dubdromic wrote:
Maybe another data point for you: I've owned the Ricoh GRIII for many years and use it literally every day and have never seriously had issues with the battery life. The startup time is good enough that I just click off the camera when I'm not actively shooting. My usage is almost exactly as you describe: day to day, out and about, caught-my-eye kind of stuff.
That being said: the battery life is definitely bad relative to other cameras I've used. Way worse than my X100V was. But in my experience it's more than usable for your described use case. The bad battery life (and awful AF) are the price you pay for the amazing portability to quality ratio...and I have yet to find a camera that can beat the GR on that front....Show more →
Thank you for the additional data point. I don't think battery life will be that much of an issue in my situation (famous last words right?). I'm only out for a few hours a day, and don't expect to snap more than 50 photos on a daily basis.. Just like a phone, as long as my usage allows the battery to get through the day (or the outing), I have no issues.
Okay, just taking outside the box based on my own use scenarios.
For pocketable, excellent quality, walkaround jpegs, have you considered just using your phone? It’s my goto when I want small and convenient. I think it betters the X100’s. Doesn’t look cool unless you add one of the clip on camera frames, but IQ is excellent. Seriously, my iPhone 15 makes surprisingly good images with excellent, editable color, AF’s fast in almost any light and has a phenomenal zoom range. One of the camera adapters with app will make it feel more camera like and can lock your lens at a pre desired focal if thats a thing. I’m sure Samsung has equivalent.
itzjere wrote:
Any thoughts about switching the GR for an X100? Is the difference between the X-T5 and the X100 enough to have both systems side by side?
I usually a pretty passionate supporter of the XT5. It is a full-featured camera that is quite small, and it accepts any Fujifilm lens. Put the 27mm f/2.8 on it and the package isn’t very large at all. But…
… you already have an ILC camera that isn’t that much larger, especially when equipped with compatible small lenses. So I can’t quite see why you would consider adding a XT5 and a X100 model or GR. Again, ask specifically what you are trying to accomplish with this camera (portability!) and recognize what you can already do with your existing gear.
The XT5 is a fine camera, but what it offers is not what you seem to be looking for.
Between the GR and the X100 (various versions), the questions are, again, what is your primary goal here and which camera gets you closest to that goal?
itzjere wrote:
Ricoh being truly pocketable vs give up some size for more capability (and twice the price)..
That gets at the real conundrum. You give up something any time you look for a truly small camera. There’s no way around this. We know this is the case, but it is really hard to sort it out sometimes.
It helps to think really carefully about exactly what you are trying to accomplish with a small, portable camera and about how it fits into your larger collection of other cameras and lenses.
You might worry about things like lens flexibility, battery life, sensor size, and so on with the portable camera… but if the highest priority for this camera is that it be small enough to have with you all the time, it helps to remember that you can always pull out the bigger camera for those times when you need more quality or versatility.
There’s little camera doesn’t have to do it all. It just has to do the main thing best. And that is to be small and available.
(For some of us, the smallest of our small cameras is our smart phone.)
You're welcome. The X100VI is a joy to use for daily walkabouts and travel. I thought briefly about the newly announced GFX100RF. It's still compact enough to fit into my small crossbody bag. However, it's too expensive and also doesn't have IBIS like the X100VI. And as I mentioned earlier for me the cropping power of the X100VI is already massive for me. Thus my X100VI is looking like a great value compared to its MF sibling.
Jack Flesher wrote:
Okay, just taking outside the box based on my own use scenarios.
For pocketable, excellent quality, walkaround jpegs, have you considered just using your phone? It’s my goto when I want small and convenient. I think it betters the X100’s. Doesn’t look cool unless you add one of the clip on camera frames, but IQ is excellent. Seriously, my iPhone 15 makes surprisingly good images with excellent, editable color, AF’s fast in almost any light and has a phenomenal zoom range. One of the camera adapters with app will make it feel more camera like and can lock your lens at a pre desired focal if thats a thing. I’m sure Samsung has equivalent.
