A New Road

When one road ends, look for another one to continue going forward.

After a bit of (maybe more than a bit) deliberation, I decided to start a new blog on WordPress and see where it leads.

If you're still following this blog, I hope you'll continue following me on the new blog here: Cristian Sorega Photography

While there's not much content on there right now, more articles and photos will come in the next days and weeks.

My new blog is taking some time to get in full swing thanks to a new venture with motorbikes and travel and also some photography. My new business Just Bikes, took a bit of my time recently. You can have a look at it here.

End of the Road?

It's been very quiet on this blog for the past year and a bit, I planned some updates but somehow never got the right inspiration or motivation to post again.

You might have noticed some photos being posted automatically from Instagram but I didn't like these posts and it wasn't what I had in mind for this blog. I've since removed them to clean the blog up a bit.

So what happened in the last year?
Well, after 6 years of use and abuse during my travels, my trusty Ricoh GR died.

Way before it died, the sensor was full of dust, the handgrip rubber came lose and the adjust switch broke. Towards the end, the lens had problems retracting and the shutter blades became stuck until after the first shutter actuation. One morning, i=the lens barrel just got stuck and now it can't retract anymore or open the shutter.
I sent the camera to Ricoh but unfortunately it wasn't possible to revive it so now it serves as decoration.

I've been looking for a while to get a proper replacement for it though.
There was the obvious choice of the Ricoh GR II but also choices like the Fuji XF10 or a Sony RX100, even the Nokia 9 at some point.

After Ricoh announced the GR III, I thought the choice would be easy.

The GR III looked like a great camera and quite a change and improvement from my old Ricoh GR.

Still, I wasn't very keen on the changes Ricoh made to the to the controls (removing the EV compensation toggle is the worst decision they could have made), nor the very high price or some of the reported problems with it.

The new sensor looks great though and  IS is a nice addition and should also help with dust. While I couldn't care less about losing the flash, I also don't really care about the touch screen or the smaller size it brings (given the previous GR cameras were already small enough).

There is still no weather sealing, still no flip up screen and the controls seem to have gone backwards (although I didn't actually get to shoot with one). This all is disappointing but the main issue for me was simply the lack of compatibility with the old 21mm adapter lens. Given the already high price of the GR III, I didn't feel like spending yet more money for the new hood and adapter.

So instead of buying a Ricoh GR III, I decided to get the older GR II (as you might have guessed by looking at the photos). I would have been equally happy with a new GR I but it wasn't available anymore.

So, where do I go from here? Do I start the "One Day, One Photo" project again, do I keep this blog running or stop completely?

Well, after a year or going back and forth about what to do I am still not sure. I kind of miss keeping a blog and posting photos and it was also nice to have a reason to go out and take a photo every day.

Taking a photos and updating this blog became a big part of my life during the 10 years, I've been doing it but  felt that the quality of my photos started dropping and my posts became less and less relevant.
I also feel that Blogger as a platform just isn't good enough anymore, despite it being simple enough to use, I just can't find any theme I actually like to use.

I have looked at moving to Wordpress in the past, only to come back, but I feel their interface has improved enough and it allows me to do more with my blog.

So for now, this will be the last post on this blog. Maybe not surprising and I am not sure how many still follow this blog or check on it after the long break.

I will look for a new beginning and a different format, one that focuses more on stories and content, not just on random photos every day. For that, I might use my Instagram account instead as it's easier to post simple photos (despite the stupid restrictions on portrait sizes).

Again, thanks to all of you who have or still are following this blog and to all the friends, I've made through this blog!
Hope you'll follow the next project when it's finished (I'll post a link and announcement here).

Photokina 2014 - Day 2

Cameras everywhere, that's the motto of Photokina and it's great to see and play with some of the cameras.

Since I wasn't that big into new gear but still wanted to spend another day at Photokina, I decided to rent a Fuji XT-1 and see how it works.

It was fun to play around with it but I couldn't see myself using it as it's to big and I didn't warm p to the controls and somewhat slow AF.

Today, I also checked out the Leica booth and while it was fun to see and try the expensive Leica cameras, none was really very exciting in use.

Voigtlander had some cool lenses on display and for the first time I was a bit tempted to add more gear to my collection.

After checking out some accessories, including a very weird camera module made only for the iPhone 5 (something that didn't really made any sense to me), I decided to focus more on taking photos of the visitors and booths.

After returning the Fuji XT-1, I went back to Panasonic to see again the GM-5, which ended up being my personal highlight of Photokina 2014.

Photokina 2014 - Day 1

The 4th year at Photokina certainly felt different, it was still fun but there was less excitement from my part.

Maybe it was because for the first time I was actually quite content with my gear and after traveling with it around the world, I didn't feel like I needed anything new or was missing out on anything.

The most exciting camera for me was the Panasonic GM-5, it is small, looks cool and it's very capable with the m4/3 sensor and interchangeable lenses.

