Ricoh GXR (S10, P10 and A16) Zoom Review

From left to right: S10, P10 and A16 modules

While prime lenses are nice, every camera system needs it's own kit zoom lense. While I am not a big fan of
zoom lenses, I do love the zoom lens on the Panasonic LC1 and it is one of the best lenses I have used.
Looking at the GXR, Ricoh has released three zoom modules for it and each is quite different from each other.

This review will cover all three of them and look at the performance of each, the main question though is which module does the best job as a kit lens. This is a short review of each module so I only go over the main points, I will point to previous reviews or previews which provide more information at times. As before this review will only cover the modules, for the review of the GXR body and controls look here.

Let's look at each of the modules covered and their main features before delving into the review.

The first to be released was the S10 module, it is a 24-72mm f2.5-4.4 IS zoom lens with a small 10MP 1/1.7" CCD sensor. In a lot of ways this is the successor to the GX200 so let's see if this is the GX300 people were waiting for.

The second zoom module to be released was the P10 superzoom module, it is a 28-300mm f3.5-5.6 IS zoom lens with a small 10MP 1/2.3" CMOS sensor. This is essentially a CX camera without the body but this is not necessarily a bad thing.

The last zoom module to be released is a 24-85mm f3.5-f5.5 not image stabilized zoom lens with a 16MP APS sensor without AA filter. The large sensor in this module and the lens starting at 24mm were what got people very excited about it.

Now that I have introduced the modules let's have a look at how they perform.

NOTE: The below review will be updated with pictures taken with each module.

Ricoh GXR A12-M and Sony NEX-5N Comparison

This is not my own comparison but one written by photographer Sam Waldron and it marks the first guest post on my blog. I am thinking of having more guest posts on my blog in the future.

I really liked the comparison and wanted to share it with people who do not read the forums it was posted on. So thanks to Sam for allowing me to post this here.

You can see his great work on his website here:

Sam Waldron Photography

Now without further ado, let's get to his comparison.

Introduction

I've been using the NEX-5N with M mount lenses for about 6 weeks now – I've been happy with the set up and i'm getting better results than with my D7000 and lenses but my interest was piqued when I heard the rumour the GXR M mount could be shipping with the Sony 16MP chip in the new year.

Autofocus isn't something i've ever really needed or wanted – this is the type of thing I like to shoot.

Beyond - Sam Waldron Photography

My target output is prints, up to 16” x 24” (or Panoramas which are stitched to any size).

To my surprise, a local company had the GXM M module for rent and i've been using it the past three days. Unfortunately the weather has been terrible here so I only had a limited amount of time to do some decent shooting out and about.

I'm using it with my lenses (all very good but not without quirks) – Voigtlander 15mm M mount, Leica 35mm 2.8 Summaron, Voigtlander Nokton 40mm F1.4 and Leica 90mm F4 Elmar-C.

My general thoughts at how the cameras compare purely as a M lens platform are as follows.