Sitting on the Dock of the Bay

GRD, f5.6, 1/640, ISO 640, JPG - Taken on 09/10/2006

Took this picture while on holiday in Shanghai. Although the horizon is not straight I can't crop it because it would riun the composition. Think a leveler would have been good in this situation. I did notice that I messed the horizon up and took a 2nd picture but the scene was not the same anymore, the big ship was in a different place and the people also moves slightly. Sometimes all you have is one chance to get the shot and it's better to get it by all means even if technically it's not perfect.

Summer Afternoon

GRD, f3.5, 1/2000, ISO 100, JPG b&w - Taken on 20/07/2006

Took this picture while enjoying the nice weather in London. I really liked the scene with all the different people in there. At the time I took the picture I wished to have a 40mm lens since 28mm was too wide for what I wanted to capture. But with some cropping it gives me the view I wanted.

Night Rider

GRD, f2.4, 1/100, ISO 1600, JPG b&w - Taken on 19/01/2007

When is a compact camera superior to a dSLR? Everytime you need a high DOF in low light, like in this situation. This picture was taken with the GRD at ISO 1600 and EV -1 so effectively at ISO 3200 and using Snap focus. The D70 we had along could not focus, the f3.5 lens was too slow and the DOF too shallow as to be of any use.
This might not be an amazing picture but it shows where a small sensor camera can be much better than a big sensor camera. This is why I hope someone will release a compact camera with a 2/3" sensor and a very fast lens. I don't need or want a full-frame or APS sensor because the DOF is too limited there. It can be nice for portraits but not when you loose all advantage of a fast lens and high ISO.
While everyone is asking for compact cameras with a big sensor, I would like to see compact cameras with improved small sensors. If I could have a 2/3 sensor which can deliver the same image quality as the GRD I in this picture at ISO 6400 and a f1.4 or f1.8 lens it would be the perfect camera for me. Looking back through my pictures I noticed that the image quality of my Ricoh cameras was never really limiting or not good enough to get the shot and have a memorable picture. The only thing I missed me was a higher ISO and faster lens.

Ricoh R10 Testbericht - Teil 2

In Teil 1 des Ricoh R10 Tests habe ich mir die Verarbeitung und die Bedienung der Kamera angeschaut. Aber wie sieht es mit der Benutzung im Alltag aus? Glücklicherweise folgt die R10 die Tradition von Ricoh, Kameras herzustellen die man mit Freude nutzt. Dies ist für mich die wichtigste Eigenschaft an einer Kamera und wichtiger als irgendwelche mehr oder minder sinnlose Funktionen, denn letztendlich sind Funktionen nicht wichtig um gute oder interessante Fotos zu machen. Die Kamera sollte aber dennoch eine gute Bildqualität bieten und auch schnell genug sein um keine Gelegenheit zu verpassen.
Wie schneidet die R10 in dieser Hinsicht aus?

Ricoh R10 Testbericht - Teil 1

Wer nach einer Kompaktkamera sucht hat es nicht leicht, es gibt mehr Auswahl als man möchte und es ist leicht den Überblick zu verlieren unter den ganzen Modellen der verschiedenen Hersteller. Die meissten Modelle unterscheiden sich nur in den verfügbaren Farbvariationen oder den verfügbaren Szenen die mehr oder minder nützlich ausfallen. Unter all diesen Kameras finden sich nur wenige wirklich interessante und aussergewöhnliche Modelle, eines davon is die Ricoh R10.

Morning Coffee

GRD, f5, 1/400, ISO 64, JPG - Taken on 20/01/2007

This is another of my favorite pictures and one that I could only take because the GRD I is fast to power on and ready to take the shot. Took it at Luxor airport just before boarding the bus. When I saw the scene it looked nice but when I saw the driver with the coffee it made it perfect and I had to get the shot.

Going Home

GRD, f2.4, 1/25, ISO 800, JPG b&w - Taken on 09/08/2006

This is one of my favorite pictures with the GRD and another example why you should always have a camera with you. Took it in the bus on my 'way home' and found the scene great, very chilled out and relaxed. I find it works very well in b&w and was very glad that I could capture that moment.

Pusteblume

GRD, f4.5, 1/250, ISO 64, JPG - Taken on 26/10/2006

Today's picture is my most popular picture on both Flickr and JPG Mag. It is also one of my own favorite pictures although I am not a big fan of flower macros. I tried to copy this picture a few times but never got anywhere close to the original.

Looking Back

S40, f2.6, 1.3 sec., ISO 100, JPG, 35mm - Taken on 09/02/2006

While creating a backup for all my pictures I realized that there are quite a few pictures I really like but never got round to upload anywhere. This is why I decided to look back at some of my favorite pictures from before I started my blog and post some of them here. This week will be all dedicated to my older pictures.

Today's picture has been taken with my old Pentax Option S40, my first digital camera and the camera I replaced with the Ricoh GRD. This picture is my favorite picture from this camera and made it clear to me that the camera you have with you at any time is the camera that will give you the picture. This was basically the day I decided that a dSLR would just not work fo me due to the bulk. I took this picture while walking home from work and after I decided to met a friend at a pub, I had the camera with me because it was small and so I could take this picture.

Since I will use older pictures this week, I can relax and use the GR1 again to take pictures.