There were some great lenses on display from Zeiss for M mount but I already felt like I had too many lenses as it was.

So overall the first day was fun and it's always great to look at gear but aside from the GM-5 I didn't feel like there was much new for me to see.

5 Years Later

It all started with a candle and a clock on the day 5 years ago, it was also a Monday but we had no snow then and I knew a lot less about photography or blogging.
This below was the very first picture of my 'Ricoh GR Diary' blog.

When I started this blog I needed something to keep me taking pictures every day rather than just carrying a camera back and forth and never using it. It was always planned as a personal project and I highly doubted anyone but me would even look at it. But a few comments from Wouter and other bloggers later, I realized people were actually looking at my blog.
This made a big difference, for one it inspired me to keep on going even when in doubt or when I did not have enough time but also meant there was more pressure to not just post any picture but a picture I can share with others. Over the years this was at times a very difficult task as some of you who are doing a similar 'photo-a-day' project have experienced.

One of my biggest surprises came while visiting Photokina in September 2008, not only did I get to talk to Ricoh representatives there but they actually knew my blog and were following my impressions of the Ricoh GRD cameras. While meeting them I also first played with the idea to write camera reviews, met Pavel from the Ricohforum and decided to plan our very first Ricohforum meetup and got the invitation to visit the Ricoh factory in China.

A lot has happened in 2008 and this was very motivating, not least meeting some fantastic people from Ricoh, Photographers and Ricoh enthusiasts at the Ricoh meetup and through my blog in HK and Macao. I realised that my blog does matter and it pushed me to keep on going even on days when I was not inspired or had not enough time due to work.

Over the years there have been a few more Ricoh meetups and I have written quite a few reviews of Ricoh cameras, the reviews are always the top posts on my blog when it comes to views and comments which is nice considering the work it takes to write a review although I would prefer to get more views and comments on my pictures ;).

Some of the best things that happened to me through my blog, next to meeting some fantastic people from all over the world, is Ricoh asking me to do a promotional book for the Ricoh GRD III, you can see and order the book here, Ricoh using my pictures to advertise the GRD III in Germany at Foto Koch, me selling some pictures to use for CD covers by Nancee and Clever Stranger, having one of my GRD I pictures chosen for all promotional material for a concert at the Barbican (see picture below) and again to meet some great people through my blog who kept me going.

I have tried to make some changes and even temporarily split the blog into two, one for photos and one for reviews, tried to move it completely to Wordpress and even took a  few short breaks to figure out what to do next, just to end up back where I started. This goes to everything as even my design has not changed much over time. Sometimes keeping things simple is a good idea and so far it has worked well for my blog.

Having said that, there is always time for change and I believe the time has come to make a bigger change this time. I am not completely sure how or what exactly needs changing and most important, when I will have the time to do it but I know a big change is in order and this will be soon.

There are some photography related projects I have in mind and some I had in mind and wanted to do for a while but work usually got in the way so I will try to take the time and get them done this year.

What do you think, what needs changing on my blog and what do you like and would prefer to leave as it is?

And finally in order to keep up with the theme of the blog a picture from today.

GXR A12-M, f8.0, 1/3000, ISO 200, RAW, 42mm (Ricoh GR f2.8 28mm L)

Ricoh Lens A16 24-85mm f3.5-5.5 GXR Zoom Module Announced

After many delays Ricoh has now officially announced the GXR A16 24-85mm zoom module for the GXR, as reported earlier it has a f3.5-5.5 aperture and a new 16 MP sensor. The lens is as reported not a GR lens but the quality should nonetheless be much higher than your typical software corrected lens from the other manufacturers.
While the zoom range is great, the slow aperture is a bit of a let-down and not what most have expected from Ricoh. At least you get something better than normal kit lenses, both in zoom range and also quality but on the downside you get a sensor stuck to it as well.

The most notable new features are the ability to continue shooting while holding the shutter button pressed, this will use the same settings as before, and a new self closing and opening lens cap. Other notable features include a improved leveller, RAW only shooting capability (something I have never seen the reason for but people apparently want) and the ability to enter copyright information in the EXIF data. All other features are the same ones you can find in the other GXR modules so you will get a lot of customization and features aimed at photographers.

One feature which is still neglected and is typical for Ricoh is the video mode which is still only available in 720p and without any meaningful compression or options.

While this module will appeal to some people who want a APS zoom for their GXR camera, I think it is too big and the lens is too slow for any low light shooting, especially when combined with the maximum ISO of 3200. There also is no manual zoom or focus ring on the lens so it means using the zoom buttons on the body for this.

Below is the full press release and the full specs.

UPDATE: I just received an update on this and by the looks of it the sensor will not have an AA filter so it should provide excellent detail.

GXR A16 24-85 Pre-Announcement

Today, Ricoh has pre-announced their latest GXR camera unit as mentioned in my HK meetup post.
It's the new APS zoom module and while not all details have been made public I got some details from Ricoh regarding the module.

