Day in Brighton

Spent the day in Brighton walking around and having a few drinks by the beach. Took my GR with me but swapped it put for Tom's GXR A12-M so he can see how the GR works and I felt like using the GXR again.
I have to say that although the GR is much faster, has a better sensor and is really small and light, there is something about using M lenses on the GXR but both cameras complement each other very well.

Devil's Dyke Walk

Met with Tom in Brighton and drove to Devil's Dyke to do some hiking after lunch. The weather was mixed and we had some rain but it was a good day out nonetheless.
I decided to take my GR1 with me and shoot some film but film is not reliable enough so I needed a proper digital camera along so took the GRD IV with me.

This is a series from the walk, since it will be months till I get to see the film pictures these are the picture I took with the GRD IV and some with Tom's GXR and Leica Sumicron 50mm and my own Heliar 12mm.

What a Difference a Lens Makes

Top: Voigtlander Nokton f1.4 35mm (JPG) / Bottom: Leica Sumicron f2.8 50mm (JPG)

This post is based on a discussion I had recently with Tom about lenses and the different characters they produce. While this is no scientific comparison, it shows quite well how different lenses produce a different and unique character even when used on the same camera. In other words it shows that the lens is more important to the look and character you get than the camera or sensor behind it, then again this will come to no surprise to most people. 

Just as a note, this comparison is just for the character of the lenses and the exposure is not exactly the same, nor is the field of view due to the different focal length. The character however remains the same and is visible irrespective of these differences.

Both top images are straight out of camera JPGs while the bottom pictures are RAW files developed with RAW Therapee and the 'Natural 1' setting and using the Auto WB.

Were I to choose between the pictures I would go for the Leica Sumicron JPG since it has a more dreamy an warm look out of the box without any PP. This does not apply for all situations though where the Leica look can be quite distracting at times.

 Top: Voigtlander Nokton f1.4 35mm (RAW) / Bottom: Leica Sumicron f2.8 50mm (RAW)

Ready to Take Off

GXR A12-M, f5.6, 1/203, ISO 200, JPG, 75mm (Leica Sumicron f2.0 50mm L)

Cottage in the Woods

GXR A12-M, f2.8, 1/350, ISO 200, JPG, 75mm (Leica Sumicron f2.0 50mm L)

Foggy Mountain

A small series from my drive up to the top of the Semenic mountain nearby. The weather was grey and rainy at the bottom and foggy at the top, a complete change from the sunny weather of the past two days.

Just as a reminder, the Ricoh meetup will go ahead in about a week's time on the 29th in London. The location will be confirmed shortly, due to my travels it got pushed back a bit.

Parked on the Street

GXR A12-M, f5.6, 1/570, ISO 200, JPG, 75mm (Leica Sumicron f2.0 50mm L)

Went around the little village in Romania to take some pictures, the weather was really nice and great for walking around and taking pictures. Nothing too exciting since the place is not very exciting so no series but just a single picture.
I like how the Leica renders light, it also produces a very warm and soft image compared with the more contrasty and sharper Nokton or the GR lenses in the A12 modules.

A Day in Potsdam

After the day in Werder, I had a day in Potsdam to walk around and take pictures. The GXR is a great travel camera and the A12 modules complement each other very well although I ended up preferring the GXR Mount A12 and use the manual lenses on it sinceit was faster and more reliable to get the focus right.

Impressions from Werder

Spent the day in Werder (Havel) in Germany and got out early to take some pictures of the island while the morning fog was still there. Missed out on the best light since I did not get out early enough but it was still not too late.

Waiting Room

 

GXR A12-M, f2.0, 1/125, ISO 1467, JPG b&w, 75mm (Leica Sumicron f2.0 5cm L)