I have been using my phone for snapshots for a while now. I have been a loyal Pixel user for nearly a decade and been pretty happy with the IQ. I have seen the performance of the iPhone camera, but I won't switch to an Apple ecosystem simply because of that.. that's a whole different discussion lol.
I will look into the camera adapter systems.. I work in tech, so I am always connected to a device or my computer. Part of having a stand alone camera system allows me to not be on my devices. I'm looking for a more purposeful shooting experience vs 'taping my screen'. I know the X100 will definitely give me that at the balance of size and price which is how the GR entered the conversation..
gdanmitchell wrote:
I usually a pretty passionate supporter of the XT5. It is a full-featured camera that is quite small, and it accepts any Fujifilm lens. Put the 27mm f/2.8 on it and the package isn’t very large at all. But…
… you already have and ILC camera that isn’t that much larger, especially when equipped with compatible small lenses. So I can’t quite see why you would consider adding a XT5 and a X100 model or GR. Again, ask specifically what you are trying to accomplish with this camera (portability!) and recognize what you can already do with your existing gear.
The XT5 is a fine camera, but what it offers is not what you seem to be looking for.
Between the GR and the X100 (various versions), the questions are, again, what is your primary goal here and which camera gets you closest to that goal?
That gets at the real conundrum. You give up something any time you look for a truly small camera. There’s no way around this. We know this is the case, but it is really hard to sort it out sometimes.
It helps to think really carefully about exactly what you are trying to accomplish with a small, portable camera and about how it fits into your larger collection of other cameras and lenses.
You might worry about things like lens flexibility, battery life, sensor size, and so on with the portable camera… but if the highest priority for this camera is that it be small enough to have with you all the time, it helps to remember that you can always pull out the bigger camera for those times when you need more quality or versatility.
There’s little camera doesn’t have to do it all. It just has to do the main thing best. And that is to be small and available.
(For some of us, the smallest of our small cameras is our smart phone.)
I appreciate you framing the goal up like this. I see your point. I will be sitting down with a friend later this week and keep all your comments in mind as I look at everything side by side... my phone, GR, X100, A7C, etc...
jojib wrote:
You're welcome. The X100VI is a joy to use for daily walkabouts and travel. I thought briefly about the newly announced GFX100RF. It's still compact enough to fit into my small crossbody bag. However, it's too expensive and also doesn't have IBIS like the X100VI. And as I mentioned earlier for me the cropping power of the X100VI is already massive for me. Thus my X100VI is looking like a great value compared to its MF sibling.
I took a glance at the GFX for fun. I can see what you mean by it's not that much bigger.. but this is the scope creep we all run into.. just a little larger here, just add this one small item here and soon enough, we have a full sized system
If a when there's a GRIV with improved autofocus, I'm a day one buyer. I really enjoy the GRIII, but the poky and inconsistent autofocus just kills it for me. It's one of my favorite cameras of all time from an ergonomic and usability standpoint.
itai195 wrote:
If a when there's a GRIV with improved autofocus, I'm a day one buyer. I really enjoy the GRIII, but the poky and inconsistent autofocus just kills it for me. It's one of my favorite cameras of all time from an ergonomic and usability standpoint.
Thanks for this feedback. I am hearing this from a lot of people. Maybe the next GR is the one to get.. not the current one.
If you're coming from an A7RV you're going to be very disappointed in the AF, unless you'd use snap focus or shoot mostly static subjects. I'd say it's about the level of of the A7RII, maybe, and I *despised* that camera's AF too.
itai195 wrote:
If you're coming from an A7RV you're going to be very disappointed in the AF, unless you'd use snap focus or shoot mostly static subjects. I'd say it's about the level of of the A7RII, maybe, and I *despised* that camera's AF too.
OOF. Thank you for that comparison.. I think that might have settled it for me.
Been a while now, but I had the X100, X100s and the original GR. One thing I haven't seen mentioned is that they are so very different in ergo & handling that you might end up with rather different looking photos from the two of them. That was the case for me anyway, and I'd say that had its pros and cons.
With its lack of an EVF and fixed screen, the GR often made me come away with photos I simply wouldn't have taken with the X100. This could lead to fun results, different POV or angles... but I'd also shoot more sloppily and rely of fixing more in post, and in some cases, having to shoot "blind" (strong sun, very low angle...). Definitely less of the slow and focused shooting style I prefer.