As you can see in the above image it will feature a 16 MP sensor, have a 24-85mm zoom and the lens will not be GR labelled. Further it should be relatively big as it will not collapse like the Olympus m4/3 kit zooms for example.

The release was planned for the end of this year but the flooding in Thailand caused delays sensor production so it has been pushed back slightly.

UPDATE: I have made some changes to the post as I am awaiting further information from Ricoh on a few points.

UPDATE 2: No further information, other than the display at PMA & CES 2012 was for the press only. I would expect the module to be announced and released in the next month (maybe at C+ in Japan) but have no further confirmation yet.

UPDATE 3: I have received more information from Ricoh and will prepare a special post for this.

UPDATE 4: The official announcement is out and available here.

Ricoh GRD IV announced

Today, Ricoh has announced the Ricoh GRD IV. The GRD IV is more a evolution than the expected revolution from the GRD III. This by itself is not a bad thing since the GRD III stillremains one of the best serious compacts out there but I guess a lot of people were expecting something more revolutionary in light of very strong competition.

The headline features of the GRD IV are certainly the (much welcome) return of the phase detection AF sensors, the in body image stabilizer, the improved electronic leveler, higher resolution LCD, further enhancements to the controls and shooting modes and last but not least there will be a limited edition white version available.

Overall it might not sound like much but it's a solid upgrade for people who are looking to get one of the best small sensor compacts available.

While I, too, would have liked to see something more revolutionary in this upgrade, like the custom b&w sensor I kept wishing for, it will be interesting to see how the enhancements and refinements work compared to the previous versions.

Read on for the full press release and specs.

Ricoh GXR Mount A12 Announced

Today Ricoh has officially announced the long awaited GXR Mount A12 module allowing GXR users to mount M lenses on the GXR and by doing this Ricoh has managed to be the first consumer digital camera to separate the Body from the sensor and lens.

I am very happy to see this module and think it is exactly what is needed to show people more of the full potential of the GXR system.

You can read the press release below but here are some of the things I find most interesting and want to comment on.

- The probably biggest news in the press release and another first in digital cameras as far as I am aware are the two shutter methods. A newly developed focal plane shutter (1/4000 sec. to 180 sec.) and electronic shutter (1/8000 sec. to 1 sec.). This is big news in my view and the ability to either use a physical or electronic shutter makes this module unique and very versatile.

- Ricoh is using a custom sensor with no AA filter and micro lenses optimized for M lenses so it should produce a very good image quality even with wideangle M lenses, this usually poses a problem on the RD1 and also my GF1.

- The MF implementation was a big concern since Ricoh announced the module because it was not very well implemented in their other modules (as you can read in my review of the GXR A12 28mm module). Here Ricoh has again listened to the complaints and feedback and implemented a sort of peaking function which works great on the Sony NEX cameras and enhanced the normal magnification assist so I am very happy to see this being implemented. MF should work very well with this and be even easier than using a RF patch.

- Another great feature is being able to not only to add the lens data in the EXIF information but also read this easy from an SD card, shame it does not look like it can read the lens information from coding on the lens but overall this should not really be a problem if you can store your settings on an SD card and have easy access to them.

- The lens checking device is a great idea, who else other than Ricoh would get the idea for such a simple yet very usefull tool, it should work great for the colapsible Leica lenses which are always a bit of a concern to mount on other cameras.

In addition to what you can read in the press release here are some other interesting details I got from Ricoh.

- The Low ISO 100 setting will be available but will suffer from lower dynamic range.

- In S-mode the camera can raise the ISO when set to Auto or Auto-High.

- You can set if you want the shutter to close or remain open when you power the camera off!
You hear this Panasonic!! I have mentioned this when I first saw the G1 at Photokina and it's still not implemented, Ricoh shows how to do this right.

Read on for the full press release

Ricoh acquires Pentax

The biggest news for today, at least in the Photography world, was certainly the acquisition of Pentax by Ricoh. Many have talked and suspected this for quite a few years now but it still managed to take everyone by surprise.

Most were pleasantly surprised and think this is a very good move by Ricoh that will benefit both companies. I am also in that camp and see both companies as the most photographer focused companies and with the combined expertise and R&D only good things can come out of this for consumers.
For me this news is actually on another level quite interesting, is it the Pentax Optio S40 who got my interest in photography started before I moved to the Ricoh GRD I which took my interest to another level and got me to start this blog in the first place. So without the Pentax Optio S40 and the Ricoh GRD I, you would not be reading this post here. Now with Ricoh acquiring Pentax things might come full circle in case Ricoh uses the Pentax name for their cameras.

So to go full circle in a way, I decided to post below 5 of my best pictures taken with the Pentax Optio S40. Things have changed quite a lot since then but it's fun to see these 'old' pictures.