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Archive 2011 · Still no love for the Ricoh GXR?

Kit Laughlin
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p.42 #1 · p.42 #1 · Still no love for the Ricoh GXR?

I have found that Mode 1 focus assist has been improved in 1.5

Does anyone know if there's a way you can set up the camera to toggle between modes?

BTW, I am in Torino today, preparing for work tomorrow (shorthand for "I have a day off and I cam make pictures and post in the Forum"!). I went past a camera store and played with an XPro1, with the 33mm lens: very nice handling, superb screen graphics, easily moved focus patch. Bigger and heftier than I thought it would be; very comfortable to hold.

I am waiting for someone to get one of the aftermarket M mounts, and see how the UWAs go, though, before I would spend thing money. I could definitely live with the XPro1 and the 30 lens as my go-everywhere camera. I really want to compare the NEX 7 and the XPro1 (both with compact 50mm EFOV lenses) before I jump, though (and the NEX 5N and the Perer wait at home; this combo might be perfect).

Body, build, fit: superb. The X100 was excellent in this regard, but for me, the XPro 1 is a step up.

Mar 22, 2012 at 02:32 AM

michaelwatkins
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p.42 #2 · p.42 #2 · Still no love for the Ricoh GXR?

Kit, are you sure about the Mode 1 improvement? I was reading a PDF document that listed this improvement, but I think that document might not have been specific to v1.50 but instead been a roll-up of all the firmware updates since the camera was introduced. I'd be happy to be wrong though, and regardless, the note gave me some incentive to switch to Mode 1 for a while to see how I get on with it. Jury still out.

In other GXR news, Sean Reid http://www.reidreviews.com/ published a piece on the 24-85mm zoom module. I still don't think it is for me and I have to admit that its looks have something to do with it.

But at least it doesn't look like a pound of butter.

Mar 22, 2012 at 06:42 PM

uscmatt99
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p.42 #3 · p.42 #3 · Still no love for the Ricoh GXR?

I just wanted to post my thanks to Henrik and others who opened my eyes to RPP. I am just amazed at how much better the RAW conversions are with this program compared to Aperture, with the Ricoh dng files at least. The amount of true detail in the files is staggering, and was often obscured by color artifacts on the Aperture conversions. When viewing the tiff's at full size, I don't even feel the need to add sharpening. It's not all roses, and there is still some artifact with challenging situations like fine rendered branches against bright backgrounds, but this is much more tamed with RPP.

Now if I could only find a better workflow. Aperture does its best to hide away the RAW files on import, and it is time consuming to process them one at a time. For some reason I'm having trouble importing the tiff back into Aperture as well, since it isn't as smoothly roundtripped as an actual plugin like the Nik software suite. I'm thinking that for now I'll just work on my favorites, and let Aperture do what it will to the rest of the files.

Mar 24, 2012 at 12:32 AM

Tariq Gibran
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p.42 #4 · p.42 #4 · Still no love for the Ricoh GXR?

michaelwatkins wrote:
In other GXR news, Sean Reid http://www.reidreviews.com/ published a piece on the 24-85mm zoom module. I still don't think it is for me and I have to admit that its looks have something to do with it.

But at least it doesn't look like a pound of butter.

Yes, so now Ricoh appears to actually be using a non AA version of the 16MP sensor so the question is: When will they ship it in the M module?

Mar 24, 2012 at 08:04 AM

kosmoskatten
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p.42 #5 · p.42 #5 · Still no love for the Ricoh GXR?

Matt: no worries, really glad to be able to help out.
I just showed RPP conversions this morning for my friend who bought my Sony A900 and he was surprised by the rather obvious difference in RAW conversion output. It's been a while since I did batch processing in RPP but it works well. I save them to a "work in progress" folder for further processing and then work them one by one when my limited time allows me to and then save them to another folder.

Saw that you were Cappuccino cruising in Vienna, wish I could've joined in on that. Coffee and Cameras = good Conversation.

Tariq: latest info is that there is no planned release of the A16 in M mount.

My source and the Ricoh rep had been talking past each other and my source walked away thinking an A16 M mount was "in the works and almost done" when all the while the rep had been talking about the zoom module. The rep had answered on another question (shipping of the delayed A12 M mounts) during the same conversation and the vendor had mixed it all up and then the vendor has passed on the A16 M info to literally hundreds of customers, i.e. everyone who had either visited, emailed or asked in store about the A12 M mount...

I still thope (think/hope) the A16 M will happen, they will run out of the A12 M batch and then there will be no more 12MP sensors for another batch and with the apparent success of the A12 M mount an A16 M mount would make perfect sense and wouldn't cost Ricoh that much in further R&D since the module/platform is the same.