Boy and Squirrel

GX200, f5, 1/60, ISO 64, RAW, 52mm

Took this picture while out for a walk in St. James's Park today. Used the GX200 with EVF and I have to say that while I believe OVFs are a waste of space and not very usefull a EVF is perfect and much more usefull. Having the ability to see exactly what the sensor sees and see any change to the WB, color mode, etc. is a huge advantage over a OVF. Being able to tilt it and remove it if it's in the way is great and an advantage over a built in EVF.

The Heron

GX200, f4.4, 1/70, ISO 673, RAW, 72mm

Took this while out for a walk after work today. Sometimes it is very handy to have a zoom in a camera, the added flexibility is very nice. I think as much as I like the prime lens on the GRD I would gladly change it for a lens similar to the LC1. Or a interchangeable lens camera with a very fast prime lens and a somewhat slower zoom lens.

Cat's Eyes

GRD II, f2.4, 1/6, ISO 800, RAW

Todays picture fits again the 'non-photography' category. I quite like to sometimes break the rules and deliver a blurry and noisy photo. Afterall, I think technical perfection, although it is what most people strive for, is not important for a good picture. There are too many technically brilliant but boring pictures on the internet.
Not that this is the most exciting picture but sometimes a technically bad photo actually benefits from the noise and blur. I doubt, I would have selected this image if the cat would have been in perfect focus or there would be no noise at all, this picture would lack something in my view.

One Year Later

GRD II, f5, 8 sec., ISO 80, RAW

Today is a special day for my blog, it becomes one year old :D. It is exactly one year since I started the blog and a lot has happened in between.

I got the idea to start the blog when a friend mentioned starting a "food diary" and taking pictures of food. This sounded like fun and I was looking for something in order to get myself motivated to take more pictures. At that time, I was carrying the GRD I around with me every day but did not use it sometimes for a whole week. This was a wasted opportunity in my view so a photo diary sounded like a good idea. This is how the name 'Ricoh GR-Diary' and this blog came to be.

I would have never expected to keep posting one picture every day for a whole year and, aside from some friends, I did not think people would be intersted to read my blog. I kind of expected to post a few pictures and then get bored and leave it. Taking and posting a picture every day became a lot of fun and I began to see things around me that I ignored or passed by before. It was not always easy and on some days I only had some mediocre pictures or had to improvise something but it was always fun.

What I would have never expected is the response I got and the fantastic people I met through my blog. Thank you for reading my blog and it was great to meet some of you in person, hope there will be more opportunities for this!

Meeting Ricoh representatives at Photokina, having the rare opportunity to visit the Ricoh factory during my trip to Hong Kong or getting cameras to review is something that might have never happened without me starting this blog. Here let me say again a bit thank you to Ricoh for making all of this possible!

Enough talk for now. I hope you enjoyed the blog so far, be it the pictures, my writing or maybe both? Whatever is was, I hope it was never boring.

Blue & Yellow

GRD II, f5.6, 1/500, ISO 80, RAW

More color for my blog from today's picture. I don't know why but when using the GRD I, I almost always use either b&w and/or high ISO for my pictures, when using the GRD II however I always end up with a color picture at low ISO. There is something differnt about what you "see" depending on the camera you carry, at least for me it is.
Took this while walking back from lunch near St. Paul's today. There was a road saftey event in front of St. Paul's and the ploice had their bikes parked behind the church.

The Painted Hall

GRD II, f2.4, 1/2, ISO 80, RAW, 21mm

Been in Greenwich today and passed by the Maritime University and thought it would be nice to go and have a look at the Painted Hall again. Had my GRD II with 21mm lens with me today since I haven't used either for quite a while now. Maybe not the most exciting of pictures but some color is good for the blog.

The Time Will Come

LC1, f2, 1/20, ISO 100, JPG b&w, 28mm

Went around Kings Cross to take pictures today. I always thought there is nothing worth taking pictures of in the area but there are a few nice hidden places around. Like the Old St. Pancras church where I took this picture.
The LC1 is a very nice camera for the weekend, would not want to carry it around every day and the AF is still way too slow.

SWPP Model

LC1, f2.4, 1/15, ISO 200, JPG, 90mm

Today, I went to the SWPP Convention and Trade show. It was interesting and I managed to find a few places I will try for prints and also to develop the films from the GR1. There were also a few events and classes of how to take good studio pictures. While I am not hugely interested in this I was hanging around to see one of the free classes to find out what a 60MP PhaseOne camera can do.
It might be impressive on a technical level but the wireless flashes used and the photographer managed to make this model look pretty ugly in the resulting picture. I think having the soft light only without a flash is much nicer and shadows are good and give depth to a picture. Using flash is always too harsh and cold no matter how you set this up to diffuse it.

Smithfield Tower

GRD, f6.3, 1/640, ISO 400, JPG

Another picture from Smithfield market, this time no door but the market itself. I like taking pictures at ISO 400 with color depth set at -2 as this gives a nice feel to the pictures.

Curves

GRD, f2.4, 1/8, ISO 1600, JPG b&w

Took this picture in the evening while walking home. I liked the light and shapes of the car. It seemed like it would make a good b&w picture and it did come out very well.

Keep Left

GRD, f2.4, 1/60, ISO 400, JPG

Took this after work at Bank station, I always find it funny that they put the signs to "Keep Left" but no one pays attention and walks on the right side. Guess going or driving on the right side is more natural to people ;).