Hughenden to Brandenham

The weather has been great again and I decided to make use of my National Trust membership before it expires so took the train to High Wycombe and went hiking to Hughenden Manor and afterwards to Brandenham.

This is a series of some pictures I took at the different places and along the way, with exception of the last all are JPGs taken with the GR, the last is a RAW conversion but without much processing.

Thanks to the macro mode and the great high ISO quality the GR is very versatile and works great as the only camera for a trip. It's also very small and light and can be carried in a jeans pocket if needed, although it should really be in your hand because it won't take pictures in the pocket. ;)

Sitting on One Tree Hill

GR, f6.3, 1/650, ISO 100, RAW

The weather has been great today. Went for a walk around Greenwich and Blackheath but was not hugely inspired so did not take that many pictures, this is one of the first pictures I took.

Dog Day Afternoon

GR, f6.3, 1/250, ISO 400, RAW

Took this while walking through the park, been a grey and rainy day here so the sad expression on the dogs face was certainly fitting.

More London People

Some more street photography with the GR around London after going to another embassy for a visa.
I enjoy using the GR a lot and after customising it initially, it just works and never gets in the way.

Holding On

The weather has been fairly nice again so I decided to head out and take some comparison pictures for my GR review. I packed the GRD I, GRD IV, GR and the GXR A12 28mm and did a few real life shots around Greenwich.

There will be more extensive comparisons in my full review but for now a quick teaser to how the cameras perform.
The GR and GXR A12 28mm are obviously the most detailed and have the highest dynamic range, there is not really much difference between them in most cases so both are very capable although the GR retains more details. The GRDs are fairly well matched and the biggest difference is that the GRD I has more noise but it also looks more crisp and more 'film like'.

The below are out of camera JPGs taken in b&w mode at ISO 400 and f2.8, the image names shows the camera but top left is GR, top right GRD , bottom left GRD IV and bottom right GXR A12 28mm.
To see the below crops at 100% open the image in a new tab and change the URL to say /s1920/ instead of /s1600/, e.g. http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-zeQ05gj5LDc/Uctmnsb3vfI/AAAAAAAAcd4/FfSgrgqdRq8/s1920/26-06-2013_02.JPG

Below are the DNG files processed with RAW Therapee wit the Neutral and the BW1 profile respectively.

Streets of London

The weather has been great and since I had to go to the Mongolian embassy in Kensington, I figured I will take the opportunity to go for a walk around London after and take some pictures.
Well, the walk ended up being from Kensington all the way back to Greenwich via Canary Wharf, so I guess around 10 miles. It was a nice walk though and I took over 300 pictures with the GR, went through 3 batteries and one 4gb SD card.

I took quite a lot of different pictures, from macros, architecture and landscapes/cityscapes but mostly it was street photography and pictures of people out and about enjoying the sun. So here a longer series of my street photographs I took during my walk to also give an indication of how the GR works for something the GR series is mostly associated with.

The GR performed very well in anything I put it through and the only pictures that did not turn out well were due to user error on my part. The GR is a fantastic little camera and one I can fully recommend to anyone looking for a really serious compact or if you just want the best backup camera you can get.
The GXR A12-M will still remain my main camera as nothing can touch some of the lenses I have for it and the character it gives but the GR is great for travelling light and for ultimate IQ it beats the somewhat older 12MP sensor in the GXR.

Solving the Puzzle

GR, f2.8, 1/60, ISO 200, RAW

Took this in the Greenwich museum during a walk today. I liked the light and how the kids were standing opposite each other. The GR captured the colours very well.

5 from the GDIF 2013

Another mostly grey and cloudy day, it cleared up briefly in between but for most parts it stayed grey. I decided to go and check out more of the GDIF 2013 and took a few picture of the performances and people around.
This is a small series from the festival taken with the GR.

On Top of the Whale

GR, f2.8, 1/800, ISO 100, RAW

Took this while out for a walk around the GDIF 2013, the Greenwich Docklands International Festival. The GR performed very well and I even got to use it in low light at ISO 26500 and this was very impressive.

Running Through Water

GR, f6.3, 1/1000, ISO 100, RAW

Took the GR out again for some shooting around the O2 and Greenwich, wanted to post another series but decided to stick with only one picture for today.

I continue to be impressed with the GR, it is fast and just works, I like the colours it produces and the detail is impressive despite being used to the GXR A12-M.

First Ricoh GR Outing and Impressions

This morning my GR sample finally arrived, taking it out and turning it on gave me a very familiar feeling. While on paper the GR is slightly bigger and heavier than the previous GRDs, when you have it in your hand it just feels right and you forget it's a new camera.

The day has been haze and grey mostly so not ideal to go out shooting, instead I spent some time to go into the menus and set the camera up, the new menus are nice and as usual very efficient but I doubt I will ever see them again now that I set the GR up as I like.

By late afternoon I had to go out and take some pictures. In use the GR is simply fantastic, everything has been improved and refined from the previous generations, the start up time, shot to shot time, AF, write time have all been improved and are now at least twice as fast when compared with the GRD IV or the GXR A12 28mm.

The image quality is equally great and beats the GXR A12-M in terms of noise, dynamic range and even detail (now I really want thus sensor in a new M mount module!). Even the JPGs (usually a poor showing from Ricoh) are excellent and the b&w JPGs almost rival the GRD I JPGs although they lack the film look due to the sensor being cleaner and having a higher dynamic range.

I will write more and post a full review in the coming days and weeks but for now I am hugely impressed, despite being sceptical at first.

This is a series of pictures I took during my walk, I wanted to show a varied selection of images so I hope you like them.