Now I wish I hadn't sold off my spare A12 M mount in anticipation of the A16 M mount.

Mar 24, 2012 at 09:12 AM

aleksanderpolo
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p.42 #6 · p.42 #6 · Still no love for the Ricoh GXR?

Any mention of a possible 35mm M module from the Ricoh rep? I hope they can do it and it will be the way to leapfrog the current mirrorless offering.

Mar 24, 2012 at 11:18 AM

kosmoskatten
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p.42 #7 · p.42 #7 · Still no love for the Ricoh GXR?

Did not ask, sorry.

As Pentax is taking over Ricoh camera sales I am not sure on how much useful info we can get until all is settled. I am not sure I want Pentax to "handle" Ricoh sales.

Mar 24, 2012 at 11:32 AM

aleksanderpolo
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p.42 #8 · p.42 #8 · Still no love for the Ricoh GXR?

Judging from Pentax's "mirrorless" camera, I don't have high hope

Mar 24, 2012 at 11:34 AM

bluetsunami
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p.42 #9 · p.42 #9 · Still no love for the Ricoh GXR?

Hopefully the philosophy ends up Pentax for designer cameras and Ricoh for serious photographic equipment

Mar 24, 2012 at 11:37 AM

kosmoskatten
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p.42 #10 · p.42 #10 · Still no love for the Ricoh GXR?

My main concern is Pentax sales reps showing little to no interest in selling Ricoh products meaning Ricoh sales will plummet, meaning Ricoh will cut back and eventually choke under the yoke.

In Japan I believe Ricoh is strong enough to survive on its own, but in Europe and in northern America sales channels are pretty thin as it is already.

Mar 24, 2012 at 01:14 PM

Tariq Gibran
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p.42 #11 · p.42 #11 · Still no love for the Ricoh GXR?

Of course, there is that crazy rumor that Leica will be collaborating with Ricoh on the M10. If there is any truth to this, I expect that the current Ricoh M module will be a one off and never updated. Might be something to pick up now while they are available?

http://www.mirrorlessrumors.com/leica-m10-with-sony-bw-sensor-and-ricoh-collaboration/

Mar 24, 2012 at 01:33 PM

michaelwatkins
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p.42 #12 · p.42 #12 · Still no love for the Ricoh GXR?

The trump card for Ricoh is they can remind Pentax who bought who. Having once worked in a senior management team that seemingly did nothing but pursue, win, and integrate (some say decimate) acquisitions, I find it hard to believe that Pentax will always have the last say in strategy. If their culture is anything like what I've experienced in corporate America, Ricoh should still have plenty of say on developments going forward via trusted Ricoh insiders at a high level placed within the Pentax business unit.

Let's hope whoever was responsible at a senior level for approving the GXR developments including the Mount module is still in a decision making place.

Tariq, you voiced something I've been worrying about ever since I saw that rumour. If it were true I can see Ricoh deciding they could sell more M related products as a contractor to Leica.

Hopefully that wouldn't be the case even if it were true. Why can't history repeat with Ricoh producing a M mount camera co-branded with Leica, reminiscent of the Minolta-Leitz CL / CLE?

Mar 24, 2012 at 03:48 PM

kosmoskatten
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p.42 #13 · p.42 #13 · Still no love for the Ricoh GXR?

Hmm, that would explain the "silence" from Ricoh during the last year.

If Leica does try to keep a tab on the competition I am sure they must have been somewhat impressed by the A12 M module performance and sensor tweaking. From experience with both the M9 and the GXR M mount I find I have a lot less problem with moiré on the GXR M.

I am sure Ricoh will try to benefit from it, not only by selling a slot on the conveyor belts in their factories with only the silent gratitude from Leica and no new products of their own.

Mar 24, 2012 at 04:02 PM

edwardkaraa
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p.42 #14 · p.42 #14 · Still no love for the Ricoh GXR?

So basically Leica will sell us a GXR M disguised in an M9 shell for 7K and call it M10. Cool! I want one

Mar 24, 2012 at 04:13 PM

Tariq Gibran
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p.42 #15 · p.42 #15 · Still no love for the Ricoh GXR?

michaelwatkins wrote:
Why can't history repeat with Ricoh producing a M mount camera co-branded with Leica, reminiscent of the Minolta-Leitz CL / CLE?

