Ricoh GR first thoughts and observations

Hello All

When is a review a review or not a review?
Are ones thoughts and opinions written down enough to constitute a review? Even if not strictly setting out, to review.

Enough! waffle. If you want to read a review of the Ricoh GR you are probably better off elsewhere, but thanks for dropping by all the same.
If you want to see what this little cam can do, you would do well to look here. Cristian Sorega Ricoh GR.
From there I also found my way here.Wouter Brandsma
Two good sites worthy of a sit down with a coffee.

Well having stumbled upon Ricoh as a brand quiet by accident, whilst looking for things Leica. I ended up with a Ricoh GXR and A12 M Mount. This then introduced me to Ricoh compact type cameras. Obtained a GRD via the bay of E and was very pleased with that s well. As good as it is, especially black and white, time moves on and so does technology.

Which eventually brings me to the current day Ricoh GR. I bought mine; yes; with my own funds from
cliftoncameras    I am not an internet guru so do not get to play with one for free. Anyway, only had it a week and already feel money well spent.

As a heads up to any prospective buyers, bear in mind there is no charger in the box. Battery has to be charged in the cam via a usb cable. Can be bought as an accessory but kind of lets things down a bit. Not to bothered as I have one that came with the GRD so all is well.
(Charger = BJ-6 for reference)

That little irritation aside, the cam itself has grown some, mainly in the length but also in depth and to a lesser degree in height. This adds up to not fitting in the case I have for the GRD. Shame, but there you go.

However in the hand if feels right. Nicely weighted and balanced, buttons where you would expect them to be.The play button is perhaps a little small, but nothing tragic.

If you are a previous Ricoh user you will be at home with the button layout. If you also happen to be a Pentax user as well, you will see a feature borrowed from there as well. The Tav option on the mode dial, and to a lesser extent the rear mounted (multi purpose) focus button.


If you are reading this you will probably already know about the high quality lens; the big sensor they have squeezed inside and the fact the sensor has no AA (anti-aliasing) filter. Yum yum. Boy does that combo work.

As with all things Ricoh, it is the customiseability that sets it apart. The menus are simple if a bit in depth, but no matter, once you have set it up; to how YOU want it to operate, you need never go back.
As well as being able to customise just about every button, you can save your desired presets to the MY settings on the mode dial. You can save 6 presets even though there are only 3 MY on the dial.

This cam is so much faster than previous GR models when it comes to focusing and writing speeds.

As a coincidence, after playing around and finally arriving at my preferred setup, it matched Wouters
Av mode, (F4 preselected) using the Fn1 button for switching from Spot AF to Snap mode, the Fn2 button for adjusting the focal distance for the Snap mode, and the adjustment lever for rapidly changing ISO amongst other things.

I have this basic set up on all 3 MY settings, except that 1 = colour. 2 = black and white. 3 = black and white but with the rear screen set to off. This makes it very stealthy indeed.

How do you compose with the screen off? I'm glad you asked. As part of my GXR set up, I bought a Voight 15mm lens, which just happened to come with a 21mm optical viewfinder. Slipped this into the hotshoe.
Granted it is not perfect as too wide for the 28, But for speed, WOW! 
With good light, F4, Av mode, snap focus and an optical viewfinder. This becomes a supreme speed street machine.

I had forgotten just how much I missed composing by looking through a bright optical viewfinder rather than a screen at arms length. So much nicer and so so much quicker.
Really is the Mutts Nutts.

So is this a review or just the thoughts and observations of some random Ricoh GR owner?
I don't know, or for that matter really care. But it feels good to have got some things down, that others may find useful in their quest to better understand the cam.

The GR is just a tool like any other camera. But; it allows you to make it operate how YOU want it to.
Makes all the difference. 
Give 2 GRs to two users and both will set it up differently, but both will be correct.