTION/
Just a quick run through Aperture (Sorry, Mitch; I will process some through RPP I promise!).
Most shot on the CV 12/5.6, at ƒ8, one on the 15/4.5 at same aperture.
Handling notes:
The GXR on a tripod can be put right into a corner, so maximising the mounted len's FOV; the tiltable EVF is unique here. Doing interiors is much harder with the big Nikons or the A850 for this reason, because you can't see the Live View of the Nikon through the finder (of course) and the right angle finder of the Sony, showing the viewfinder image, cannot show critical focus. The GXR can do both.
I will say that neither the EVF nor the LCD displays what the GXR is actually capturing, but once I processed the first batch and saw the Raw images pop off the screen, I realised that I did not need to. The histogram's accurate, too, which is great in these kind of high DR situations. I went full manual on the controls; the histogram shows here (I was bouncing a hint of flash into some of the rooms, because I was not able to shoot at perfect times of the day), and I was able to adjust the output of the strobe behind the softbox by what I saw in the EVF (on playback).
Flash was triggered by the on-camera unit, and a business card folded across the front of the light kept its light off the subject. Again, this 'minor' feature is streets ahead of either the big Nikons (they can trigger their own Speedlites, set up in Slave mode, but only if one of the larger units is mounted in the hot shoe), and the Sony flashes all send out pre-flashes which, AFAIK, cannot be turned off, so can't be used to trigger studio units, which respond the pre-flashes... So, in the studio (in the absence of radio triggers) I used cords, never the most reliable tools.
I find when the light is dim, you do have to keep an eye on the histogram; I think that the camera boosts the EVF image and before I realised this, I got some ~2 EV underexposed images; all part of the learning curve.
What I am not 100% happy with having the EV control on the tele-wide button, top RHS; I keep bumping this while and when picking the camera up (if left turned on). For the work under discussion, putting the Exp. Comp. on the "up-down" dial at the front would be better, but I am I right in thinking that this can't be done?
Finally, can someone explain how the GXR (assume Module) can be set up to have an AE lock button? I have looked (but clearly not in the right place!) for this but could not find it. I would love to be able to program this to the Macro button while in shooting mode.
My one complaint is.... dust bunnies; I had to get rid of a bunch of these and I did not think to blow the sensor off before shooting (white walls). Of course most of them landed on architraves... I realise that the D3s and the Sony both have automatic sensor cleaners that really work, so had forgotten about this.
Other than these little aspects, I am liking this camera very much, and IMHO, this is a much more versatile camera than many of the reviewers think.
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