The difference is that Minolta had huge brand awareness, retail presence and very strong marketing. Ricoh has none of that in North America - probably most of the world - when it comes to cameras. It seems likely they will use the Pentax brand going forward since it's a stronger brand for selling cameras. If they do so, unfortunately, I could see them subcontracting out to others such as Leica for their more niche market stuff. It will be interesting to see what happens. We do know from what Leica has stated that they wish to make a move into a broader market and perhaps Ricoh would be an ideal partner for that.

Mar 24, 2012 at 04:16 PM

aleksanderpolo
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p.42 #16 · p.42 #16 · Still no love for the Ricoh GXR?

My wishful thinking is that, if Ricoh is in collaboration with Leica, they will help produce the M10, while using the same 35mm sensor technology for their M module. But again, this is wishful thinking.

Mar 24, 2012 at 04:23 PM

michaelwatkins
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p.42 #17 · p.42 #17 · Still no love for the Ricoh GXR?

edwardkaraa wrote:
So basically Leica will sell us a GXR M disguised in an M9 shell for 7K and call it M10. Cool! I want one

Sure!

Better yet, Pentax-Ricoh will sell us a GXR M in a new shell for 30 - 70% less because the Ricoh (or Pentax) name is in a larger font than Leica.

Hopefully they don't sign an agreement not to produce a full frame 35mm sensor camera.

Tariq, I hear you on branding and distribution but for a speciality camera maybe these aren't insurmountable problems. Pentax has better distribution in parts of the world where Ricoh isn't a big factor, and, if we are talking a M lens compatible camera anyway, they can get by with community awareness for a time carrying sales while they establish the "Pentax Leica Ricoh CM" camera. Does CL stand for Consumer Leica? CM Consumer M mount?

Mar 24, 2012 at 04:26 PM

Mitch Alland
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p.42 #18 · p.42 #18 · Still no love for the Ricoh GXR?

All this — dare I say silly? — speculation:

—when is the A16 M-Mount coming? (But the A12 M-Mount came out only in October).
—will Leica cooperate with Ricoh on the M10? (No comment needed).
—will Pentax run Ricoh? (Can't conceive of a comment).

And the general perception of Ricoh as a minor brand: it is minor in the U.S. but rather large in Japan and Taiwan and perhaps Korea, maybe in China as well. On Friday, at Hong Kong airport, I picked up a slick 350-page book, published in Taiwan, on how to use the GR Digital in all its versions, the GRD to the GRD4. In Japan several books like this on the GRD have been published over the last few years. The GRD has been a cult success in Japan and Taiwan, and probably a financial success for Ricoh Camera as well. Ricoh Camera has no need to cooperate with Leica — and does Leica really need a tie-up with Ricoh Camera for technical reasons? Also, Ricoh Camera's distribution issues in North America can easily be solved through the Pentax acquisition.

Incidentally, the Taiwanese GRD book looks great: thorough and informative with very good example pictures, although I can't read a word of it. I wish books like this were published in the West. I recently bought a GRD4 and am happy with it. As I mentioned earlier in this thread, I think that the GRD cameras are wonderful for street photography because of the fluid and loose style they facilitate when framing with the LCD — and because of their imade quality as well. Here are a couple with the GRD4 taken in Hong Kong, followed by a couple with the GRD3 taken in London:

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7139/7005230811_45a5e54afd_b.jpg

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7211/6861127568_41fa7c0931_b.jpg

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7176/6931928201_215aebe6fb_b.jpg

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7176/6941824541_ac1a2f0ec6_b.jpg

Mitch/Bangkok
Pak Nam Pran

Mar 24, 2012 at 07:23 PM

Tariq Gibran
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p.42 #19 · p.42 #19 · Still no love for the Ricoh GXR?

Mitch Alland wrote:
Ricoh Camera has no need to cooperate with Leica — and does Leica really need a tie-up with Ricoh Camera for technical reasons?
Well, there is the age old reason of MONEY. Seems like a good enough reason for Ricoh to be interested in a deal with Leica. For Leica, it would obviously be about production cost and capacity. Don't you think Leica might be interested in a partner that could produce the M10 for less than half of what it costs Leica to produce it?

I have no idea what might happen but I do think Leica needs a partner going forward.

Edited on Mar 24, 2012 at 07:41 PM · View previous versions

Mar 24, 2012 at 07:40 PM

bluetsunami
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p.42 #20 · p.42 #20 · Still no love for the Ricoh GXR?

All I know is, whoever gets to a FF mirrorless body at a reasonable price first shall get the spoils. There's the issue of building a system behind such a body though and I'm not sure if Ricoh is up for that. Though the M-Mount module makes it so this isn't as huge consideration as putting your weight behind an actual body release. Ricoh are in the perfect position with their module system to do just this.

Mar 24, 2012 at 07:40 PM

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