Now, having the A7cII with the Samyang Remaster Slim, every time the heart tugs towards an X100vi or something, my head pulls me right back to center. I really don't need it. If I were more of a jpeg shooter, it'd be a different situation.
itai195 wrote:
If you're coming from an A7RV you're going to be very disappointed in the AF, unless you'd use snap focus or shoot mostly static subjects. I'd say it's about the level of of the A7RII, maybe, and I *despised* that camera's AF too.
I already missed a few shots of our baby daughter (she was in the shadows on both occasions, the X100VI just hunted and gave up).
That’s why I consider AF of paramount importance - no matter how small a camera is, if you can’t get the shots, then it doesn’t really matter if it’s on you or not.
twelveish wrote:
Been a while now, but I had the X100, X100s and the original GR. One thing I haven't seen mentioned is that they are so very different in ergo & handling that you might end up with rather different looking photos from the two of them. That was the case for me anyway, and I'd say that had its pros and cons.
With its lack of an EVF and fixed screen, the GR often made me come away with photos I simply wouldn't have taken with the X100. This could lead to fun results, different POV or angles... but I'd also shoot more sloppily and rely of fixing more in post, and in some cases, having to shoot "blind" (strong sun, very low angle...). Definitely less of the slow and focused shooting style I prefer.
Now, having the A7cII with the Samyang Remaster Slim, every time the heart tugs towards an X100vi or something, my head pulls me right back to center. I really don't need it. If I were more of a jpeg shooter, it'd be a different situation. ...Show more →
Thanks for sharing your experience. I see your point about the handling characteristics being different. I will say, I sense that shooting on the GR will be similiar to a phone experience in that sense.. the size and lack of EVF/tilt screen.. X100 with the tilt screen will match my experience on the A7RV.
For this setup, I am looking to be a jpeg shooter..
milend wrote:
I already missed a few shots of our baby daughter (she was in the shadows on both occasions, the X100VI just hunted and gave up).
That’s why I consider AF of paramount importance - no matter how small a camera is, if you can’t get the shots, then it doesn’t really matter if it’s on you or not.
I’ll keep testing more and see how it goes.
I agree that the AF is critical.. that's a bit of my worry coming from Sony. Of course I'm willing to accept missed shots.. it happens even on the Sony.. I'm just not sure how big the difference will be. It sounds like the gap will be smaller with the X100 vs the GR.
itzjere wrote:
I took a glance at the GFX for fun. I can see what you mean by it's not that much bigger.. but this is the scope creep we all run into.. just a little larger here, just add this one small item here and soon enough, we have a full sized system
If I'm getting the GFX it will be as is. I don't need to add anything. With the X100VI I added the small rig plate and thumb grip just to improve the ergo. I don't intend to put the camera anyway in my jacket pocket besides I have my iPhone in my breast jacket pocket. I also added the Fuji UV protection filter and the lens hood. I bought a CP filter for it as well but I have yet to use it.
jojib wrote:
If I'm getting the GFX it will be as is. I don't need to add anything. With the X100VI I added the small rig plate and thumb grip just to improve the ergo. I don't intend to put the camera anyway in my jacket pocket besides I have my iPhone in my breast jacket pocket. I also added the Fuji UV protection filter and the lens hood. I bought a CP filter for it as well but I have yet to use it.
My approach with either of these cameras will be to leave them as they come.. not add any bulk to them otherwise it defeats the purpose.. I can't match the ergos of a full size camera body, but for short periods, I believe it is manageable.
itzjere wrote:
My approach with either of these cameras will be to leave them as they come.. not add any bulk to them otherwise it defeats the purpose.. I can't match the ergos of a full size camera body, but for short periods, I believe it is manageable.
Yeah for sure. One thing I miss with the X100VI is the lack of 24mm. Even though I added stuff to improve ergo and protection I am hesitant to buy a wide angle converter. I might as well just take the A6700 and 15/1.4 G which is excellent for environmental portraits.
